Bridgepoint Active Healthcare

The Good:
- Some very genuine colleagues and coworkers that will become close friends and will grow professionally and personally with you.  Some of my lifelong friends I owe to Bridgepoint.  You will learn a lot from working together with them as a team.
- The organization evolves and adapts on an ongoing basis.  This has been good for key issues related to patient care and safety.  Leadership has been visionary at times to seek out ambitious goals and carve out a role for managing highly complex clients.
- There are opportunities to participate, learn and help lead these quality improvement projects. There are many OT experts at Bridgepoint that have accomplished miracles for patient care and have influenced program design to ensure best outcomes for the long term.
- There are ample opportunities to facilitate labs at UofT, take clinical students, research students, MD student shadowing, etc.  
- Education funding is available, and there is a standardized process to apply for it.
- You will learn a lot about Occupational Therapy.  At times, you will work to full scope and apply several non/standardized assessments and treatments, work with assistants / physicians / specialists, Physios, SLPs, SWs and nursing leadership to generate comprehensive patient care and discharge plans.  You will develop expertise in several areas: seating, falls prevention, cognitive assessment, discharge planning, dementia care, pressure relief, return to driving, etc. etc.  If you combine this with student supervision, research, leadership, education, and CPD, you'll feel very accomplished as an OT and you can take these skills to other arenas of your personal and professional life.
- This job can give back what you offer up to it ...

The Bad: 
- Not everybody will share the same work ethic.  At times, you may feel alone and literally be alone, working long hours to ensure you provide the best quality of care, do what's right for the patient, adhere to COTO guidelines for documentation and professional practice, address key issues for safety / quality / ethical care, and live up to the ideals of the profession.  
- You may put in at least five to six hours of over time on a weekly basis ... every week.  This is more prevalent on the heavier units, like 3 and 6 to 10.
-  If you are lucky, your manager will recognize and appreciate this.  This may afford you education days off (which you are entitled in the Collective Agreement anyways) or some flexibility with work hours.  You will find allies with other therapists and with nursing (usually those on the heavier, complex care floors) who face the same demands and share the same work ethic.  
- However, you may experience unwelcome behaviours from colleagues who do not value or share your same work ethic.  This may be an attack on your professional and personal identities.  This will be very visible and very inappropriate when it occurs.  Unfortunately, professional practice in this hospital operates at a systemic level, focusing on policy and programs.  This allows many individuals to flaunt the system, not working their assigned hours, stifling patient care, doing less than what they should.  Unit management and PPLs are not in a position to discipline anybody, so nothing will ever change. 
- Certain teams have a "toxic" environment to them, resulting in high stress and turnover.  Unfortunately, some of these programs work with the most vulnerable or rehab - ready clients, and that is a true loss.  I have seen an untold number of clients achieve less functional outcomes or positive patient experiences because of their therapists' work ethics.
- Personally, I feel the hospital does not invest in sufficient therapy staff to meet client needs and ensure high intensity minutes and basic therapy needs can be met in a reasonable manner.  Some have said that therapists are "exploited" here.   Having six high intensity clients (5 x week) and four recon clients (3 x week) plus ALC and other duties leaves very little time for any else during the day.
- Others may disagree with this review, but they are usually those not in clinical roles or those with "easy" jobs that offer them rose coloured glasses. 
- There are some in management positions who have demonstrated conflicts of interest when their family members are admitted to the hospital (putting therapists at risk of injury, bullying, unethical practice, mismanaging resources) and others who have breached the code of conduct by influencing care and creating double standards.
- Because Bridgepoint specializes in complexity, most of the clientele require intense efforts to assess, treat, and discharge.  You may have clients on your active caseload for weeks to months to over a year ... many of whom should have been discharged in less than 3 months.  Clients can be difficult, unrealistic, rude, and aggressive.  Management does not enforce the Code of Conduct with clients, and often, therapists are bullied by clients and family members over unrealistic expectations without due reason.
- Human Resources has changed from a friendly and welcoming environment to a hostile and unprofessional place ... at least behind the front reception and front line.  When you walk into HR, you will meet very friendly and polite workers.  However, there are many concerns about HR Management itself and whether bullying and intimidation have become the new norm when it comes to interpreting the Collective Agreement and with staffing and hiring decisions.  Emails and questions are answered rudely and disrespectfully.  HR Management is described as a "Union Buster" who was brought in to bring down HR costs.
- This makes it difficult to engage the front line for just about everything because it seems HR and upper management are working against you.  This sentiment transcends all departments.
- The organization downloads a lot of executive responsibilities to front-line staff, whether it is required documentation or clinical roles, "voluntold" roles for research / quality initiatives / side projects that take up resources and manpower without directly affecting patient care or funding outcomes.  At times, the only outcomes are balancing the hospital's scorecard or achieving executive compensation goals.  
- Patient Care Managers are over-worked and not available to deal with patient safety and quality issues that occur routinely on the units.  Some are well positioned to manage their units, others are not, and it shows.  Recently, nursing educators and allied health have been welcomed into PCM roles, and I hope this continues.  It is good to have fresh ways of thinking about things.
- The organization, particularly senior management, do not understand or appreciate how heavy patient care is and how basic caseload needs do not allow any additional time or energy to support these additional responsibilities.  
- Senior Management do not ever back up the front line.  Any patient complaint results in staff reprimand. Tons of manpower and resources are mismanaged to pursue unrealistic goals and expectations simply because Management do not know how to communicate hard messages on length of stay or discharge to clients. 
- Unfortunately, there have been times where research and side projects have displaced patient care and affected therapist work - life balance.  
- While student teaching is supported, it is vulnerable to job action, which occurs every two years due to disagreements between the Union and the employer with collective bargaining.  There are also preceptors who clearly shouldn't be taking students because they are poor role models for the profession and do not properly supervise or mentor students.
- Education funding is available ... on paper.  You might wait 10 months to see a partial cheque after receiving written approval then be told funding is on hold.  Transparency is not always achieved. This disenchants those who look to continually improve their skill set to meet client needs.  Given the AHPDF is finishing, this may affect whether clinicians can seek out formal CPD on a regular basis. 

The Ultimatum:
- Choose where you work wisely. Should you apply to Brigepoint? YES.  You will learn a lot.  But be mindful of your professional accountabilities and COTO guidelines. You simply will not meet them with the workload at this hospital, unless you sacrifice your lunch hours and come / stay late.  Be mindful of stress.  The MO should not be working five or six hours of unpaid overtime every week. 
- As a casual worker, you are not guaranteed hours.  It's all based on seniority.  Job performance and work ethic do not count.  If you get casual hours, they are all over the place, and you will end up staying late as you need to do chart reviews and documentation alongside a full day of work
- As a temporary full-time employee, you are not guaranteed a transfer to the casual pool afterwards.  If you are full-time and wish to step down to the casual pool, this is not guaranteed either, even if you put in ten years of full-time employment and contributed exponentially to the employer during that time. 
- For jobseekers, I suggest exploring opportunities at other facilities before deciding on Bridgepoint.  There are tons of emerging and established opportunities elsewhere that can and will offer better working conditions.

This position was temporary and I was placed there through an employment agency. A typical day at work was quite busy. There was always something to do, whether it be answering the phones, checking patients in, booking and scheduling appointments, assisting the rehabilitative therapists with managing their schedules, etc. I learned an immense amount about developing interpersonal skills with both my co-workers and patients and sharpening my ability to multi-task. I enjoyed working with such a wonderful group of co-workers. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The hardest part of the job was managing those stressful periods when there was just so much happening all at once. The most enjoyable part of the job was meeting and interacting with all the patients. It was rewarding to be able to help and make a difference for them.I made quite a few friends and was extremely sad to leave.

pros:
- great building to work in, very modern and clean, lots of natural light
- some interesting work that can help make a difference

cons:
- often expected to work overtime hours with no compensation
- low pay for some roles below manager level
- limited growth opportunities, lack of appreciation & investment in talented people who work hard
- some staff had very outdated skills, just seemed downright lazy and unwilling to do their jobs
- resistance to change, sense of entitlement and inefficiency among some long standing people

There is always something new to be solved every single day, and there would not be a second where you would sit around bored. Throughout the day I would either be answering phone calls, checking the email's, and making sure there are no outstanding tickets that must be dealt with. The great part about the job is the co-workers that you would see day to day, they make it the most enjoyable day ever, always friendly and joking around with one another. The people there is what makes the day go by too fast.

* Infection Control decontamination and sterilization 

* Utilize various methods to sterilize supplies and equipment (e.g. Steam, Steris, Sterrad, and Pasteurization) 

* Storing and replenishing medical and surgical supplies, and implant trays for user areas. Prepare and distribute case-carts and medical supplies as required including travel-carts and totes. Performs cross-functional duties throughout the department as assigned. Performs other duties consistent with the job classification as assigned.

The facility is nice and modern, with many amenities such as an on-site gym for staff and showers. The benefits are great (hard to match RRSP contribution match). I would say the one downside is that the whole organization came from an older building, so there are a lot of antiquated processes and systems that definitely need some upgrading.

Just amazing to work here! Wonderful environment and great co-workers. Management are very helpful and efficient. Great outdoor and indoor facility and they have employees parking as well! Easily access by TTC or by car!

Good place to work with easy going staff. Lots of room to grow and learn. Only bad side is very few opportunities to go full time. Not so busy and hectic like other hospitals.

This place is greatness they suffer from the problem of being so great people barely leave!  Leadership is great and the culture is outstanding.  One of the best jobs I have ever had.

Wonderful learning environment with the utmost care for patients. Great nurses to collaborate with for patient centered care. 
Welcoming and friendly environment overall.

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