It seems as though I receive a phone call or an email at least a couple of times per month from someone needing a new job because they had their paycheck bounce from a management group or from an agency. Why is this when Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapy are so hot? Let me see if I can shed some light…
There are literally hundreds of companies that own rehab facilities, and at least as many agencies staffing them. Therefore, some of those companies are bound to be owned by someone who really has no idea what they are doing. The business of healthcare is not an easy business to manage, as evidenced by the extraordinary number of rehab jobs that are currently posted. Simple laws of economics point to the fact that there are not nearly enough qualified therapists to meet the growing demand – so expect pay rates to go up as well as the need for higher bill rates from agencies and progressively higher reimbursement rates from the feds. This will attract more and more companies simply due to the amount of revenues being generated by this industry – rehab care. As a therapist or therapy assistant, you need to watch for signs. If you are working for a company and your paycheck bounces, you better be looking for a new company. Rarely does a company that is financially solid bounce a check – typically this problem indicates that the company is literally living ‘paycheck to paycheck’ and is not familiar with cash management. There are plenty of reputable companies out there that will have jobs and will pay you with no problem. Look at the company website – check out their management staff – the companies that know how to exist successfully have a track record and typically have a management team with experience. You can always call us at Travel Rehab and we will give a heads up on what we have heard. We are here to assist you in any way we can, so please let us share our experiences. Typically if we don’t know who the company is, that is a big red flag!