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​Giving Staffing a Good Name

Courtland Lee, OTR, Slam Dunks our Competition
Weird title I know, but here is what happened. Recently, a facility that was not a customer called us for help around 7:30 in the evening. Tricia took the call and passed the director to Fred who handles all new customers. Fred ended up going back and forth and finally getting the contract signed by around 11 pm, and then he assigned our sister and OTR extraordinaire, Courland Lee, for the next day. Of course, Courtland shows up the next day and impresses everybody so much that the new customer starts raving about Stambush, saying it wants to get rid of their current contract agency and only use Stambush from now on.

Maybe this should have been the title to this article: TRICIA RECEIVES BALL AND PASSES TO FRED WHO DRIBBLES THROUGH HEAVY TRAFFIC AND PASSES TO COURTLAND LEE, WHO DRIVES SO HARD TO THE NET AND SLAM DUNKS THE BALL SO HARD THE GLASS SHATTERS, AND THE REFERREES TELL THE OTHER CONTRACT AGENCY THEY JUST DON’T BELONG IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS STAMBUSH.

I hope I didn’t embarrass Courtland and Tricia too much (I know Fred is not embarrassed), but I thought you all would enjoy this story since it affects us all. Also, I know that many of you do great things every day that go unrecognized. But don’t worry, we all know your day will come, and we all know that you all are out there doing great work and setting high standards. So, thank you everybody. Tricia, Fred, and Courtland will all tell you they were just doing their job, but that is not what it looked like to our new customer. To them, it was nothing short of AMAZING!

Business Cards, Anyone?

Hello, everyone! Jordan here. After a lot of back-and-forth with different printers and designs, we've decided on a design that will allow everyone in the company to have business cards! Take a look at the designs here, both front and back:
Front
Back
Why business cards for folks in contract? Well, to be honest, we like it whenever people are spreading the company's name in a positive way. Also, we want them to be an easy way for you to give your contact information to other therapists that may be thinking about contract. While our referral program doesn't apply to our customers’ therapists you meet while on assignment with us, anyone else is fair game. Having a business card with your contact information on it means that your chances of getting a referral from another therapist thinking about contract are that much greater.

To get 500 of these business cards for free, send me the following:
1.  Your name and discipline as you want it to appear on your business card
2.  A home address so that I can mail you the cards

That's it! When you get them, though, we only have one request: use them as often as you can! When you go out to dinner, leave a card with the bill when you are finished paying. Heck, if you pay your bills by mail, leave a card with your payment. You never know who will be interested, and the worst thing that could happen is that whoever receives your card will throw it away. Since you don't even have to worry about paying for the cards, slipping a business card in here and there seems like an easy investment to make when it could result in a $1000 return in a couple of months.
Anyway, let us know if you would like 500 of these cards, and we'll get them to you as soon as we can.

Patient Abandonment per State Board of PT and OT Examiners

As you know, we are always trying to look out for you so that you can treat your patients. Since the patient abandonment issue comes up every once in a while, I thought it might be helpful to see what the state board has to say on the subject. So, here you go:

What is patient abandonment, and how do I avoid it?

There are three basic elements that must be present in a situation for it to constitute abandonment:

    You have accepted responsibility for a patient’s care, i.e., you are the PT/OT or PTA/COTA treating the patient, or the PT/OT supervising the PTA/COTA treating the patient;
    The patient still needs care (i.e., has not been discharged); and
    You stop treatment of the patient without sufficient notice to allow a reasonable amount of time to arrange for a new PT/OT or PTA/COTA to take your place.

Examples of what is NOT considered abandonment:

    You give sufficient written notice that you are leaving (see below)
    You are too ill to work
    Your employment has been terminated, for any reason
    You are working for a contract company that no longer has the contract to treat the patients you’ve been seeing
    You refuse to accept responsibility for an assignment for which you believe you are not qualified. (This may be cause for termination, but it is not patient abandonment.)
    The above examples are all circumstances that are beyond your control, and the Board considers abandonment to be a choice the licensee makes.

Examples of what IS considered abandonment, if you leave without giving sufficient notice:

    You haven’t been paid or the check bounced (problem with employer or patient)
    Reimbursement has been denied by a reimbursing entity
    You have an argument or disagreement with your employer, the patient, or a coworker and leave abruptly
    You don’t think your employer is dealing with you fairly
    You don’t like the patient
    Taking a vacation day (or days) that haven’t been approved by your employer when you have patients to treat or PTAs/COTAs to supervise

The most important consideration is to make sure you give appropriate written notice to your employer (or your patient, if you are self-employed). This allows your employer or the patient sufficient time to find a replacement for you so that patient care is not disrupted. In most cases, four weeks' notice is adequate time for a replacement to be found. If a complaint of abandonment is made against you, the Board will look at the patient’s condition, the circumstances, and the availability of replacements in the area to determine what it considers enough notice. If your employer tells you to leave once you have turned in your notice, you are not required to continue working, but you should document for your records that your employer has made that decision. Document whatever you communicate to your employer or patient about your resignation. Include in your letter the effective date of your resignation, and any other information you believe may be important to establish your plans, your expectations of your employer (or the patient), and your consideration of your patients’ needs. Keep a copy of letters you write for your records. If for some reason you delay your resignation and continue working, document the changes to your plans and make sure they are clearly stated to all parties. If you encounter a situation where you feel you must discontinue treatment or leave your job and you are concerned that your patients or license may suffer, call the Board for direction. (§322.4, excerpted from 12/07 Communique, 1/11)