Hello guys! Well, I am 8 weeks into the contract that we discussed back in July, 4 weeks to go! However, this contract has continued to be an overall less than ideal situation. There have been several red flags that have occurred during this contract that have opened my eyes to watch out for moving forward in future contracts! Hopefully, my experience can help you guys out with your contracts as well!
1. Red Flag One: The executive director at this this site is a micromanager and overly involved in Physical Therapy matters to the point of being inappropriate. One such example occurred recently when myself and the one other PT were told we had to have permission to discharge any patients, regardless if they were appropriate to be discharged. This is an ethical concern as the executive director is an RN not a PT and therefore it is not appropriate for this director to attempt to over ride the clinical decision making of the therapists working with the patients. Prior to taking my next contract I will make sure to ask about the management style of the manager I will be working with as well as the level of involvement they have in clinical decisions made by the clinicians. 2. Red Flag Two: On multiple occasions my pay has been incorrect. On two separate occasions the director has denied my payroll without cause stating it was a mistake on her part. This mistake" on her part resulted in my recruiter and payroll department having to scramble, escalate the issue to the regional director for my travel company and wire me a pay advance so that I was paid on time. In addition to my overall pay not being correct my mileage pay has been delayed or denied multiple times. Depending on the contract, home health always pays for mileage, hourly pay as well as drive time. On my next contract I will be sure to ask how payroll is handled, what system is used to process payroll, what is covered for reimbursable charges in order to avoid another situation such as the current one. 3. One Positive Note! The nature of travel contracts is often unknown, unpredictable and can be challenging. The great thing is this contract ends in 4 weeks and I will be moving on! Depending on how whether my pay issues are resolved I also have all of my contracts written with a two week clause that allows me to give notice. I highly recommend that you always request a termination clause that is either a 14 or 30 period that allows you to exit a less than ideal contract. The termination clause also protects you as a traveler if the company hires a permanent employee and ends your contract early! As always I look forward to hearing about your travels and may you have amazing adventures wherever the road takes you! Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Nomad Entrepreneur! Today we are going to explore some of the unexpected things that may occur when you travel! The very nature of being a travel requires great flexibility and ability to adapt to change randomly and rapidly. Contracts can be cancelled, housing arrangements can fall through, the contract you choose may not be a good fit for you once you arrive and much more! These issues are not common but I think it always helps to plan ahead just in case. I am currently on a 13 week in Punta Gorda, Florida doing home health. I am going to share with you below some of the issues on this contract I have experienced and how these lessons learned can help you on your contracts!
1. Current Issues : The Bad: The executive Director for this contract is brand new in her role and therefore does not have a good grasp on any of the components involved with running this location. In week one my tablet had not been ordered, my name tag had not been ordered, I did not have a username or login to complete any of my facility specific onboarding and I had no access to the payroll system that this facility uses due to these issues. Now lets look at why some of these issues arose. The Good: I always require guaranteed hours before I take a contract. Due to the very unstable nature of home health and the often large fluctuations in case load I required a 40 hour guarantee on this contract. While a 32 hour or a 36 hour hour guarantee is more commonly accepted this contracted agreed to my 40 hour guarantee. The benefit of an hour guarantee is regardless of any facility issues I am still paid at my full weekly rate! My advise here is to always require an hour guarantee when you negotiate your contracts! 2. Executive Director: The Bad: The executive director and her team are all brand new at this location resulting in everyone being unsure how and what to do. In addition to all of the admin staff being new the field staff are also all new! I am the first traveler that has ever worked with this team also. The combination of an entirely new and inexperienced admin and field staff team is almost a guarantee that issues will arise. The Good: This situation is where it is very important to have a strong, diligent recruiter who has your back when issues arise! My recruiter immediately contact the home health company and got permission to submit my pay role and expenses via paper payroll until the systems issues were resolved! The recruiter you chose to work with plays a central role in ensuring your contracts are fair and any issues are handled in a timely manner! 3. Lead PT: The Bad: The young lady that this team had flagged as the lead PT had been in her role since January of 2022. When I arrived I was informed that she would ride with me and check me off on my skills check so that I could treat, which is common practice in home health. The first day I met this young lady she tells me she is very overwhelmed, does not understand how to do an oasis and does not fully understand how to write orders to start patients in home health. This young lady was thrown into her role with no orientation, no training and no follow-up and is now feeling extremely burnt out. Welcome back everyone! Setting up your own LLC can seem like a daunting task! As a traveler or someone with side hustles setting up an LLC can be an important part of your business or side hustle endeavor! Many people assume that setting up an LLC is a time consuming and costly endeavor, but it does not have to be! Let's look at the process of setting up an LLC here in Sunny Florida!
1. The Name: First things first, do you already have a catchy name for your side hustle or business endeavor that represents your business purpose? If the answer is no that's ok! There are multiple name generators online you can utilize for free or low cost to develop a catchy side hustle name. Websites such as TailorBrands.com offer logo and name options to allow you to customize and develop your logo and business name! Once you have your name then it is time to decide if you will use the company name or a DBA which stands for Doing Business As. Let's say you decide to name your company Run for Fun One LLC and after you start the business you decide that you want to call your business Run4Fun because the marketing is more fluid. You could leave your LLC as Run for Fun One LLC DBA Run4Fun. There is a small fee to change the name to a DBA once the LLC is established. At the time I filed my DBA in 2021 the fee in Florida was 25$. 2. Now The LLC: Ok, we have a name! Now let's file our LLC! This information applies to Florida and you will need to research your LLC process if you are in a state other than Florida. There are numerous websites that you can pay several hundreds of dollars to establish an LLC through or you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost! In Florida the dedicated state website for LLC filing is https://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz/start-business/efile/fl-llc/. This website walks you through the entire process and then you pay your $125 fee to get your articles of incorporation. Bam, just like that you have an LLC! Your articles of incorporation may take a few days to come in depending on the number of people filing at that time. During my first and second LLC filings my LLC and articles of incorporation were assigned in less than 24 hours. Once you get your LLC, if applicable, you need to file to get your EIN, which stands for Employer Identification Number. This is attained through the IRS and we will discuss this next! 3. EIN: It is important that you wait until you receive the LLC filing confirmation to file for your EIN. If you apply for your EIN prior to receiving your LLC confirmation this can delay both. Once you have received your LLC confirmation you will want to head over to the IRS website and file for your EIN. Much like the LLC filing there are several sites that will charge you to file an EIN. If you go to the IRS website below filing for your EIN is FREE! One note of caution: when you file for and receive your EIN download the PDF and save it in more than one place and also take a picture of the EIN documentation. If this documentation is lost it is very challenging and time consuming to get an duplicate copy! You will need the EIN for virtually everything you do with you business from filing business taxes to opening a business bank account! 3. Business Bank Account: Once you have your LLC and your EIN now you just need your business bank account! In order to maximize the protect of an LLC to you, the business owner, you want to have a separate bank account that all business for the LLC is conducted through. When I was opening business accounts for my businesses it was very challenging to complete the application process online. Many companies would allow me to complete the application but still required me to come into the branch to sign all paper documentation. My recommendation here would be to go with a local company in your area that offers business checking accounts. I chose to work with Trustmark and they were amazing! I was able to open both business accounts and complete account setup in less than 1 hour at the branch! You will need to make sure you take your EIN letter with you, your LLC letter with you and you ID! Thank you for joining me today for setting up your own LLC! In our next post we will look at the additional steps needed to setup your own cash-based PT practice in Sunny Florida! Good morning everyone! So you have found an amazing place to stay for your new travel contract and you are so excited! Amazing! Lets look at a few ways you can make sure you have found the right housing solution for you and that you are also an amazing guest at your new home away from home! 1. DO: make sure you speak with the landlord on the phone! Make sure you request the addressee of the property, any additional fees or expenses you need to pay during your stay, when are you expected to pay your rent and what payment options the landlord accepts. 2. DO: Do make sure you ask the landlord the minimum tenancy period you can book for and the maximum tenancy period the property allows. Short term property regulations are different in every state and often in every county in every state! While some states may consider short term rental to be less than 12 months, other states consider short term rental less than 6 months!! Know the terms at the property before you agree to stay so you can plan accordingly! 3. DO: Do make sure you understand the type of housing situation you are agreeing to! ECMH offers smaller queen rooms with shared bathrooms that are much more affordable than our large king rooms or our attached apartment! Depending on whether you prefer privacy, a better rent rate or more spacious accommodations should lead you to determine the type of accommodation you rent! If you decide to rent a room in a home it is generally accepted that all of your personal items should be kept in your personal bedroom or living space. It is generally not acceptable to leave your personal items laying all over the common space in the home that other travelers have access to. If you want to have full access to the entire home you need to consider paying for a private accommodation and not renting in a shared accommodation setup. 4. DO: Make sure you request a clear document telling you the rules and expectations at the property! Most properties have clearly stated rules about allowing guests, quiet time hours, whether smoking is permitted on the property and if security cameras are used on the property. 5.DON'T: Break the property rules! Once you have secured housing don't risk losing your secured housing by not following the property rules! Yes I know this seems like common sense but you would be surprised that this is a common occurrence! Being a landlord and a traveler this is always quiet shocking to me. Pay your rent on time, observe and respect the quiet hours the property has posted and follow the rules for the property's guest policy and both you and your landlord will thoroughly enjoy your stay! Until next time the Nomadic Entrepreneur wishes you amazing travels and broad horizons! Welcome back everyone to the Nomadic Entrepreneur Blog! We are covering a very exciting topic today- travel contracts in the United States Virgin Islands! We are in the middle of a two week visit to the USVI, staying on St. Johns. St. Thomas is an easy 25 minutes ferry ride from St. John and travel medical contracts are plentiful on St. Thomas! We are going to discuss the pros and cons of accepting a contract in this beautiful tropical destination. Lets dive right in- Pun Intended!
1. Pro Number One the Weather: The weather here is simply amazing! The balmy temperatures range from the low 70's to the high 80's with an almost constant breeze. Leave those winter clothes at home as you definitely will not need them here! 2. Pro Number Two the Outdoor Activities: If you are an outdoor person you could not ask for a more amazing contract site!! We snorkeled, hiked or explored near by islands every day we have been here so far! Trunk Bay, Hansen Beach, Haulover Beach, Cinnamon Bay are all absolutely gorgeous snorkel and dive sites! We saw giant hermit crabs, cuddle fish, sea turtles and so much more!! One word of caution- wear water shoes always! My first day on island I was swimming in a tidal pool and kicked a sea urchin- ended up with 11 sea urchin spines in my left foot! You will need to bring mineral based reef friendly sunscreen with you while you are here! Pretty pricey on island but you can get it on Amazon before your trip for pretty cheap! 3. Pro Number Three The People of The USVI: The people of the USVI are some of the most friendly and welcoming people of any area I have ever traveled too!! Everyone we encountered was amazing and helpful. One word of advice: Say hello to everyone you meet, it is considered rude not to. 4. Con Number One The Cost of Goods: Purchasing many things here is not at all like buying items in the states. A week of groceries here for two people will run you approximately $200. Some items such as Stevia are way more expensive. In the states I can buy a box of Stevia packets for roughly 4$. On St. John that same box of Stevia is 14$. A gallon of gas here on St. John is currently $3.90 a gallon but in the states is $2.88. Power here is .63 cents per KwH in the states the average is .13.31 cents a KwH. So if you rent a place here for your contract where you have to pay your own power bill you want to consider this! 5. Con Number Two Transportation (Sorta): This con is rather dependent on where you stay during your contract. If you accept a contract on St. Thomas the areas closest to Red Hook as the most convenient and closest to the nightlife on St. Thomas. However, the crime rate is also higher in this area. You can stay further into St. Thomas in neighborhoods such as Frenchman's Bay which are much safer but you will not be able to walk to your contract site from this area and would need to taxi or rent a car. Renting a car here is exceptionally difficult. We traveled here in late June arriving the 28th. I booked our initial reservations March 1st 2021 and had to call 9 agencies to find the last available Jeep for the end of June! When I booked our reservation I got the amazing "cheap" rate of $66 day per day lol. When we arrived on island the rate to book at that time was $120 per day. So, if you booked several months in advance and got the "cheap" rate of $66 per day you would need to allot approximately $1908 a month for a car. CRAZY!! 6. Con Number Three Housing: So, on an island chain where space and housing are at a premium being able to find an affordable place to stay is exceptionally hard. Sapphire Village Condos offers short term rentals up to three months and as short as one week. However, depending on time of year you may not be able to secure three months in the same unit and may have to change units several times. As of our time on island in June 2021 the first 30 day availability was not until September 1 2021 and the monthly rate was $5051 dollars! ALSO CRAZY! If you are considering a contract here you will most certainly want to avoid the peak season which is December to March of each year. Also consider that hurricane season runs June to November. So to sum up our impression of St. John and the USVI everything here is beautiful with amazing people! If you are looking at a travel contract here I would definitely say come here for the experience of island life not to make the most money possible on a travel contract! Below are some of our pictures from our trip to St. John to look at properties to buy! Good afternoon everyone! Welcome back to the Nomadic Entrepreneur Blog! Today we are going to discuss taking travel contracts during the summer months in tourist locations. When you are offered a travel contract in a desirable travel location, such as Destin, Florida housing is at a premium and very challenging to find. Before accepting that travel contract here are a few things you need to consider!
Good morning everyone! Welcome back to the Nomadic Entrepreneur Blog for Traveling Healthcare Providers! Today let's discuss important questions you need to ask for your next travel contract! Ensuring you ask the right contract questions means more money in your pocket!!
1. If your clinic closes for a holiday or event are you still paid? Many travelers do not think about this question but it is an important one, especially at the holiday season! During a contract I was on in Naples, Florida I worked at an orthopedic outpatient clinic. The clinic closed for Thanksgiving day, half of Christmas-Eve day and all of Christmas day through the end of the week as well as New Years Day. I planned to take off for Christmas to return home to the Florida Panhandle but I had not requested this time off when I accepted the contract. My schedule was Monday through Thursday at this particular clinic. I talked to my recruiter to get details if this was possible. She told me this site would pay me if they closed for a holiday as long as I did not formally request time off. So, if I requested to take the half-day off for Christmas Eve then I would not receive pay for the entire period the clinic was closed. But, if I worked the half day on Christmas Eve I would be paid in full for the entire time the clinic was closed! If I had not have asked this could have been a costly mistake! So, always find out what the policy is on pay if the clinic closes! 2. If your contract is cancelled during does the site have to provide you notice? Things happen with low census or hiring a permanent employee that may result in your travel contract being cut short. When this does happen you want to make sure you are taken care of until you can find a new contract! A standard two week notice usually provides you and the company you are contracted at ample protection for such situations. If they terminate your contract early you will still get paid for the last two weeks regardless of whether they have work for you. This also protects you if you arrive at a contract site that is a complete nightmare and you are unable to complete the contract. The two week option allows you to give two weeks notice and terminate the contract. Always make sure that your contract has an exit clause with a notice amount included! Until next time I hope you find nothing but happy trails and financially lucrative travel adventures! If you have a topic you would like to see covered please don't hesitate to contact me at shana@e-c-m-h.com Good morning and welcome to the Nomad Entrepreneur Blog Site on Emerald Coast Medical Housing! Not unlike may other healthcare providers in our community I love the thrill and challenge of working in travel healthcare. However, finding affordable travel housing can make or break the bank when you accept an assignment! Below you find a few tips to make your travel housing hunt a little easier and keep a little more of your housing pay in your pocket!
1. Shop around and ask for discounts! If you are looking for housing on Air B and B then I would make sure you ask about a monthly discount! Many hosts will offer a discount, sometimes up to 20%, when you book 30 days at a time. This can end up saving you a lot of money over a 13 week contract! If you are accepting a contract in a more urban area consider looking for more rural locations near by to your contract location! One example: I was on contract in Naples, FL and average monthly housing for a room was $2,000 dollars. I looked at surrounding areas and was able to find a room in Lehigh Acres which was $850 a month and offered a 10% discount for stays greater than 30 days! The drive from Lehigh Acres was 40 minutes to my contract site but the fact that I saved $1,150 a month made the drive worth it!! Thank you for joining us this AM and on our next session we are going to look at important questions you should be asking when you negotiate your travel contract! |
AuthorShana is a practicing Doctor of Physical Therapy who was a travel therapist before the COVID19 Pandemic. Currently, she practices in Home Healthcare, teaches Orthopedics and serves as the CEO for Emerald Coast Medical Housing. Archives
December 2022
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