RehabCare or RehabChoice…What’s the difference?
As many of you know, I don’t talk about anything on our blog unless I’ve actually experienced it. This topic is no different, and by no means is meant to degrade either RehabCare or RehabChoice. We have working agreements for PRN therapist staffing with both companies, so I feel confident I can comment on both. And this is not limited to these two companies – there’s also Select Rehabilitation, Rehab America, Incite, Restore, and a multitude of others, especially if you include all of the travel rehab companies.
But back to RehabCare or RehabChoice…
Quite simply, the names can be very confusing. After all, they both start with Rehab. Does this confuse therapists that are seeking a new job? Do therapists apply for one company, thinking it is the other? Or worse yet, do therapists interview with one company, only to find out it is not who they thought it was? And do LTC facilities get equally confused?
So if the names are confusing, let’s look at some other things that will hopefully differentiate the two companies…
The company logos. Here they are:
Definite color differences, among others. My thoughts? The RehabChoice logo conveys many people centered around one mission or goal – the red dot center. The old RehabCare logo, which is not pictured, was warming with the heart in the hand. The new RehabCare logo contains their slogan, but no strong visual. Is one better than the other? I don’t think so.
Enough of the fluff – let’s get down to the definite differences. No therapist is going to pick one company over another because of their logo.
What you are about to read, you can easily find on each company’s respective website: www.rehabchoice.com and www.rehabcare.com.
First things first: Social media. Go to RehabCare’s website, and you’ll see links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You won’t find these at RehabChoice. What does this imply? If you’re a social therapist, or perhaps one that embraces technology and media, RehabCare may be the choice for you. But if you are BIG into social media, you’ll be equally disappointed in RehabCare’s attempt at Social Media. At the time of this post, their YouTube videos, Facebook posts and Twitter tweets are intermittent at best, and there are numerous employees on LinkedIn without a profile picture. I’m no Social Media guru by any means, but this could use an improvement..
Size. On the home page of RehabCare you’ll find the following:
“RehabCare is the leading provider of rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech-language therapies, to over 2,000 hospitals and long-term care facilities in 46 states. We are the premier provider of rehab throughout the full continuum of care, including long-term acute care hospitals, nursing and rehabilitation centers, inpatient acute rehab units, independent rehabilitation facilities and hospice and home care locations.”
Impressive? Sure, especially for those new graduates hungry for a position. Attractive? Likely not for the more experienced therapists that have already worked for corporate America.
Cruise on over to www.RehabChoice.com and you will not find any boasting of its size. However, you will find the following:
“Rehab Choice Incorporated (RCI) is proud to be one of the few privately-held, therapist-owned providers of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology in the United States. Founded in 1980, RCI provides services to patients in skilled nursing facilities, retirement communities, school districts, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and home health agencies.”
So which company is bigger? RehabCare, without a doubt. So if you are making a decision based upon size alone, there’s your answer. But is size synonymous with stability? No. If anything, dynamics are more common in these rehabilitation settings than stability.
What about pay and benefits? These are often critical and determining factors in employee hiring and retainment. In many cases, it’s the therapist who provides benefits for their family.
RehabCare offers the following comprehensive benefit package to its employees:
“As a large and financially viable company, we can offer competitive compensation and a full range of benefits, including health and life insurance, short- and long-term disability, 401(k), flexible spending accounts, tuition assistance and much more.”
So how does RehabChoice stack up? They offer the following benefits package:
- Paid time off
- Bereavement leave
- Jury duty
- Health, Dental and Prescription drug insurance
- Life insurance
- Short-term disability
- Long-term disability
- Professional liability insurance
- 401(k) plan
- Many clinical benefits
- Paid Continuing Education
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, you won’t find mention of a pay scale on either website. If these two companies are commonly confused, and so comparable in their offerings, I’d want to make every effort possible to differentiate myself. So why not talk about your salary offering, even if it is a range based upon X, Y, and Z? We offer our pay ranges on our website, and if you are in the know with what people are looking for when they visit your website, you would too. Just ask The Sales Lion, he’ll tell you why. J
Experience matters. After all, if I’m gonna take my car to a mechanic – it’s gonna go to the experienced one. Not the new guy on the block that just got out of lugnut school. Same goes with rehabilitation and your first job. You want to go with someone that knows what the heck they are doing. RehabCare goes back to 1982. RehabChoice was founded in 1980. Pretty darn close. A significant difference? Doubtful.
Litigation. Yep, that ugly elephant in the room that no-one wants to talk about. Lawsuits and the implied ethical (or lack thereof) conduct of business that goes along with those. The following is found on a Google search of “RehabCare Lawsuits”. The entire first page of my Google search for this term has stories about lawsuits involving RehabCare. And I didn’t care to explore the second page. Now, don’t get me wrong, a larger company does expose itself to more opportunities for litigation. It’s like me working in my wood shop after hours…the more I run that table saw, the more opportunities I have to nick my finger on that blade, especially if I’m not using the correct safety equipment.
Do a Google search for “Rehab Choice Lawsuits” and you’ll not find even a single result or story of Rehab Choice involved in a lawsuit. What’s to learn here? Perhaps PTs, OTs, SLPs and beyond should do their homework on their prospective new employer. I often hear that therapists don’t want to expose themselves to litigation, so researching a bit in a manner such as this in just a few short minutes on Google would make sense. Easy, huh?
I think that’s enough for comparison sake, don’t you? Is one company better than the other? Your call, not mine…after all, I’m not a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech therapist. So that’s a decision I don’t have to make, but you may. So please, do your home work so that you can make the best decision possible. Feel free to contact me if you have an interview coming up with one or the other. I’ll be happy to help you figure out the best way to do your “pre-interview” homework. This is something everyone should be doing in this economy.
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What are your thoughts? Is one of these companies better than the other? The comparisons, as least from their websites, certainly have very few differences. Perhaps advanced searching in social media and Google would reveal more. I’d love to hear from you, especially if you’ve worked for one or both of these companies.
Contract Therapist Responsibilities and Summer PRN work
Professionalism: Is it Lost in Rehab Work Today?
I was on the phone this week with a client (facility) of ours discussing their upcoming temporary staffing needs as we approach the summer vacation months. And boy, did they have a lot!
The conversation was going along quite well when suddenly my contact on the other end of the phone started to go on a bit of a rant. I didn’t stop her, for those of you who are members yourselves, Toastmasters teaches you to be a better listener. And this was not the first time I’ve had either a client or therapist vent some frustrations to me over the phone. It makes for a longer conversation, but can also strengthen the relationship if you practice good listening skills and respond with more than a simple “uh, huh”.
This is not an attempt to pick on the client for such. In fact, I’m thrilled that she felt comfortable enough to divulge that information with me. She actually had a very good point. She was having to essentially double back and re-cover staffing that she had previously arranged with her own PRN therapist staff.
Now, this may not be a huge deal in the larger metropolitan areas of St. Louis or Kansas City, but, these locations were in some pretty rural areas of Missouri. So rural, that we are the only staffing company attempting, and sometimes able 
, to assist companies with their needs. These locations can spread the full-time, part-time, and PRN staff very, very thin, causing lots of headache, stress, and consequently, burnout.
The point of her diatribe was pretty dead-on. The coverage she had previously arranged was no longer available. Why? The PRN staff she had these dates covered with had accepted jobs elsewhere, and basically said they couldn’t help anymore.
The problem with what these therapists did is that they have burned a bridge and their word can no longer be trusted by this facility. And the therapy community is really a small world – seems like nearly everyone knows everyone. So word will get around and these therapists that have reneged on their commitments, and they will inevitably someday suffer the consequences of their decision to not fulfill their commitments.
While that’s a pretty bold statement, it’s true. And I can speak on this, because I’ve experienced both ends of this conundrum. Look at my LinkedIn Profile http://www.linkedin.com/in/mulhollandjason and you’ll see that I’ve had several employers. And when changing jobs, I’ve had to be honest about prior responsibilities that were important that I keep. This is all done in the negotiations with your future or new employer. You definitely don’t want to spring this on your new employer on your first day, expecting them to honor your request. I can pretty much guarantee it won’t happen.
Of course, there’s the other side of the coin…and believe me, I’ve also experienced this from the employer’s perspective, both good and bad.
First, I’ll share the good… we often have therapists that accept home health cases or visits. It’s attractive for several reasons, but chief among them is the flexibility it provides. In this particular case, I received a phone call after the physical therapist’s initial evaluation, and she was uncertain whether she could continue the case. The home was filled with smoke, was filthy, and worst of all, there was a baby in that environment. After discussing the situation with the therapist and the agency many times over the next 24 hours after the evaluation, she decided to see the case through, only because the family was nice, and in her heart, she wanted to help the patient…not to mention that it was the right thing to do.
Here is the polar opposite of how to handle a job change if you are a PRN therapist: We had a PTA helping at a facility, and that facility was counting on them for three days a week on a consistent basis. Consistent work is the Holy Grail for most contract therapists. Let me preface this with what I always tell our therapists: if a situation is not right for you, we’ll make a change. All we ask is for the therapist to communicate the issues and afford us the opportunity to improve the situation in one form or another. This PTA made the decision to notify me the evening before what would be her last day – yes, THE. EVENING. BEFORE – just about 12 hours prior to the start of her last shift. That made for a lovely conversation with the facility on my end. But to compound things, the PTA didn’t mention to anyone she was working with that it was her last day, leaving the facility manager in shock and disappointment. If you don’t agree that her reputation is in ruins (along with ours), and that bridge with the facility burned to the ground, then please don’t contact me about PRN work.
I could go on and on about positive and negative handlings of PRN responsibilities and job changes. I’ve experienced both in my short time with Metropolitan Health Staffing Network. Thankfully, more positive than negative, but the latter are the ones that tend to stick with you.
Bottom line, if you commit to something, you should go through with it – at least that’s how my mom raised me J. Like I’ve said before, feel free to call me old fashioned, but this is the correct way to handle your responsibilities. Employers will respect, and most often, will honor your request to keep your previously established responsibilities.
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What are your thoughts? A lot of factors can be involved, but there’s not really a gray area to live in here. This is a subject that you’ll likely agree or disagree with.
