Reorganized, downsized, and out the door!

[mamabear]

I worked at a satellite facility comprised of 2 psych units: child & adolescent and adult. On 3/3/05, our main hospital abruptly and with less than 2 days warning, closed the kids' unit. It had been a financial disaster almost from day 1, but it provided a vitally needed service to the community. So as not to single out just kids' unit staff, the suits "reorganized" staff, totally eliminating 27 of 51 positions. It was devastating, to say the least :angryfire Our "generous severance package" was a joke: one weeks' pay for each year of service, and whatever vacation time we had coming to us. The available jobs at sister facilities were either already filled or suitable for only a few staff: what is an educational therapist anyway? A teacher's aide? A psych tech that sits in on the classroom sessions to protect the teachers?

My point is: has anyone else faced a similar rude event? How did you deal with it, if you've been able to? I registered for unemployment the next day and signed up with the state job seekers service, but I'm still reeling. There were several staff working while going to college, some who were the sole support of their families. My husband and I had just bought a house less than 2 weeks before "Bloody Thursday", as it is now known. Anyway, I'm mad as hell :angryfire

[Kyriaka]

I am changing careers to nursing, so have never been downsized in this field.

However, I have been downsized many times in the corporate world (mergers happen aprx. every 3 years).

As hard as it is, here are some tips:

Never burn your bridges. As much as you are angry, as much as you are hurt, keep a smile on your face.

Send a thank you note/gift to your boss and a letter to the hospital "powers that be" thanking them for the opportunity for working for the organization.

When it comes to references...it will pay off.

Some things you cannot control and some things you can.

[mamabear]

I hesitate to ask this question because I do not want to start up another debate, but I am very much curious. If you are with a strong union, are they able to protect you from some of these reorganizations and downsizings? Do they at least force the hospital to give a more adequate notice, or are even the strongest of unions unable to do anything about this? I hope I don't cause a hijacking of this thread. :chair:

I live in a small town/rural area of Northwest Indiana and we weren't unionized. Some of us wanted to investigate it further, but we were told: Catholic hospitals don't unionize; unions were only for "problem areas" (Gary, Indianapolis); there aren't any "nurse unions" (Nurses employed at the steel mills are in the steel workers' unions, there's AFSCME and SEIU, and I've heard of the Teamsters representing nurses). After a while, we got the hint, especially after vague rumors floated down from HR that it would be "frowned upon": nothing on paper, of course.

[mamabear]

I was working PRN at Charter Behavioral when they closed... I think it was 50 hospitals. I was ready to get out anyway, but patients had to be discharged or transferred.

Some of my former coworkers had been at the 2 Charter hospitals in the area and they got the ax big time Some of them waited years to get whatever wages were do them. After this latest rude event, several of them talked about getting out of hospital nursing entirely.