Our Next Assignment, and the Fun that Ensues

You know, I had started this post a couple of weeks ago, as you probably guessed from the fact that I said I would have an announcement soon. We had been working with Brynn's recruiter, and had nailed down our next assignment, and were just waiting for the contract to come in. That contract came in, and we were all set. Or so we thought...

Turns out that there is a clause in her contract with the facility she is working at (and apparently all facilities she works with) that allow them the opportunity to end the contract early for a number of reasons. This list of reasons includes low patient census. Now you'd think, well, that not having a lot of patients in the hospital is a good thing, right? And it is. We definitely think it is. But that said, the facility she is working for did, in fact, ask to end her contract early, for this very reason. So our time in Michigan is actually coming to a sooner end than we had initially anticipated.

Now, this came as a complete surprise to us that it could even happen. Her recruiter even said that it was extremely unusual, since it is very rare that a facility brings in a traveling physical therapist, and finds that they don't have a need for them during the assignment. Both the facility, and her recruiter, made it very clear that it was not a reflection on the work she had done.

This left her recruiter (and us) scrambling. Her last day at her assignment in Michigan would be 12/4. The new assignment that he had already lined up would not start until 1/4/10. A month without work, simply put, was not an acceptable option.

Another issue came from the fact that each state has its own licensing process for physical therapists. Currently, Brynn holds a Michigan license, and her original California license. Anywhere that he would have to look would have to either be one of those two states, or be a state where they could be reasonably sure that they would be able to quickly get her a license.

Over the past 2 weeks, they worked on finding her an assignment, and were able to get the final touches put on the contract for it late last week. Unfortunately, the previously committed assignment (starting in January), was no longer where we would be going.

Instead, we are now going to:

Murray, Kentucky

Now, you may ask, where is Murray, Kentucky? Here.

Murray is:

Home to Murray State University (and their D-1 sports programs)
About 3.5 hours to Memphis, TN
About 2.5 hours to Nashville, TN or Evansville, IN
About 4 hours to St. Louis, MO
About 8 hours from here in South Haven, MI

You can find more information about them here: Wikipedia, City of Murray

Now, you may notice, that this town doesn't appear to be a whole lot bigger than South Haven. We're alright with this. And the main reason is Murray State itself. The college pretty much ensures a couple of things:

1. There's going to be work in the area, due to the need to support the college.
   
2. There are going to be things to do and things to see, due to the college being there.
3. There are bound to be a lot of people around our age there, due to the college.
4. Murray State is a division 1 school for athletics. This means that there is a possibility that they will be playing meaningful basketball games in early February through March. Also the potential for some baseball and softball games to watch as well.

So, we now know where our adventure is going to lead us next. I'm hoping to have a few more posts in the coming week.