“Why do you want to work for Huntsville Hospital?” A Lesson in (dis)honesty.

Honesty… is it ALWAYS the best policy?

Recently, I’ve found that some search engine terms which have led to this blog include this question “Why do you want to work at Huntsville Hospital“?

In Huntsville, Alabama – where I resided for many years – there are ONLY TWO hospitals in town.

One, Huntsville Hospital, is a public not-for-profit, and the other, a much smaller Crestwood Medical Center, is a private, for-profit hospital.

Many of the professors and instructors at the Nursing School from which I graduated have privately expressed their frustrations to their students, and to me, about Huntsville Hospital’s virtual monopoly on the hospital-based healthcare delivery in Huntsville, AL.

Part of that problem stems in large part from Alabama’s Certificate Of Need law, and the CON Board.

The CON law AUTOMATICALLY establishes enemies, requires VERY DEEP pocket$, and prolongs any attempt to meet healthcare needs. Analogously, it’d be like a man being forced by law to go before a judge to beg, “Please, your honor… may I build a grocery store to feed these hungry people!?” And then, there’d be an entire array of people whom oppose him. Ironically, those who oppose him also want to build grocery stores. And they have to do the same stupid thing… fight before a judge. (Who says laws are bad? They’re good for corporate lawyers! Because they put untold BILLIONS in the pockets of large prestigious law firms… which are ultimately paid for by you, the person whom uses the hospital.)

If you’re any kind of follower of news, you may recall that former Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted (in my opinion, wrongfully – and in the opinion of 50+ states attorney’s general, and others) of a quid pro quo, in which former Governor Siegelman was accused of quite literally selling a seat on the CON Board to Richard Scrushy.

Never mind that Scrushy had been previously appointed to a seat on the CON Board by two former governors of two different parties, and that Scrushy had already publicly expressed his reticence and reluctance to serve again. And never mind that a man whom was a convicted perjurer was coached extensively by the FBI – which is against the law – to say certain things (lies) to a Federal Grand Jury when asked about the issues and circumstances surrounding Scrushy and Siegelman.

The CON Board and law should be eliminated, not only for that reason, but for the very reason that Congress quickly abandoned it after they passed it some years ago.

Why?

The Government Accounting Office found that the law did not accomplish the things it was designed to do – lower healthcare costs! The only state that refused to enact any kind of CON law was Louisiana. All other 49 states enacted some form of CON law. And in the time in which Congress abandoned the law, little by little, the 49 states that did enact some type of CON law have either abandoned or made major modifications to the ineffective law.

Alabama, however, has not.

But, enough of that.

You wanted to know about honesty, and specifically “Why do you want to work at Huntsville Hospital?”

Truthfully, I don’t know.

I’ve never worked there.

And God willing, I never will.

There are an entire host of things I could write about them, including their “good ol’ boy” system, how their recruiters like Tanya Renee Gaines, RN (AL License 1-048492) and others treated me disrespectfully, and the like, but I’ll refrain. Anything I have already written about them can be found on this blog, and is NOT opinion.

The TRUTHFUL answer one should give to the question “Why do you want to work for Huntsville Hospital?” is this: Because I need a job – there are only two hospitals in town, you’re the biggest, and therefore ought to have the most jobs and opportunity.

Of course, that might not be pretty enough.

Make sure you mention “opportunity.”

They like to read stuff like that.

But then, if you’re all about opportunity, you’ll drive to work somewhere else… like I did.

On the whole, if you’re looking for work as a new Nurse (some call it graduate Nurse, or Nurse graduate), I would encourage you to look elsewhere. Get a license in AL first, then you can look for work in other states.

Then maybe you’ll say, “The best view I ever saw of Alabama, was it in my rear view mirror.”

Good luck, and God Bless you in your efforts! I’ll keep you in my thoughts, and prayers.

Remember… winners never quit, and quitters never win.

So, whatever you do… DO NOT QUIT!

(A final note, if you respond to this entry – and I encourage you to do so – for your benefit, I will reply discretely, and offer whatever additional advice I may have.)