Jobless.... :o(

“Well... it's official now... the ambulance service I *used* to work for in Northern Alberta has shut down/gone bankrupt/closed their doors forever.

The native reserve that owns the ambulance service decided it wasn't making a big enough profit(never mind the fact it was only started 1.5 years ago & had a gigantic debt load from the ex-owner) for them to keep it running. We got a phone call of all things from our boss, who told all of us last night that we were out of jobs as of that point in time. No severance pay, no vacation pay, nothing. We finally convinced them this afternoon to reimburse us for our last paychecks that went NSF... thank G-d for that! Now at least my bank account isn't $1300 overdrawn anymore...

Aside from the fact I'm out of a job(minute in the whole scheme of things), they now have no ambulance coverage for the entire area. That's okay if you've cut your thumb, but what about the 10 year old kid who flips his quad, crushes his skull & face and has to be airlifted to the hospital in the city... or the old guy who's had a stroke & then sat in his pickup truck all night because everyone else is too wrapped up in their own lives to care?

I worry about them... and everyone else who'll be left out in the cold when they have a true emergency, call 911 and get told "Sorry, there's no ambulance in your area anymore. You'll have to get to the hospital yourself."

What gives??? (AAAAARGH!!!!!) >:-[”

“my sympathies medic_girl - I was almost in the same position - tptb are moving the tech support hotline I work for to Edmonton and have given noticed to 3/4 of the people I work with that they are to be layed off in the next few months after they train their replacements in theory. I don't know which is worse - to be layed off or to have to stay and watch your friends leave. In my case I have no real idea what the f I will be doing in six months - probably get layed off too - the company I work for is somewhat known for getting rid of their older employees before they retire - I'm 52 with 29 years of service and need to get to 55 - it is unlikely I will make it.”

“Medicgirl and HOI - I feel for you both and am sorry this is happening.

Medic, I have a friend who is a paramedic and the service he works for recently came this close <---------> to losing their contract.

It can't be fun either HOI training your replacements or your friends' replacement. That stinks!

I'll be thinking of you two and others in the same predicament.

Take care!”

“Medic -

I'm real sorry to hear about your recent events. I hope that everything works out.”

“Sorry to hear that medic_girl. Big reorganization at work being announced on Tuesday. I may be in the same boat pretty soon. In the meantime, I'm studying like a madman trying to update certifications so I'll be more marketable.”

“Sorry to hear about the news Medic_Girl and HogOnIce. Hope things turn out well for you guys.

But this begs the question; is this the beginning of "The Fall of Western Society?" Right now we (North America) are at the top of the ladder in every department. But our schools, hospitals, justice system and government etc. seem to be falling apart. Plus big companies and banks merging together to form monopolies. Causing some of the layoffs and getting rid of the competition.

Maybe we're going the same route as previous grand civilizations ie. Rome, China, Greece and Egypt etc. History will repeat itself unfortunately.”

“Interesting point Stan... have we taken ourselves so close to the edge that we're actually starting to fall off now? It's like that game(can't remember what it's called) where you take wooden sticks stacked in a tower & pull the ones from the bottom & middle to build up the top. Sooner or later the foundation becomes unstable & the whole stack falls over. Hmmmm....
HOI & Ski... I'm sorry to hear that... it's gotta be hard having spent so much of your life giving to one company only to be told you're 'outdated'!”

“It's called Jenga (the game I mean)”

“Maybe it should be called "Greed". That's what's happening in society right now...everybody is looking out for themselves...not for the whole country or world as a whole.”

“I know the feeling...been laid off for about 4 weeks-can we say SUCK!!!! Financial services is not a secure industry.”

“Thanx Centavo! I realized that when I went to the toy store today... honestly, it wasn't for me... really! ;-)”

“Medic Girl, I can sympathize with you. I got laid off about five months ago, or about 2 weeks after I graduated (sucks to be me). Just this last month have I gotten promising noises from employers. Don't get discouraged. As long as human nature persists, there will be a need for paramedics and EMTs.”