[Tyryztoll]

Wasn't sure whether Howell was considered metro Detroit or not, so posted in both forums. Is SJM Livingston a good place to work? Specifically want to know if it's a stable place financially and what kind of insurance they offer employees - thanks!

[zthatzmanz28]

HOWL is a great place to live and work. I am thinking it is the one midway between Brighton and Howell on Grand River? If so, there is a brand new mega-church right across the street--complete with a Starbucks or some type of cafe.

Everytime I drive by the parking lot is full of cars.

Stability is relative. I was teaching at a facility that had been around nearly 75 years. How much stability can a place have? I did not finish my 4th year when it went down and went from 150 employees to 20 within 5 months.

Wouldn't a hospital have really good insurance??

[Cliffie]

It's a very stable job -- people stay there for decades -- and the benefits are apparently quite good. There are two St. Joe's outlets in Livingston County, one in Brighton (the Woodland center) and one in Howell (the micro-mini hospital), both with full-service ERs (although only the Howell one has psychiatric social workers, for some reason). The Howell one is the only one where they will do actual surgeries and overnight stays and stuff -- it is on the same side street (Byron Rd) with most of the MD offices in the area. The Woodland Center is more of a complex of specialists' offices, but it also has a lab, a mammography center and stuff like that. The hospital proper is tiny as a dollhouse, but they are looking to rebuild and expand considerably. I have not had a client or personally knew anyone who worked at SJML for years, but the last time I did they had a good benefits package with, unfortunately, a lousy HMO for health insurance. The benefits covered were good but providers were thin on the ground. I want to reiterate that that was about 10 years ago.

[missholly24]

I worked there for a while. (I work in the float pool for St Joes and now just work at main) It is a great little hospital with awesome employees. Only two floors one has a small ICU in it. Their are always rumors that it will close, but it is a part of the bigger St Joes health system so you could always transfer if something crazy happens and it closes. Not sure about the benefits, I didn't use them.

[Tyryztoll]

Thanks for the replies. My interview went great, but they wanted someone who could start immediately, while I still needed to pack up our house and move, so won't be working there.

They were not very convincing when I asked them about the financial stability of the hospital, and so I'm not sure I would have taken the job even if it had been offered. Last thing I need is to move my family somewhere and then get laid off or have my employer shut down.

I tell you what, though.....we LOVED Howell. Beautiful area......very Rockwellesque town center, great location between the bigger cities. Will definitely be considering Howell in the future, even if I have to commute.