News
ST. PETERSBURG
Audrey Abreu came to Florida seven months ago looking for love and sunshine.
A veteran health care worker, she never imagined it would be hard to find a job. She wouldn't even consider taking something part time that would have her up before dawn.
She saw — and ignored — an ad for the 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. shift as a lab technician at Bayfront Medical Center.
Then came the months of failed job searching, the self-doubt and fear, the anxious calls from her family and a collapsed romance.
The same $12-an-hour job at Bayfront came open again. She went after the job as if it were a lifeline, finally got it and found that her attitude toward the early shift had changed.
"Now it's like 4 a.m. is sweet as honey, I feel so blessed," said Abreu, 46. "I have been totally, totally humbled."
Looking for work in this economy can do that, even when, like Abreu, you're in the health care field, which has done better than most other sectors during the recession.
She had 10 years in health care, the last four at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington as a nurse's assistant, secretary and lab technician.
Then last winter, Abreu met a man on an online dating site. His name was Craig Pittman, a former pro wrestler who is now a Hillsborough County detention deputy.
There was talk of marriage, a new life of white beaches and blue skies. Abreu, as a professional with lots of experience and great references, thought finding work would be easy.
She moved to St. Petersburg in early March and reality hit. Abreu began to apply, without success, to hospitals and other medical service providers.
"I came down here and said UK Medical Center, and they thought I worked in Great Britain," Abreu said. "Nobody here cares about UK Medical Center."
She lived on $7,000 in savings, which was evaporating fast. Abreu ate rice and beans and scrounged for change to get coffee at a downtown Starbucks, which she used as an office.
Abreu said she landed five interviews during her months looking for work. She was one of four finalists out of 50 applicants for a job as a phlebotomy technician at Tampa General Hospital, she said.
Yet no work materialized. She berated herself for having left a secure job. Her mother and other family members began to wonder whether she was really looking for work.
Without health insurance, she feared that something as simple as a bad toothache could ruin her.
She started each day with hope, only to have it dashed when there were no call backs by the end of the day.
Feeling depressed, Abreu said she volunteered with the Salvation Army, preparing and serving food to homeless people to give her some perspective.
That helped, but the strain was too much, and her relationship suffered. She and Pittman separated a few weeks ago.
"I think I just got freaked out about losing my independence," she said. "I started to get possessive of stupid stuff like the remote."
She pushed on, determined not to fail.
"I just didn't want to give up," she said. "I didn't want to get chewed up and spit out by Florida."
Then, three job offers came over the course of a single week. More money and better hours were promised elsewhere, but she had committed to Bayfront.
"She was very persistent," said Bayfront recruiter Jenny Armstrong. "She did plenty of applications, and we were on the phone constantly."
Even with rent of just $495 per month, 20 hours a week at $12 an hour won't go far. Abreu knows a second job, maybe in food service, will be necessary.
Still, she has got health insurance again, and she has got a toehold back in her chosen field.
Abreu has a message for those who gripe about their jobs these days: Consider the alternative.
"After what I've been through," she said, "I can't even fathom complaining about anything at work ever again."
Abreu begins her orientation at Bayfront on Monday.
Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4166.
Loading...
