HEALTH CARE

Health Care Job Help: David Anast, publisher of the Biomedical Market Newsletter in Costa Mesa, knows how hard it is for some professionals even to find a job these days, much less land one with benefits.

Out of work himself just two years ago, Anast decided recently to scrounge through his overstuffed Rolodex and file cabinets to put together a list of medical industry executive search firms. The directory offers information that could help out-of-work technicians, engineers, administrators--just about anybody in the health care or biomedical fields.

The result of his effort is an exhaustive--he says the only--directory of medical industry search companies. The directory, released Friday, lists 226 such firms and includes their addresses, phone numbers and a 50-word description of each company. The 112-page reference book costs $45.

Just days after the directory was printed, Anast said, he has sold all 500 copies and has now ordered a second press run. Medical executives who have lost their jobs in the recession or fear that they might be laid off can now check out companies as far away as New England.

“I always get calls from out-of-work people asking for help,” Anast said. “This really was something that was needed.”