Davita

sctraveler · Feb 28, 2009

What company do you work for? You can send info to my personal email [email protected]. Thanks in advance.

seasonednrs123 · Mar 23, 2009

Your post gives me hope. I have been a nurse since 1979 and have not found my niche yet. I have my first interview this wednesday with Davita in St. Louis, Mo area. I am nervous but excited too. I've read so many bad things on these posts about Devita, and so I hope my experience is more like yours. Thanks for the positive note!

DialysisTech76 · Oct 31, 2009

I work for a DaVita in Florida. 16 chair unit, 4/1 ratio, FA is great, charge nurse does not take patients, we have a PCT and LPN for each 8 chairs. So each day we have 1 RN, 2 LPNs, 2 PCTs and a reuse/PCT for 16 patients. PCTs are allowed to take care of cath patients. The FA and AA order all supplies. We have never been told to cut down on using supplies or do we ever run out. Nurses work hard as do the PCTs. The only person that runs the unit is the FA (non nurse). We do have techs that have been there for along time, they know the patients and are asked how they would do things by the charge nurse. The final say comes form the FA or the charge nurse. I have had no problems with DaVita. Pay is good and so are the benifits. I pay $52 each pay period for my benifits which includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability. A job is what you make of it. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

corky1272RN · Nov 6, 2009

That is wonderful that everything is working out great for you, but I have come to realize that the management is what makes or breaks a clinic. Your FA and AA seem to be doing a great job however it is not like that at all the Davita clinics. I felt like I had put up with a lot because I liked who I worked with and liked the pts. The whip that broke the camel's back was when the clinic was super short staffed, the FA had already worked on the floor a few days in a row (not including the doing her own work), the whole clinic had put up with a lot, the manager over the FA (forgot the name)was making a lot of changes on aesthetics on the clinic, just let me say that it had been a few very bad weeks. Any way the manager kept on me and the FA about getting the monthly or yearly assessments done in the computer (remember we have shiftly assessments on all the pts), these computer assessments had been building up from the previous FA who left, mgr said that me and the current FA would be written up if they were not done. Other clinics had float nurses come in to help so they could get the assessments done, but she would not do that for us. At my clinic, turnover is very high. In the year I was there about 5-6 pcts, 3or4 LVNs, and a few Rns, and 2 FAs have come and gone, just in the 1yr that I was there. That should say something. Anyway, good luck:paw:

woreoutandtired · May 23, 2010

You probably work at a small facility because anyone working in a facility with more then 3 shifts every other day knows that it is a difficult task to obtain a perfect DQI score in all areas. I have worked with Davita for 10 years and patient satisfaction is not a priority. Its difficult to care for patients when you have no supplies because your over on a budget that is designed to cover only 3/4 of your patients total. Perhaps our corporate managers don't mind giving out a what seems to be a drop in the bucket compared to their million dollar bonuses. It makes me sick every time I recieve on of those annual reports in the mail. The only thing that comes to mind during that time is how I had to figure out how to make a bandaid out of gauze and office tape!

ARD, MS · Jan 21, 2011

How much does the FA at Davita make with experience?

ARD, MS · Jan 21, 2011

I work for a DaVita in Florida. 16 chair unit, 4/1 ratio, FA is great, charge nurse does not take patients, we have a PCT and LPN for each 8 chairs. So each day we have 1 RN, 2 LPNs, 2 PCTs and a reuse/PCT for 16 patients. PCTs are allowed to take care of cath patients. The FA and AA order all supplies. We have never been told to cut down on using supplies or do we ever run out. Nurses work hard as do the PCTs. The only person that runs the unit is the FA (non nurse). We do have techs that have been there for along time, they know the patients and are asked how they would do things by the charge nurse. The final say comes form the FA or the charge nurse. I have had no problems with DaVita. Pay is good and so are the benifits. I pay $52 each pay period for my benifits which includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long term disability. A job is what you make of it. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

How much does the FA at Davita make with experience?

NDXUFan · Apr 11, 2011

I guess it depends on your state regulation for staffing also as I have visited all 5 clinics in my area and they all run pretty much the same and all have different FA's. We were limited to 4:1 ration and it sucks! Charge nurse took pts and being the only licensed in the building was no hay ride. I drive an hour to go to another employer not associated with Davita now. I have been there 6 weeks now and am astounded at the differences. I have yet to see the charge take pts, have less than 3 nurses and 2 techs on floor. Yes we have 4 more chairs but even when census drops the staffing doesnt get cut. I feel respected and the nurses actually make the decisions not the PCT's. Also that 3 grand retention bonus - I get 50% match on 401K that I didnt get at Davita and in the long term it will pan out much more money than that 3 grand. I was careful to have my accountant look at numbers and he literally laughed at what Davita had to offer to help look towards retirement. My insurance is the same exact company and plan for 1/2 of what I paid out of my check at Davita. They also pay me mileage if I have to go between a clinic to help. They also dont stand for the pt's abusing the staff like I put up with the 11 months I was with Davita. I have been a nurse a long long time and it was the worse company I have ever encountered. Budget meant much more than pt care or the health and happiness of it's nurses. Did I mention I make $10,000 more a year than Davita also and that's just the starting pay. I was also shocked to see I currently have pts' that drive that hour to where I am now just to avoid Davita clinics. To me that says much more when I hear it from the pt's themselves when they have 5 clinics closer to them and still refuse to utilize. Oh and I dont have to use all my PTO first if I get sick lol. I get to use "sick time".

It sounds like you are doing well, great to hear.

Keshawn, RN · Jun 28, 2011

Da Vita Sucks!!!!