[millkay]

I am an ICU nurse living in northern Oklahoma, interested in working at Via Christi or Wesley. Can anyone tell me about working for these two entities? What's good about them, that's bad about them? Why would one choose one over the other as a full-time employer? Any comments appreciated.

[RoxanRN2003]

I work at Via Christi (St Francis Campus) in the Neuro Critical Care Unit. This is the only facility I've worked at. The only experience I've had with Wesley is as a paramedic taking patients to the ER and as a nursing student in L&D, PP, and high risk.

If you were to ask 10 different people which facility they would go to, it's split about half and half. Each facility to takes some insurances the other doesn't so the city's population is split in that way. There are also people (general population and medical population) who have had a bad experience with one or the other and so will never go back.

Wage wise, they keep each other competative. Wesley will seem to raise their starting wage for new RNs and Via Christi will match it (sometimes plus a few pennies).

Departmentally, there are only a few unique units depending on the facility. Both are a Level I Trauma Center. Wesley has the hyperbaric chamber. Via Christi has the state's only Burn Center and was recently certified as a Primary Stroke CareCenter by JCAHO (the only one in the central US if I'm not mistaken). Both facilities have Level III NICUs (Via Christi's is on the St Joseph Campus). University of Kansas Medical School keeps residents only in the Via Christi system (cost measures forced them to chose one facility over the other).

There are also other speciality hospitals in the area - Galichia Heart Hospital, Kansas Heart Hospital, Kansas Spine Hospital and Wesley is building a free standing ER and diagnostic center in west Wichita. I don't know any information about them.

[millkay]

Thanks for your detailed reply. That's the kind of stuff only some one from the town might know. Touring each facility this week. Thanks again.

[RoxanRN2003]

Gotta give a shameless plug for my unit (Neuro Critical Care) We are hiring. Have several night slots open (I'm a night shifter). Also looking to staff a neuro stepdown within the unit.

Another tidbit of info.... The CVICU (staffed as a stepdown) will be 'transforming' into a Cardio-Thoracic Intensive Care Unit sometime in the next year. I know there will be many openings as the patient load will change (going from 4:1 to 2:1) and several nurses don't want to work a 'regular' ICU.

[SherBearRN]

I've worked at Wesley, but only did clinicals at Via Christi while I was in nursing school. My personal opinion is to apply at Via Christi and stay away from Wesley. Wesley is part of HCA, a for-profit hospital. You can probably do a search on this board and find out all kinds of things about HCA. I don't know what area of ICU you are interested in, but RoxanRN2003's unit is a good unit. I have a couple of classmates who currently work there.

[millkay]

Thanks for your input Sherbear. I've been wondering about the for-profit thing.

[RoxanRN2003]

millkay........ How did your tours go?

[millkay]

Pretty good. Being the work-a-holic that I am, I'm going to work at Wesley's MICU for now and then apply for a part-time at the Neuro or Sugrical ICU at Via Christi in a month or so.

[RoxanRN2003]

I'll be looking for you............

[SherBearRN]

Here's an article that was posted today on the Wichita Eagle's website about Wesley Medical Center. Apparently a lawsuit was filed a year ago claiming a patient died due to an insufficient amount of nurses. Having worked there, I completely understand. I had as many as 14 patients on night shift.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/14313755.htm