Select Specialty Hospital

Ortho_RN · Jun 26, 2003

I am interested in hearing about them also... I went to a meeting about them and they make the working environment sound wonderful.... Good Nurse to patient Ratio, Good OT pay... etc...

I am suppose to talk with them the sooner it gets to graduation... Not sure if I want to jump in that deep right out of school..

Too me it seems like an extended stay ICU..

renerian, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2003

I agree they seem like an extended care ICU. Complex/fragile/lots of vents/wounds I hear. I hope someone comes forward. Thanks nurs2b for replying.

renerian

txsugarlvn · Jun 26, 2003

I worked at Select Specialty through a local nursing agency. I loved it there. The nurses were so great. The nurse to patient ratio was low. None of the nurses I talked to had complaints. The patients there were not sick enough to stay in a regular hospital setting but still required more acute care than is available in a nursing home, rehab facility, etc. They were not candidates for SNF either. It's a special category because the patients don't really fit a specific group or LOC. I enjoyed it. One day I worked there just happened to be St. Patrick's Day and the DON as well as the Charge Nurse and the CEO were all there making a breakfast for the staff. All green of course but quite good. :)

The Select Specialty here in San Antonio is located within the Baptist Hospital but has an entirely separate Board of Directors, CEO, DON, staff, etc.

I don't know about OT or the exact pay scale. My pay was through agency so it's not a realistic quote of what regular staff gets paid.

Ortho_RN · Jun 26, 2003

Are you considering working there??? I am really thinking about it.. The manager says it is tough on a new grad, just b/c patients are so sick.. She said they don't normally take new grads, but she might make an acception once she talks to a few of my instructors... I just hope I don't make a mistake and get to far in over my head if I do take a job there

Zee_RN, BSN, RN · Jun 26, 2003

All I know about SS is that they are an extended acute care facility. We send patients there directly from our ICU...those patients that are now long-term vent patients, extensive wound care patients, etc. I don't have a clue as to what it is like to work there. There's definitely a great need for facilities such as Select Specialty, though.

flowerchild · Jun 26, 2003

I went to a meeting during the planning stages for our county and how they would deal with the rising numbers of patients requiring hospital stays as baby boomers fill the beds. Numbers of beds not equal to the need. Hard for me not to remember all the hospitals around here that were bought up and closed down by the big corporate health giant that came to our area a few years ago. GRRRRR. Decision was to use nursing homes, sub-acute centers and rehab facilities to fill in the gaps. They started training emergency staff to d/c the patients directly to the SNFs. We talked about changing the ratios so as to handle the demands of the higher acuity patients. We also talked about how we would meet the demands for nursing considering the shortage..........they just shrugged their shoulders. The sub acute I worked for already had vents and large wounds and a full census. I quit working for the sub acute before they actually implemented the plan so I'm not sure how it's going now. I don't think nor have I heard that the sub acutes and SNF's changed anything except the acuity levels of the patients and the amounts they could bill for.

renerian, The facility you are looking at sounds great though. Is it new or established?

renerian, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2003

Wow I am so glad people responded to me! Thanks so much everyone. Yes I am considering working there. Day 12s. They are an established center with 30 beds, some private. They have their own pharmacy, 24 hour RT, own staff. There are 4 soon to be 6 of them in this area. The one I am considering working for is at the Grant Medical Center which is a level one trauma center in the downtown inner city area of Columbus. The nurse manager was honest she said I could learn alot about traumas because they have a trauma center there and alot of the clients transfer to them. The staff looked happy and you sure do not see that everywhere. She said the most common ratio is 5 patients to one RN and one nurse tech which is akin to a PCA. I worked hem/onc/bmt so I have a good base of knowledge and comfort already.

Again thanks everyone..........

renerian

renerian, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2003

I am getting lots of good feedback on this topic at delphi forums.

renerian

Ortho_RN · Jun 27, 2003

how do I get there??

renerian, BSN, RN · Jun 27, 2003

http://www.delphiforums.com

search for traveling nurses..........

Alot of people from that forum emailed me directly

renerian

Ortho_RN · Jun 27, 2003

Cool.. Have they had good things to say about it??