Kootenai Medical Center?

lindarn · Jul 29, 2007

Hello Folks
I am an Idaho native currently living in Wisconsin. I live here because after I got out of the army I was offered a full ride scholarship to a nursing school in exchange for a contract with the hospital I currently work at. My contract will be up soon and my wife and I want to move back to Idaho. However I haven't lived in Idaho for about 15 years. I know the state has changed and that real estate prices have risen dramatically and that the northern area of the state is growing rapidly. I am from the south eastern part of the state and we are interested in moving to the northern part of Idaho. I am an ICU/ER nurse and would like to stay in ICU or ER. I am interested in the Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, or another hospital in the area.
Does anyone have any insight as to what this place is like to work? Any idea what RN pay is there? Any comments about the area? Your help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I haved just interviewed at Kootenai Medical Center about a week ago. I know nurses who have worked there, and they have liked it. However, Northern Idaho is strongly Republican, and VERY ANTI UNION.

When I asked about staff ratios in ICU, I was told that MOST of the time it is 1:2 patients. But OCCASIONALLY the ICU nurses have to take three patients. They also are now using travelers, which they have never had to do. They are a magnet facility, but I question some things. If they are a magnet facility, how can they "sometimes" staff 3:1 in ICU? And why do they need travelers? There are three schools of nursing within 50 miles of there, including North Idaho College, right next door.

I am not sure about the pay, but I know for sure that it is less than Washington State, and Spokane. Have you tried Tri Cities? Kadlec is growing, and offering great benefits. Look them up.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

PMFB-RN, RN · Jul 29, 2007

I haved just interviewed at Kootenai Medical Center about a week ago. I know nurses who have worked there, and they have liked it. However, Northern Idaho is strongly Republican, and VERY ANTI UNION.

*** Sounds like the same old Idaho :)

When I asked about staff ratios in ICU, I was told that MOST of the time it is 1:2 patients. But OCCASIONALLY the ICU nurses have to take three patients. They also are now using travelers, which they have never had to do. They are a magnet facility, but I question some things. If they are a magnet facility, how can they "sometimes" staff 3:1 in ICU? And why do they need travelers?

*** I currently work in a magnet hospital ICU and we occasionally have to take 3 patient loads. I have done it twice in the last 6 months. ABout 25% of our RNs in the ICU are travelers. Separate issue I know, but magnet mean nothing to me and I am unimpressed when told by recruiters "Oh we are a Magnet hospital!" Whne I hear that I think "so what?".

There are three schools of nursing within 50 miles of there, including North Idaho College, right next door.

*** That is interesting. One has to wonder why they have so many openings and use travelers?

I am not sure about the pay, but I know for sure that it is less than Washington State, and Spokane. Have you tried Tri Cities? Kadlec is growing, and offering great benefits. Look them up.

*** Thats for the tip but I was stationed at Ft. Lewis for years and and familiar with the tri cities area. Not really what I am looking for. I fully understand that by choosing to work in a small rural hospital I will be giving up the top pay. On the other hand I am not willing to work for peanuts.

Thanks for the reply

brissie · Jul 31, 2007

The ICU at KMC is a 14 bed unit that for the most part is usually full. The hospital recently hired a new manager of ICU/CCU/PCU. They have huge staffing issues however, not enough nurses etc etc. They do use travellers. The pay, thanks to recent pay raises, is comparable with the larger hospitals in Spokane, new grad RN making just under $24 an hour. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful yet the area has artificially inflated housing prices right now, hopefully a slump is on the way!

lindarn · Jul 31, 2007

The ICU at KMC is a 14 bed unit that for the most part is usually full. The hospital recently hired a new manager of ICU/CCU/PCU. They have huge staffing issues however, not enough nurses etc etc. They do use travellers. The pay, thanks to recent pay raises, is comparable with the larger hospitals in Spokane, new grad RN making just under $24 an hour. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful yet the area has artificially inflated housing prices right now, hopefully a slump is on the way!

Why is there such a staffing shortage there? There are schools of nursing in Idaho, and right over the border in Spokane. I haven't heard back from them, and it had been two weeks.

I don't know that I want to work where there is even a chance of having to take three patients in the ICU. I will see if I get the job.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washigton

PMFB-RN, RN · Jul 31, 2007

The ICU at KMC is a 14 bed unit that for the most part is usually full. The hospital recently hired a new manager of ICU/CCU/PCU. They have huge staffing issues however, not enough nurses etc etc.

*** Do you (or anyone else know) do they have a weekender program?

brissie · Jul 31, 2007

Staffing issues currently center around the amount of experienced staff. The ICU receives post open heart patients for the first 24 hours before they are transferred to the CCU if they are stable enough. They average about 1 open heart a day but there are only 6 nurses, give or take, in the unit who are trained to care for these pts. They have hired a number of newer nurses recently and put them through a pretty good orientation but it still takes them a couple of years to be able to be comfortable with really critical patients. As for 3:1, this is extremely rare and definetly does not happen if you have a really sick pt who will more likely be a 1:1. 3:1 may occur for a couple of hours or so while the third pt is waiting to be transferred to the floor but definetly not for an entire shift.

dmdmd · Nov 9, 2007

My husband is looking at going to work at Gonzaga, and I will be following. I have lots of nursing experience, and am working on a MSN (FNP). We really want to find a place in a smaller town or outside of town with some land near Spokane, and I need a job, on days. I have an 8th Grade boy. So, I need advice on a good town to live in, a place to work, and decent schools. Any ideas?Thanks!

By the way, I am interested in working at Kootenai because I don't want to work in a big town like Spokane!

lindarn · Nov 10, 2007

My husband is looking at going to work at Gonzaga, and I will be following. I have lots of nursing experience, and am working on a MSN (FNP). We really want to find a place in a smaller town or outside of town with some land near Spokane, and I need a job, on days. I have an 8th Grade boy. So, I need advice on a good town to live in, a place to work, and decent schools. Any ideas?Thanks!
By the way, I am interested in working at Kootenai because I don't want to work in a big town like Spokane!

Spokane is not big. In fact, Coeur D'Alene has grown tremendously in the past ten years, and has become commercialized with the CoeurD'Alene Resort. The pay is also less in Idaho, and it is a VERY ANTI UNION STATE!!

You might try Medical Lake or Cheney. There are two State Hospitals there- Eastern State, a psychiatric facility, and Lakeland Village, for developementally disabled. You can work supplemental, pick your shifts, until you get a job on days, and after working a year, or so, you can start to get benefits. There is land out by Medical Lake, and Cheney, and both towns are near Fairchild AFB. The benefits are good state benefits, pension, medical, dental, vacation, etc. The base has a medical clinic, that hires, for the clinicss, and for jobs like Untilization Review. You can bring a resume there to CBPO, and they will keep it on file. If something comes up, they will call you. That would be a Federal job with Federal Benefits!

There is an orientation starting soon there. Eastern just started one, and there will be another one in January. Schools in this area are good. Alot of military kids go to school there. There is an elementary school on the base, but Middle and High School has to go to schools in town. PM me and we can talk more.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

brissie · Nov 10, 2007

Kootenai Medical Center's starting pay for a new RN is $23.88.

Deaconess Medical Center's starting pay for a new RN is $23.79.

Sacred Heart Medical Center's starting pay for a new RN is $23.08.

Kootenai Medical Center pays more than both major hospitals in Spokane.

Kootenai Medical Center is a Magnet Hospital.

The population of Spokane is (according to the Census Bureau) 446 706.

The population of Coeur d'Alene (according to the Census Bureau) 38 388 with the total population of Kootenai County being 122 350.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 10, 2007

i left spokane in 1990, but i loved it there. at the time i left, nurses were leaving kootenai mc in droves because they weren't getting their full paychecks. they'd be cancelled due to low census, run through all of their benefit time and then start getting short paychecks.

i worked at deaconess -- it was a fabulous place to work, and spokane was a nice place to live. couer de alene is a beautiful place as well. i don't know anything about property values now, but i envy those of you who are moving there!

(six years, 10 months and two weeks until the child is through school and i can leave here!)

gertrude3535 · Apr 19, 2008

Did you come to Coeur d' Alene and interview? I love it here. I've been working as an R.N. @ KMC for many years, and am VERY happy with my employment. I would like to encourage you in proceeding with your application, though with the dates I'm seeing, you've probably found employment by now. Good luck.