Any info on St Louis hospital's ER's?

[Gator-ER-RN]

My husband and I are planning a move to St. Louis within the next few months to be closer to our son. I wonder if anyone has information on ER nursing at any of the hospitals there? Specifically nurse to patient ratio, turnover rates, pay, etc. In fact, any information will be appreciated.

I have been an ER nurse for 3 years and have my CEN. My dream is to work at a level I trauma center.

Any info???:)

[WonderRN]

St. John's, Barnes, and Saint Louis University Hospital (SLUH) are all Level 1 trauma centers. St. John's sees a more affluent population, for the most part. It is locally referred to as "the palace on Ballas" (Ballas Rd.) Its very hard to get on there, from what I hear. Barnes and SLUH are city hospitals, and they see the poor, minority population, many who don't have any preventative care, many comorbidities. They also see the IV drug users and gang crowd. Barnes has consistently been ranked as one of the top hospitals in the nation for years now, they were ranked 8th nationally in 2010 on the Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.

As far as pay, I think St. John's and Barnes pay more than SLUH. I think St. John's and Barnes start at $20 or $21 (new grad pay). I think they all pay more for BSN and possibly the CEN.

As far as I know, the ratio is 4 patients per nurse in the "regular" area of the ED. I don't know about the trauma.

I don't think the turnover is bad at any of those that I mentioned. St. John's I know has a great retention rate, cause its so hard to get on there!

Just for the record, I don't work at any of these hospitals. But have friends/acquaintances that do. I work the ED of a community hospital that does not see trauma, but we do see a very sick patient base.

Let me know if you need anything else.

[Gator-ER-RN]

Thank you so much for your reply. That info is very helpful!!