What the heck is going on in Portland right now?

Hey everybody!

I'm a mixed discipline ICU nurse at a level two trauma center in Los Angeles California, I completed a critical care residency and as of now have ten months to my belt. As of August, I will have a complete year. I have an associates in nursing, B.A. in communications. I took a trip to Portland in February to look at homes and hospitals-

OHSU: hiring freeze. Legacy Emanuel: hiring. In fact, everybody else was hiring and I was told that my credentials would be adequate enough to get me back into critical care once I moved up to Portland during my planned time, which was end of summer.

But now- ohhhh but now- I hear legacy has a clinical hiring freeze on! It seems that all my contacts in Portland are telling me your beautiful city and surrounding hospitals has run into a hiring standstill. Say it aint so!! The odd thing is that OHSU has sooo many critical care positions listed on their employment website-what is going on?!!??

I am about to sign papers with my wife and son and go into escrow on our first house- I know I know, stupid without having a job confirmed but I don't want to apply to any Portland area hospitals until I am, at minimum, a month away from having a solid year of ICU. I was told by Legacy I wouldn't be hired without a year anyway.

Is anybody hiring? Am I going to have to work in clinics after putting so much time and energy into becoming an effective and effecient ICU nurse? I shudder to think about all the skills I'm gonna lose.

Does anybody have any info, PLEASE! I imagine the number of new grads unable to secure positions must be piling up. Even here in so-cal I have been getting called off an alarming number of times...

Thanks friends,
Sonny