Anyone familiar with Kindred (LTAC)

[mindlor]

So,

I am a new grad. NCLEX pending. I have interviewed with these folks and thus far I really like what I hear and see. Patients are complex, most everyone has a PEG, VENT, CVAD. Most have glasgow scores ranging from 3-8. Most are TOTAL care. Many have pressure ulcers and multiple comorbidities.......

Seems like it would be a hard job, but it also seems like I would learn a lot. Overtime seems plentiful. No pyxis though, narcs are all the old fashioned way....

They have an ICU and said that if I get my ACLS, which I will get on 5/20...they will put me into their critical care training program......

So, I am just looking for opinions/guidance. Another questions is, would working with these types of patients be considered criticalcare experience for say the purpose of getting in to CRNA school?

Thanks in advance.

[theantichick]

I work at a Kindred LTAC ICU in Texas. I just finished a 3-month orientation in ICU which was longer than they usually do, but my facility doesn't normally hire new grads to the ICU so they wanted to make sure I had a solid orientation, which I appreciate. From what I've heard, each facility is going to have a different culture based on the local administration.

The patient population for the ICU are pretty sick - almost all are on vents and tube feedings, a fair share of potent drips, the occasional dialysis patient (dialysis nurses come into our unit), and dynamic patient conditions. Not as acute as a STAC ICU, but definitely sicker than the STAC med-surg units... I would probably place our acuity somewhere around a step-down or tele unit at an STAC. LOTS of experience opportunity. We have 5 beds in our ICU so if we're full one nurse has 2 and one has 3. No PCT, but we do have a dedicated RT. It makes for a really busy day but I don't think it's horrific.

Out on the floor, I've seen a lot of call-offs due to low census, so I feel very lucky that I'm in ICU where we don't get called off. Lots of OT available because they struggle to stay staffed. The facility I'm at has ratios out on the floor that are about 5-7 per RN/LVN, not sure what the PCT ratio is.

I'm pretty happy with my facility, and am very glad they gave me a chance for ICU. Nowhere is perfect, but I think I landed in a pretty good spot for a new grad needing experience.

[futurernbsn2015]

Hi theantichick.

I know this post is rather old but I am very interested in working in the ICU at Kindred in the Dallas/Fort Worth area because I really want to be able to provide quality care to that specific patient population. I graduate in May 2015 with my BSN. I was wondering if you had any advice on getting hired as a new grad at Kindred? Also how was your experience overall there? Additionally how is the pay, OT, PTO in comparison to a new grad program at a place like UTSW or Parkland? Is it more, less, about the same? Any help is truly appreciated because I have such a hard time finding information about the Dallas Kindred market. Thank you :)

[futurernbsn2015]

Hi theantichick.

I know this post is rather old but I am very interested in working in the ICU at Kindred in the Dallas/Fort Worth area because I really want to be able to provide quality care to that specific patient population. I graduate in May 2015 with my BSN. I was wondering if you had any advice on getting hired as a new grad at Kindred? Also how was your experience overall there? Additionally how is the pay, OT, PTO in comparison to a new grad program at a place like UTSW or Parkland? Is it more, less, about the same? Any help is truly appreciated because I have such a hard time finding information about the Dallas Kindred market. Thank you :)

[theantichick]

I don't know what the new grad programs pay. for the ICU, my pay was a little lower than the hospitals in the area, PTO seemed to be about the same. I got hired to the ICU because I'd impressed a teacher in nursing school who was good friends with the nurse manager. However, some places are getting wary of new grads because they spend money and time training a new grad, and new grads typically don't stay long because either it was a "whatever job I can get" or because they find they aren't suited to the job for one reason or another.

Some of the Kindreds are pretty good, some suck. I don't know about the ones in Dallas specifically. My best advise is if you can get recommendation letters from your instructors, do so because they carry the most weight until you get experience under your belt.

[futurernbsn2015]

Thank you very much for the information. I really appreciate it

[jdmstop]

I got a job offer from kindred today in the Los Angeles area for a night shift/new grad position. They also stated that there will be a 3-years employment contract.

My questions to those of you whose had experience working at kindred is how does kindred's subacute experience or their icu experience help a new grad if most "Larger" hospital won't recognize it as "acute" experience. I've heard many nurse recruiter from acute hospitals saying they do not count the experience earned from kindred. I'm afraid that if the experience do not count at kindred, it can hinder me for future opportunities..Can someone shed some light pls?

[theantichick]

Acute hospitals tend to see LTAC as lower acuity, so they tend to disregard it.

I was lucky that they offered me an ICU position at the Kindred facility I worked at. It wasn't acuity like you see in an acute hospital ICU, but I found it to be about equivalent to a high acuity tele floor at an acute care hospital. I made sure I put all the things that made it similar to acute care on my resume... vasoactive drips, sedation, ventilator management, patients with complex medical needs, on the code team, etc. It made a difference in the way they looked at me when I applied to an acute hospital for the ER.

I don't know if there's a way to do something similar for a floor position at Kindred, but I don't think EVERY hospital will disregard it. I know our floor nurses at Kindred were doing very similar work to a general med-surg floor in an acute care hospital. Of course, we were specifically a LTAC, not a LTC, and I know Kindred has both. Some nurse recruiters may need to be educated as to the difference.

So I would advise you, if your goal is to get into an acute setting down the road, try to work into the ICU at your facility (if yours has one) and when you start interviewing at STAC's, make sure they know what kinds of high acuity tasks and patients you were dealing with.

Good luck!

[sarahhg]

Did you go into their new grad program?

If so do you have to sign a contract stating that you will work at the facility for a specific amount of time?

[theantichick]

The Kindred I was at didn't have an official new grad program. They offered some extra training and a longer period of preceptorship for me. My Nurse Manager asked if I would stay a year, which I did (barely) and they were upset when I left "so soon" but it wasn't the right environment or patient population for me.

[nyc2011]

Does anyone work for LTAC PRN?

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Does anyone work for LTAC PRN?

I was PRN when I worked in LTAC. I usually worked 1-2 shifts a week.

[ivyleaf]

Which location is this?