Alta Bates in Oakland,CA

Drysolong · Apr 28, 2005

I am currently at a Kaiser hospital in Santa Clara and my recuiter is sending my profilr to Alta Bates Summit in Oakland. I was wanting to know if anyone has had any positive or negative feedback on this facility? The place I am now is horrible and I don't want to get stuck at another one. Please respond ASAP! Thanks!!!

I am originally from this area and have had friends and relatives who were patients at Alta Bates. I don't know about working there, however, I've never had any negative feedback, only positive from a patient perspective. The staff seem to be very professional.

suzanne4, RN · Apr 29, 2005

Last that I heard, Alta Bates has lost their JCAHO accreditation.........I would be very careful with going there in that case.......

rnerin · Apr 29, 2005

I just wanted to say Hi!-I recently spent 6 months at KSC-interesting there isn't it??!! From talking with other travelers, the general consensus is that the Kaiser system stinks!!-most of them will not sign with another one! I have not heard good things about Alta Bates. Good luck!!

QUOTE=nyck76]I am currently at a Kaiser hospital in Santa Clara and my recuiter is sending my profilr to Alta Bates Summit in Oakland. I was wanting to know if anyone has had any positive or negative feedback on this facility? The place I am now is horrible and I don't want to get stuck at another one. Please respond ASAP! Thanks!!!

nyck76 · Apr 29, 2005

Thanks for all the info. I found an article from the San francisco newspaper talking about Alta Bates being on probation with JCAHO. Plus I spoke with some other travelers that said they work you like a dog. Needless to say I called my recuiter and said don't even bother. LOL.

And Kaiser is a trip and a half. My company is pulling me from there because they breech there contract. My contract is 48 hours a week guarrentee, 12 hour nights, time and a 1/2 after 8 hours/ day. Kaiser cuts of the pay week at midnight on Saturday and trys to pay you 4 hours for Saturday on 1 check, 8 hours for Sunday on the next check. This would work out ok, BUT you don't get the 4 hours of OT for the 12 because they make it look like you only work 4 hours one day, 8 hours the next instead of a full 12. I am with On Assignment and the fought with them for 2 weeks about this and the hospital sill still not pay, so I am looking for a new assignment. So I will never work at a Kaiser again, that is for sure.

painslayer · Apr 30, 2005

If you enjoy working in inner city, sure, go to Alta-Bates.

hunny_pye · May 2, 2005

is kaiser really dat bad??? im just waiting for my license and kaiser (vallejo, wallnut creek) is on my list... :uhoh21:

so wats wrong with kaiser eniweis??? :uhoh21:

nyck76 · May 2, 2005

Oh you poor thing.LOL. Let me break it down for you like I really wish someone wound have for me. There are other hospitals other than Kaiser to work at up here. I had heard it was bad for years, but Kaisers in Northern CA are ran different form Kaisers in Southern CA, so from the pressure of my now EX- Recuiter I decided to try the one here in Santa Clara. As you will see from my previous post here, my company is pulling from them because the hosptal doesn't want to pay the 1 1/2 payrate after 8 hours that IS in my contract. Do not trust them. I should have went with my gut instincts and not went instead of trusting my recuiter. Also when you interview with a Kaiser you never talk with anyone who actually works at those hospitals. I interviewed w/ this lady named Alice and asked her specifics about the hospital, like dress code, parking, and if management or staffing office does the schedule. Well she didn't know about dress code or parking, and then told me management does the schedule. When I got there I found out that not only does a receptist (NOT A NURSE) in the staffing office does the travelers schedules but she does the schdules for all the staff nurse in the hospital too. I have been here 7 weeks and I can't even tell you who my nurse manager is or if it is a man or woman. That is how impersonal this place is.The people that interview you really have no clue what the hospital actually does. And Kaisers are famous for floating you every 4 hours. Now I have made a vow never to go to any hospital without interviewing with a member of management there first. This is why I will not go with fastaff since they never interview anyone there. Now the nurses I work with at Kaiser are nice, but the staffing office is why no one ever extends. The scheduling and floating hassles make people sick, and they don't want to pay you. If you can, talk to travelers who actually work at the Kaiser you are considering, not the interview folks. Make sure you talk to folks working the shift that you are interested in because floating 3 times in 1 shift is common on 12 hour days, floating 2 times in 1 shift for 12 hour nights. And I don't mind floating, but when you float 3 out of 4 shifts a week, that is staffing a unit, not floating. Good Luck to you though :)

Veela101 · May 7, 2005

That is accurate - Kaiser Santa Clara, Santa Teresa (San Jose) and San Francisco all make you float like crazy. Thank GOD I work with a local California recruiter who told me that when we first spoke!! I told her DO NOT submit me and she told me that these three facilities will float you once every 4 hours if need be. A nurse she had me talk to confirmed! Seriously, these huge national agencies are awful when it comes to information relay - I'm an advocate for using the local medium sized places - they are not too small where they will tell you anything to keep you, but they know their sh@@ if you know what I am talking about. If you're unhappy, let me know - I'll hook you up!