Florida Hospital Heartland Division

CP2013 · Mar 19, 2013

It's in Highlands county. Very rural. About 2.5 hours south of Orlando, and about 2.5 hours north of Miami. They are one of the hospitals I know that we're offering a $5k bonus for ICU nurses.

The county as a whole has a large and predominant geriatric community. The Lake Placid hospital is small and has great med surg nurses.

Not sure what information you are looking for, but good luck in your interview!

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campercass · Mar 19, 2013

Thank you. I'm wondering if they have the same benefits, education, pay, etc as the Orlando division. I'm a new grad and the interview is for the ER! The woman who called me was very nice and seemed very easy going. Not excited about the small town but very excited about ER!!

CP2013 · Mar 19, 2013

My friend went from Lake Placid Med Surg to Sebring ED. Not sure about the ED in Lake Placid other than it is small, and again mostly geriatric so lots of chest pain, AMS, UTI that kind of stuff.

Supposedly the benefits are the same, but I have heard conflicting stories from people. I do know that transferring from Heartland to the Orlando system is not smooth. The benefits start from scratch as far as financial and you still have to re-do orientation and stuff. Which leads me to believe there is a difference in benefits, however slight they may be.

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CP2013 · Mar 19, 2013

New grads do get adequate education and orientation. It's a small hospital, they've got the time to train ya.

The pay for new grads is about $20/hr last I heard. My friend started in 2009 and was getting $18/hr. but in 2011 new grads were starting at $20/hr. Cost of living is less as far as housing, but supermarkets are the same if not more expensive than Orlando according to my friend.

There's only one highway through the county. Which may be the cause of higher food prices - all that travel time. Definitely gives you that "one traffic light" kind of feel. I don't visit my friend all that often anymore because the drive is awfully boring and long just to spend a day or two, sitting at her house. There really isn't anything to do but work and stay at home. Definitely going to need to have a reliable car to get to towns like Lakeland to live any kind of life.

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campercass · Mar 19, 2013

Thank you so much for all the information!

KinkyKurlyRN, ASN, RN · Mar 19, 2013

Thank you so much for all the information!

Hey congrats! Good luck!

pedsRN28 · Mar 19, 2013

Good luck @campercass! I'm praying for you!

campercass · Mar 20, 2013

Thanks for the well wishes. I will let you all know how it goes. I also plan to stop in at their hospital in Sebring, as I have 2 apps under review there as well. You know, as long as I'm in the neighborhood, lol.

campercass · Mar 20, 2013

Well, I think the interview went well, but I have doubts about getting the job. Turns out it's not a day position as posted, but a night position, which doesn't bother me. However, they only schedule 2 RNs overnight, and she kept stressing how important it is that she hire someone she can trust to be able to handle and do the job with minimal assistance after training (3 mos). She almost sounded like she really would prefer someone with ER experience. (Which begs the question....why call me in for an interview as a new grad?) I do think she liked me though, so I don't think it will be an easy decision for her to make. She said I will hear from her this week.

Regarding the Sebring ER.....found out they won't even consider someone without ER experience.

KinkyKurlyRN, ASN, RN · Mar 21, 2013

Well, I think the interview went well, but I have doubts about getting the job. Turns out it's not a day position as posted, but a night position, which doesn't bother me. However, they only schedule 2 RNs overnight, and she kept stressing how important it is that she hire someone she can trust to be able to handle and do the job with minimal assistance after training (3 mos). She almost sounded like she really would prefer someone with ER experience. (Which begs the question....why call me in for an interview as a new grad?) I do think she liked me though, so I don't think it will be an easy decision for her to make. She said I will hear from her this week.
Regarding the Sebring ER.....found out they won't even consider someone without ER experience.

Wow doll, I hate when they do that. Why call a new grad if your worried? Best of lucky honey.

campercass · Apr 4, 2013

Can you believe they actually offered me the job?! Two days after I finally got an interview for the PEDs position in Tampa, no less. Of course I had to accept. I couldn't turn down a job offer as a new grad in this economy. Slated to start orientation at the end of the month. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to hear if I got the PEDs job in Tampa, which is where we would really like to move to.

Then this morning, I got a call to interview for the RN residency at FL Hospital Carrollwood in Tampa on the PCU unit. (doesn't PCU fall under critical care?) Which I've heard is a good unit to start in to eventually get to ED.

So, in the last two weeks, I got a job in one of my top two choice units, in a place we really don't want to move to, waiting to hear about another job in my other top choice unit where we really want to live, and now I have an interview for an OK unit where we really want to live.

After months, everything's suddenly happening at once. And I'm looking for places to live in both places!

I feel like my head is going to explode!!! Had to vent!