Hospitals in Augusta GA?

alnewsome · Jul 14, 2010

I live in Augusta...yes we are the medical center of the area...we have 7 major hospitals:

1. Medical College of Georgia (I did my clinicals there)...they are the major trauma center in the region. They have a Shock Trauma ICU, Pediatric ICU, Surgical ICU, Neuro ICU, Medical ICU, Neonatal ICU, etc. They supposedly pay more than any other hospital, too. They are 9 floors high with 3 areas per floor: West, South and North. They are located in downtown Augusta and have a big parking deck. They are the biggest hospital in Augusta. They also are attatched to the world renown MCG Children's Medical Center. And...they have a awesome cafeteria and a McDonald's inside. :up:

2. University Hospital: Also downtown Augusta with a parking deck. I've been inside but I don't know AS much about it as MCG. They are the cardiovascular center of the area. This hospital is newer than a lot of the others. Their pay is supposed to be competitive also.

3. Trinity Hospital: This is not downtown, but just a few miles away. They are known for joint replacements.

4. VA downtown: This is downtown, right beside MCG. This would be working for the state, and I've heard some not-so-good things about it.

5. VA uptown: This is a few miles from downtown near Trinity.

6. Doctor's Hospital: This is away from all the other hospitals, near West Augusta, which is definetely where you would want to live here. It is known for its Burn Unit. I also know that they are looking to hire in the Burn ICU now. A lot of people love working there.

7. Eisenhower: Augusta is home of an Army base, Fort. Gordon. This is the hospital there on base.

Looking for a place to live in Augusta: you will want to be in "West Augusta", or "Columbia County" ("Martinez"/"Evans") area. You won't want to live downtown or in the South side or East side.

We have one mall that is pretty awesome, the Augusta Mall.

It's the second biggest city is Georgia. Perfect for me...not TOO BIG AND NOT TOO SMALL...traffic can be a little bad at times, but let me emphasize, NOTHING like Atlanta.

Any other questions, let me know! I've lived here my whole life and I'd be happy to show you around if you want to visit!

moshud · Jul 14, 2010

Awesome post alnewsome! That sure sounds like the place to be if you're in the medical or health field in Georgia. I've been doing some research on Augusta itself and it sounds like a nice place. I didn't know they had that many hospitals though. I noticed that you didn't mention MCG having a CVICU, do they not have one? I'm thinking because of that, university hospital might be the place for me. My plan is to work in a CVICU. Despite that I think all the hospital you describe sound great. Thanks for you reply.

alnewsome · Jul 15, 2010

You're welcome! :) I know MCG has a cardiac floor, telemetry unit, and a very small (i think only 6 beds) Cardiac ICU...but if cardiac is what you love, University is probably definitely the way to go. They have a brand new "Heart and Vascular Institute" and are the leaders for cardio care in the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area)...that's what our region is called.

Cmunst45636 · Jul 24, 2010

Are the hospitals hiring new grads now? Just wondering how the job market is. Were planning a visit in August to see family and check the area out. Ill be done with my BSN next July

trin22 · Jul 31, 2010

I've been in Augusta for 2 and a half years, and I can't wait until I can move again. This city has no culture or class, and there's nothing to do here unless you like golf. It's pretty unfortunate because I think this place has lots of potential. It's pretty much an Army town. The city will completely crumble if it weren't for the Army base or Master's week. Plus the crime rate is pretty high for the size of the city- you always hear about drug activities and someone getting shot somewhere.

jemaro67 · Aug 1, 2010

I grew up in Augusta and have been involved with the medical community. While I won't disagree with the lack of activities to do here, I will attest to the fact that this city is like any other. There will be some crime here and there, but the fact of the matter is that this is a great place to live. I expect that new grads wouldn't be frequenting the types of places that harbor trouble. That should be the same in any city. The medical community is great! You would be in a great position to start a career in Augusta. MCG is known for having great staffing and is ready for new people. University has a great Cardiac tower. I don't know too much about Trinity and Doctor's. I was just there for clinical. Eisenhower is great. I started volunteering there in middle school and fell in love with the health field. In my opinion, Augusta is ripe for new grads and even students in nursing school.

trin22 · Aug 1, 2010

I grew up in Augusta and have been involved with the medical community. While I won't disagree with the lack of activities to do here, I will attest to the fact that this city is like any other. There will be some crime here and there, but the fact of the matter is that this is a great place to live. I expect that new grads wouldn't be frequenting the types of places that harbor trouble. That should be the same in any city. The medical community is great! You would be in a great position to start a career in Augusta. MCG is known for having great staffing and is ready for new people. University has a great Cardiac tower. I don't know too much about Trinity and Doctor's. I was just there for clinical. Eisenhower is great. I started volunteering there in middle school and fell in love with the health field. In my opinion, Augusta is ripe for new grads and even students in nursing school.

I hope I didn't offend you or any other Augusta natives- that was not my intention. I was just trying to give my honest point of view as someone who has moved around frequently. I've lived in pretty nice cities, and it wouldn't be fair to compare them to Augusta. A "nice place to live" is extremely subjective. I'm sure a lot of people would agree with you, but I would never consider Augusta a "nice place to live." Everyone that I know who is not from here can't wait to get out of here. I also know a lot of military people who are depressed from living here. If Augusta were really a nice place to live, more people would move here, more jobs would be created, more businesses would open and thrive, and the economy would grow. However, this isn't the case, and you know that businesses have difficulty thriving here. Just look at how many new restaurants that can't even stay open for a year. This city would be booming if were a desirable place to live that had many things to offer.

On a positive note, Augusta's cost of living is low and there is no heavy duty traffic. However, this is related to my comments above. The cost of living would skyrocket if Augusta became a desirable place to live like Atlanta, which would also increase traffic.

I agree that Augusta is great for experienced medical professionals (not sure about new grads because many friend nurses can't find jobs). It is the other major industry besides the military. I suppose if people's number one priority is finding a medical job and not care about their surrounding or quality of life, then Augusta would be perfect. To each his own because different things make people happy.

Again, I am not trying to offend anyone or cause trouble. I'm just stating facts and my experience.

DelanaRN, MSN, APRN, NP · Aug 2, 2010

My husband is military and we are both RN's. He is stationed out of Eisenhower Army Medical Center. We just relocated to this area about a month ago. We live in Evans. So far I love it there. Very beautiful - lush, green with lots of trees, etc. Where we live in Evans, we are close to plenty of restaurants, shopping. The "medical mecca" downtown is only 12 miles away from us. I have only been an RN for one year. Prior to that I was an LPN for one year and worked as an LPN while I went to RN school. Both years as a nurse I worked in Hospice. I had a Hospice job offered to me on the spot at the interview the week I arrived as an RN Case Manager. However, I also applied to Select Specialty Hospital - which is a step down ICU with alot of pulmonary (ie, vent) and some cardiac patients. I was also offered the Select Specialty Hospital job. They do hire new RN's and have a 90 day training program (30 day classroom, 30 day preceptorship, 30 day 1-2 patient load), offer a $5,000 sign on bonus, and supposedly have decent medical benefits, which I will not need. I have heard good and bad things about this hospital. High nurse-patient ratio, staff can be run ragged on the shift, etc....but those comments were about SSH in general and not this partiular location. I have known people that have worked at a SSH and have liked it at one location and not liked it at another. I understand it is a great job if you want to practice some ICU skills. I guess I will be finding out as I start the 90 day program next week. I am very nervous about giving up the Hospice job (which I have not yet started as I have held off and they are holding it for me) because I know Hospice and I do enjoy it. However, I would like to get back to acute care since I have never had the opportunity to do so since graduating as Hospice jobs have always found me and I don't job hop. (went from on call LPN to RN Case Manager at last job and stayed with them two years until husband got PCS orders to move) I won't lie, the Hospice job pays more. I like that Select Specialty has 12 hour shifts and employ self scheduling. They also offer tuition reimbursement after 1 year and offer bonuses as you become proficent in different ICU settings.

trin22 · Aug 2, 2010

My husband is military and we are both RN's. He is stationed out of Eisenhower Army Medical Center. We just relocated to this area about a month ago. We live in Evans. So far I love it there. Very beautiful - lush, green with lots of trees, etc. Where we live in Evans, we are close to plenty of restaurants, shopping. The "medical mecca" downtown is only 12 miles away from us. I have only been an RN for one year. Prior to that I was an LPN for one year and worked as an LPN while I went to RN school. Both years as a nurse I worked in Hospice. I had a Hospice job offered to me on the spot at the interview the week I arrived as an RN Case Manager. However, I also applied to Select Specialty Hospital - which is a step down ICU with alot of pulmonary (ie, vent) and some cardiac patients. I was also offered the Select Specialty Hospital job. They do hire new RN's and have a 90 day training program (30 day classroom, 30 day preceptorship, 30 day 1-2 patient load), offer a $5,000 sign on bonus, and supposedly have decent medical benefits, which I will not need. I have heard good and bad things about this hospital. High nurse-patient ratio, staff can be run ragged on the shift, etc....but those comments were about SSH in general and not this partiular location. I have known people that have worked at a SSH and have liked it at one location and not liked it at another. I understand it is a great job if you want to practice some ICU skills. I guess I will be finding out as I start the 90 day program next week. I am very nervous about giving up the Hospice job (which I have not yet started as I have held off and they are holding it for me) because I know Hospice and I do enjoy it. However, I would like to get back to acute care since I have never had the opportunity to do so since graduating as Hospice jobs have always found me and I don't job hop. (went from on call LPN to RN Case Manager at last job and stayed with them two years until husband got PCS orders to move) I won't lie, the Hospice job pays more. I like that Select Specialty has 12 hour shifts and employ self scheduling. They also offer tuition reimbursement after 1 year and offer bonuses as you become proficent in different ICU settings.

Congratulations on your new job! Yes, Evans is a nice area. It's definitely a lot safer and nicer than Augusta. I myself live in Columbia County.