Las Vegas Hospitals

rwbglock23 · Jul 30, 2009

I have been in Spring Valley Hospital a few times because I used to work for a podiatry group that had an office there. The hospital is very well kept and not incredibly busy. I talked to an ER nurse who was a patient of ours and she had been employed there for a number of years. She had nothing but good things to say about working there and was very close to her co-workers.

On another note, there really isn't any BAD hospitals in Southern Nevada. There are some that are older than others like UMC and certainly busier. I once went to UMC when I first moved here 5 years ago and waited in the ER just to be seen for 5 hours before I talked to a guy who said he had been there 8 hours going on 9 so I decided that I wasn't in that much pain and sucked it up! haha

My Micro teacher who was a big time PhD and very knowledgeable said that she was highly impressed with the level of care her husband received at Southern Hills Hospital. I live right behind Southern Hills, it was built about 6 years ago and it is a very nice hospital from what I can tell.

I guess it depends on what your specialty is really and how hard you want to work. UMC is the busiest next to Valley, Desert Springs, and St. Rose De Lima I would say. There are probably 10 big hospitals in the Las Vegas Valley so there is plenty to choose from...

Good luck with your relocation.

Anisettes, BSN, RN · Jul 31, 2009

You didn't mention your specialty - when I went to Vegas in 1996, I was in the ED and I LOATHED it at Valley Hospital, quit within 3 months. I also worked at UMC and loved it, I later went into the OR at UMC and also liked it and was there until I left the States to come to Germany.

UMC is the county hospital and the only Level 1 trauma center for 4 states, so yes it is busy, but if you're a newer nurse and looking for experience, you won't beat UMC. For personal reasons I choose county facilities over private ones and that may be another reason I'm partial to UMC, but you still can't beat the level of experience you would get at UMC. Though be aware that at UMC the ED is divided (actually into separate bldgs connected with a corridor) from the Trauma Resus. area and are 2 separate depts, with a 3 suite trauma OR and Trauma ICU beds on it's side. Peds ICU is also in the trauma bldg but upstairs.

Financially, the pay is fairly equal with other area hospitals as are benefits and you do not pay into social security at UMC (so unless you've been working for enough of your life to be eligible for your 26 quarters (or however many is required) to become eligible for SS, you may not want to go the UMC route unless you plan to stay the whole 20+ years with them. It's nice to have that little extra from not paying SS tax, but down the line you may regret it. You DO pay medicare taxes.

Sunrise (main) was finally designated a Level II a couple of years ago and has the Children's Hospital in Vegas (if you're a Peds nurse), but unless you live REALLY nearby, it's a pain in the butt to commute to, it's kind of 'locked in' away from the intetrstates by some of the busiest, most annoying surface streets (Sahara and Maryland pkwy - ugh!) I've ever had the misfortune to drive. You'll be tearing your hair out if you hate commuting like I do. There is also Sunrise MT. View which is right off one of the interstates in the NW part of Vegas and not as annoying to get to, but no Trauma designation.

Vegas is an odd place. I can't say I miss it, except for the fact my children live there - otherwise I'd never step foot in the state again willingly. It is a right-to-work state (you can be let go at will), so nurses are very much at the mercy of the hospitals, though contracts were looking better when I left, call pay had gone to $5/hr and the salaries generally tended to be higher than other surrounding states (other than CA).

I personally hated the heat, the awful traffic, the whole gambling/strip club/bar pervasion of the place - do you REALLY need slot machines at the gas station and 7-11 and the supermarket?. If you have kids, there really is nothing left for them there, when I left they had torn down the Wet'n'Wild and had just shut down the Scandia fun center (pending demolition) and the zoo? I'd hardly all a llama and a donkey a zoo. But that's me and a lot of people love it there. Don't know if any of this helps,

Best of luck to you

nsFAMU · Aug 13, 2009

Hi I was wondering if you have relocated to Vegas yet and which hospital you went with. I'm relocating also and was just offered a position at UMC but I'm still thinking about it. Thanks

debelair · Aug 14, 2009

Sadly, my relocation will be postponed. The reason I was considering relocation was because the hospitals here tell me that I would not be considered for an acute care position because I am a Hospice nurse and they are requiring 1-5 years experience in the field I was applying for. No hospice in acute care!!! The LV hospital website did not indicate that experience was required, but I found out that it is. I wish I would have known that before I got my Nevada license. Anyway, the folks in HR down there are very nice. The Valley Health System is made up of 5 local hospitals. I have a friend that works there and she is very happy there! Good luck to you!!!

rn1233 · Feb 24, 2010

Just curious if anyone has any info on typical scheduling for ICU nurses working at The Valley Health System (how many weekends/mo, self scheduling, etc.)? Also, any input on your hourly pay, etc. and which hospital in their system is the best to work at?! Thanks!

silentRN · Mar 5, 2010

I currently work at UMC in Tucson, AZ. I am a Trauma ICU nurse for about 2 years now. I want to stay in Critical Care, and I am thinking of moving to Las Vegas. I know that the job market is still pretty harsh here in arizona because our last governor really did a job on us. I haven't had a raise in 2 years! I'm just curious as to how does the job market look out there in Las Vegas. It's either Las Vegas or Phoenix for me, but I've already lived in Phoenix once before and just looking for a different scene. Any answer would help out.