Looking for RNs in Chambersburg!

military spouse · Aug 25, 2008

Hello all,
I'm a new grad RN that has been offered a position at Chambersburg hospital in Chambersburg, PA. They have an 18 month new grad program where you spend 1 day per week in a classroom & 2 days on the floor with a preceptor. The pay is much better than here in western KY & the hospital sounds like a decent place to work. I also like the looks of the town & the surrounding area. However, I wanna know the good, the bad, & the ugly from people who actually live & work in the area & any nurses who work at the Chambersburg hospital. I know that it snows alot there but I love snow & cold weather so that's not an issue for me.
I'm also looking at places to live in the area. I'm coming with my mother, 3 dogs, & a cat in tow so I need a place with some space & a fenced in back yard. Any neighborhoods that I should avoid? I don't mind living outside of town & driving 20 miles or so to work if I have to.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all!!
Dawn

Hi,

We moved from Chambersburg almost a year ago. I interviewed at the hospital, but didn't accept the position d/t some concerns about ratios. I thought the pay was quite good, though. I ended up working at the prison in MD, just across the border. Chambersburg is a nice place, but might be hard to find inexpensive housing. Do you know your price range? Antietam Realty is a great company that is currently handling our house in Chambersburg for us. I believe they have hundreds on rentals that they manage. Might be worth a call. Really, the only area that I would probably try to avoid would be some streets close to downtown and anything in the Stevens School area. It really doesn't snow too much. Maybe a handful of days a year where you need to shovel. We bought a snowblower and life was much easier. Be aware that there is a local income tax in addition to state taxes. Auto registration is quite low. I believe $36/car.

Dawn_M_74 · Aug 25, 2008

Thanks for the info. Were the ratios bad?

Dawn

military spouse · Aug 26, 2008

Thanks for the info. Were the ratios bad?
Dawn

Well, I heard they were. I think it depends on what floor/unit. I was looking at their Med/Surg and I thought the ortho floor (where they had needs at the time) wasn't staffed too well. I also wasn't interested in working nights. I would consider how much you want to spend on rent/buying and make sure the area fits into your plans.

military spouse · Aug 26, 2008

I was thinking that maybe I sounded a big negative about the hospital. I really am not. I would just figure out what floor you are interested in and ask about ratios. I forgot to mention that they are union and that would probably work to your advantage from what I've heard. We really do like the area and hope to move back one day.

redheadmommy05 · Oct 7, 2008

I live in Chambersburg and did my LPN clinicals at Chambersburg Hospital. My mother in law has worked as a LPN in their ICU/CCU for 15 years. Their starting wage for new Rns is 23 dollars and some odd cents an hour. Hopefully the next union contract will raise that starting wage since it is lower than all the surrounding hosiptals. Washington County Hospital, Pinnacle Health and Carlisle Medical Center all pay better than Chambersburg and are all in a 50 mile radius. Most likely you would be hired to work on a medsurg floor since that is where they have the most need.

Cost of living is a little high here because of the location, we have a lot of bigwigs who live here and work in DC or Baltimore. I live in a two bedroom apartment for 700 dollars a month. The hospital has a huge turnover for RNs which they are trying to change, they are also trying to get magnet status. They hire a lot of traveling nurses who get paid A LOT more than the regular staff. When i was doing LPN clinicals i saw this cause a lot of problems and bickering on the floors. They just started a hospital lpn-rn program with excelsior classes last year that they pay for but you have to work 5 years for them at a prequoted rate. I am doing Excelsior but decided not to go through them because i didn't want to be tied down to the hospital. I would like to do the CPNE there though because i am familiar with all the equipment and the layout of the hospital. With all that said, Chambersburg Hospital is really pushing to change their turnover rates. They offer tuition assistance, loan buyouts and starting bonuses. One of the RNs i work with now worked for Chambersburg hospital for two years and got a 7500 sign on bonus.

Chambersburg itself is a nice place to live, i like it here. The mall is less to be desired but the Hagerstown mall is nice. Gettysburg is 30 minutes away and it is a nice place to visit. There are nice outlet stores in Hagerstown and Gettysburg. We have a large amount of guatamalians and mexicans on visas living in Chambersburg working on the apple farms so if you know Spanish that is a plus. If you don't like Chambersburg Hospital there are tons of other places to work. Washington County Hospital (It is in MD) is breaking ground to build a brand new hospital. I suspect Chambersburg Hospital is going to lose a lot of RNs to them. I work for a private psychiatric hospital in a nearby town, i love it there and plan to stay when i get my RN. If you want to know more let me know....i have lived here for five years and the hubby was born here. Good luck with your decision.

nursejcarrie · Oct 7, 2008

Hi there.....

I worked at the Chambersburg Hospital when I graduated from nursing school 5 years ago. I had worked at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown while I was in nursing school but decided to take a job in Chambersburg for multiple reasons. I actually ended up on the ortho floor, more affectionately known as "2 West".

I worked night shift after I finished orientation. At the time of my orientation, they did not offer the 18 month orientation period. When I got off of orientation, the patient to nurse ratio was 8 to 1. This wasn't including if there were any LPN's on the floor, because I was then responsible for making sure their assessments were correct. I also needed to make sure that their epidurals and PCA's were dosing properly. I was lucky to start my shift at 1900 and not sit down to chart anything until 0300. I just didn't like taking that chance with my license. I worked hard for that thing you know?!?

After a 2 year stint at another hospital, I am back at Washington County Hospital on the cardiovascular floor. I must say that the patient to nurse ratios are much better and continue to get better as we work towards moving to our new hospital in 2011. On my floor, there are usually 7 nurses working a night with a total patient load of 5-6.

As for Chambersburg as a place to live. I live in Greencastle PA, which is about 10 miles south of Chambersburg. I am approximately 3 miles north of the Maryland/PA line. It is a great area to live in. The schools are great. It is a very small knit town.

Just thought I would give you a heads up.......

:banghead: