Moving on up to Jacksonville

Hello. I'am currently an CCU nurse working in Raliegh N.C. I 'am thinking about moving to Jacksonville, F.L. I would really like to know which hospitals in this area are great to work for. I would also like to know what the average rate of pay is for nurses, standard of living, and the best area to live in. Any information would be helpful in helping us make up our minds.

I have a relative and several friends who work at Baptist and say it's great. It's located downtown on the southside of the river. Shands is the teaching hosp and level 1 trauma hosp if you like that stuff, but it is in a war zone. Formerly known as University, or the Blue U. People have told me that it is not a good place to work, but others seem to like it. 50/50. I've lost track of people who have worked at other area hospitals; St Vincents, St Lukes, Orange Park, Beaches Baptist, Mayo, etc. Don't know what to tell you there.

Since I'm not a nurse, I can't give you info on salaries. I worked as a policeman in Jax for a lot of years and maybe I can give you some good advice on where to live. Generally speaking, avoid the northside. Too many high crime areas. The westside is rednecky, but mostly nice folks. On the westside, there are some newer developments on Chaffee Rd, Normandy Blvd, and around Cecil Field. If the morning commute puts you on I-10 though, it can get crowded. The whole Orange Park and Clay County areas are mostly quite nice, but traffic is horrendous. Blanding Blvd is a nightmare. The close westside, along the river north of NAS Jax has some nice and historic homes. Some examples are Venetia, Ortega ($$$), St Johns, Avondale, and Riverside. In Avondale and Riverside though, the farther you get from the river, the worse it gets. St Vincents hosp is on Riverside Ave and on the waterfront. If you live in any of these areas and work at Baptist, you can avoid the I-10 mess by driving up St Johns and Riverside avenues and crossing the river at the Acosta or Main St bridges and they drop you right close to Baptist.

Speaking of Baptist, it is located near the San Marco area, a mostly good place to live, especially close to the river. The closer to the river, the more $ it costs for a house. All along the river south of San Marco to Mandarin is a great place, though pricey. You can get into some traffic issues in Mandarin.

Arlington has a mix of good and bad places to live. From the east end of the Matthews Bridge (Arlington Xway), that area south around to the Hart Bridge is generally nice, some of it downright pricey. North from the Matthews Bridge, following the river along University Blvd N, from Jax University northward on the west side of the road is good all the way to Charter Point. Along Ft Caroline Rd are some good developments especially when you get close to St Johns Bluff.

There are a lot more good places to live, I'm just tossing out the ones that come to mind. Hope this helps.

Main Baptist is on the river and sports a new heart center which is their drawing card. Still, one can wait hours and hours for a cath. staffing is an issue at all the baptists (they have main, nassau, beaches, and south) and capping off floors due to poor staffing is not something they like to do. in other words, nurses always are short, and ratios can be high. however, i have heard that staffing is a bit better at beaches, but then again, you have the tourists and dead heads who hang on the beach as clientele.

their newest venture, which they tout heavily in the news, is the 'paperless' facility at south..one mile from the county line. the facility is beautiful. rooms are like a hotel room with internet access. it gives a hotel feel to the place. but staffing is horrendously horrible, the main staff are travelers and foreign trained, and the population largely geriatric. its nothing to have 4 sitters in the place on a given night. and little did the hospital ad consider that 4 ltc facilities are within 1.5 miles of the place...hence, the population. also at this facility, there is no regulated visiting hours..families and whomever is welcomed at any time to stay with the patient or visit..i have known entire families that camped out in the room with the patient. and significant others are allowed to be present at their loved one's codes....

finally, ER waits are horrible..sometimes 12-14 hours......St. V's is the same or longer...

unfortunately, medicine is not aggressive and well, if you have a heart attack or stroke and need quick care shands is the place...but once you are out on the unit, you better have a family member stay and fend for you.

good luck..