moving to KC, MO

[Auri]

Hi,

I was just wondering about places to work in KC, and which ones y'all would recommend. I am moving from the Washington, DC area and currently work at a Magnet facility, rated in the top 100 by Newsweek magazine. My primary concerns are that the hospital 'care' for and about their nurses and other staff, level of patient care & satisfaction. I'm not going to lie, $$ and benefit packages are also of concern.. I would apprecicate any information, biased or not, regarding the hospitals in the KC, MO area. Thank you in advance.

A

[SherBearRN]

Hospitals in the KC area start new grads (I don't know how many years experience you have) between $17-19. Benefits such as medical/dental. etc. will not be free. Expect to pay around $200/month depending on how large your "family" is. Also, most of the hospitals in the KC area such as Research Medical Center, Baptist Medical Center, Independence Regional, Lee's Summit Hospital, and Medical Center of Independence are all HCA operated hospital. HCA -- in my opinion -- is horrible to work for. HCA is a for-profit hospital chain with its headquarters in Tennessee and they care only about money, not about their employees. You can look on HCA's website for a list of hospitals throughout the country they own.

If I was looking at moving to the KC area, I would get licensed in Kansas and go to work for KU Medical Center in Kansas City, KS. KU is a teaching hopsital and has many opportunities for nurses. Night/weekend shift diffs are impressive, too. They start around $20/hr for a new grad, so if you have experience, it would be higher.

Other hospitals to consider that are not HCA facilities are: North Kansas City Hopsital, Liberty Hospital, Shawnee Mission Medical Center (Overland Park, KS), Children's Mercy Medical Center (one in dowtown KC and the other in Overland Park, KS), Truman Medical Center (lowest pay for nurses, but good Level 1 Trauma Center), St. Joseph Hospital, and St. Luke's Hospital (one on the Plaza and the other in Overland Park, KS).

As with any city, Washington DC included, you have to be careful where you live. Downtown KC, parts of Kansas City, KS, parts of the east side of KC are not desireable or safe. Overland Park, KS is more expensive to live but also has a lower crime rate. Lee's Summit, MO is also a nice area to live. Both of the areas I just mentioned also have excellent schools.

I grew up in KC and lived in the city and south of there. If you have more specific questions, feel free to PM me and I'll try to help as much as I can. Good luck with your move!

[VizslaMom]

Don't forget Liberty Hospital. :)

www.libertyhospital.org

[runningfool]

I lived in KC for 4 years. I'm not a nurse yet so I can't tell you the best places to work, but I can tell you all the best places to eat.

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

runningfool,

I have found Red Snapper, Korma Sutra, and Marrakesh, but other than that, I haven't found much. What can you recommend? I have only been here about a year and a half.

Thanks

oh, and I recommend St. Luke's. I am leaving that hospital, but only because I really wanted progressive care with a critical care program and opportunity to move into ICU when I am ready, which Shawnee Mission Medical Center has promised. I can't say for sure about SMMC, but they seem really wonderful. The nurse manager on Progressive Care is a sweetheart.

[VizslaMom]

Move into ICU when they have an opening? Mmmmm. Interesting.

Liberty has openings in ICU with a $5,000.00 bonus. FYI.

It's also NOT because it's a terrible unit to work for.

I love it. I also love the people I work with.

Good Luck!!!

[eddy]

Liberty Hospital is a great place. I wish I could go there through my agency.

I'm not a big fan of HCA either. It's okay working agency at them, but I couldn't stand working staff there.

[jhawkgirl]

Saint Luke's starts new grads at $19.50. There is a $4.00 differential for nights and a $1-2 differential for weekends. Saint Luke's has several locations, South, North, Plaza and a new one is opening in Lee Summit.

[eddy]

If you consider working agency give Cascade Health Services or Favorite Nurses a try. They are the top ones in the area. Cascade also does permanent placement, so could be a good place to get some exposure at a bunch of hospitals. I'm not sure if Favorite does this as well. I currently work for Cascade so I know a little more about them. Also, MED does permanent placements. They have been around for quite some time and seem to run quite a few ads in the KC Star for openings. I have not dealt with them directly but have never heard anything bad about them.

Good Luck!

[Headhurt, ADN]

I currently work at KU Med and couldn't be happier. They start GN's out at $20 an hour and the incentive package is really good (they reimburse you $3000 of education expenses right out of the gate). They have a great Residency/Fellowship program for new nurses. They are also seeking magnet status...which should come around in a year or so. The only other hospital in the area that is Magnet Status is St. Josephs...but other nurses tell me its not a very interesting place to work.

I used to work for Shawnee Mission when I was an aide. They don't pay as much as KU, but they treat their employees really well. It's a pretty nice hospital, and you don't have to deal with a lot of the scary stuff large inner city hospitals have to. Just depends on your cup of tea. I certainly couldn't go back to a community-based hospital after a stint in an inner city one.

I agree with the HCA sentiment. I did all my clinicals in HCA hospitals...horrible system. There is a reason they are becoming unionized.

As far as living, most anything North of the River is pretty good. It's sort of hit or miss with the downtown/midtown areas. More rougher areas in east KC. I don't know if you are looking to rent or buy, but a good realtor should be able to help you find a good area.

Good luck!!

[hypnotic_nurse]

I worked for KUMC when I lived in Kansas (research nurse) and I loved it. Great benefits and great working conditions.