Jukeboxhero00

I worked for intermountain for several years and also worked in administration in the home health and hospice field. Here is the long and short regarding RN wages in Utah. #1 Intermountain rules the roost. #2 Utah nurses have no Union to speak of. #3 there is no nursing shortage in Utah. There are numerous schools producing underprepared new graduates that are driving the wage mark down. Intermountain in particular does not hire many outside applicants aside from entry level positions- they hire internally for the better paying jobs. Another major factor is that there are a high number of nurses in Utah wanting part time work. This could be a stereotype example but Utah is very family oriented and you have a lot of young moms who are nurses and have a partner that may be the primary income so they don't demand a higher wage- tge mid 20's at part time is enough ( not saying I agree with this, it's just the reality). That said, overall, Intermountain is a pretty good company to work for and the benefits are great.

People people, you have to play to the gods that govern admins- JCAHO! When you have staffing safety concerns file a complaint with the joint commission or even Medicare. If you have a legitimate case and present your fact well along with evidence based research to support it you will make progress. I have been a buisness owner as well as a nurse in healthcare. I have been in the same situation. You will never win this standing toe to toe with admins. From the back office point of view things like benefits represent almost 30% of your revenue right off the top. Staff is the biggest expense of any company. CMS is the biggest payor source in healthcare and they only pay about 60% of the number THEY determine is appropriate for compensation- how screwed up us that! I'm just saying that admins jobs arnt just golf games and dinner parties. I agree with the plot of nurses, but admins have report their numbers to partners, their bosses, boards, and investors and they are never going to just give up the cost control game- their job depends on it! BUT if a regulatory body mandates it- then the heat is off them, their hands are tied. They don't hate us, but they do have to protect their jobs too and, unfortunately, due to something I refer to as the MBA phenomenon, numbers are the name of the game right now and they only look at the short term (i.e. quarterly, monthly semi-weekly). Lobby your state boards of nursing to mandate staffing ratios as well- be a part of the fix! Just know this... Everything comes with a price and I promise you aren't going to see corporate healthcare just hand over there own cheddar. Wages will be adjusted, as will benefits if we fight for staffing and as far as firing vets goes as a team you have to stand united. If one is fired maybe sure 20 hand in resignations and clearly state why. Just my 2 bits for what it's worth.