Relocating to Spokane

lindarn · Oct 19, 2015

Hi Scott!

I am responding to your request for information on Spokane.

Why are your moving to Spokane? I moved here from California because I married someone who was Active Duty AF.

To be honest, I have not been happy here at all. I have spent 26 miserable years here, with no end in sight.

Not only does Spokane not have a nursing shortage, we are right next to North Idaho. Idaho bought the big lie, about 20+ years ago, and voted to become a, "right to work", state.

Now Washington IS NOT a Right to Work state, but the economic conditions in Spokane, have made it vulnerable to being tinted by the stench of the Right to Work laws in Idaho. Spokane has always been an economically depressed area. The good jobs are all on the coast. Spokane's most profitable jobs have all been in health care. The economy depends on it. A large Kaiser factory, that was unionized, had good paying jobs, etc, was abruptly closed several ago by a greedy owner who wanted to break the union. When the plant closes, it put over 2000 people, who had living wage jobs, out of work.

It causes a huge hiccup in the Spokane economy, with all of these people out of work with no money to spend in the local economy.

Spokane has unreasonably low pay, and poor benefits as compared to Seattle, but the lower cost of living does not account for the low pay. Sacred Heart nurses are unionized with WSNA, and they do ok with them, not great.

But Sacred Heart is much better than Deaconess. Both Deaconess and Sacred Heart were non profits, and Sacred Heart, a Catholic hospital is still non profit. When Deaconess was bough out by Community Health, they are a for profit, and it shows.

Deaconess was owned by Empire Health for many years and was going under financially a few years ago. They were bought out by Community Health from Tennessee. A notorious, for profit, anti union company. Things were bad under Empire Health, so the employees unionized. Deaconess has been a bastion of anti union sentiment, forever. The nurses reluctantly unionized under 1199,under Empire Health, and with the coaching of Community Health, stirring the anti union sentiment, the nurses voted out 1199, a few short years later.

The other department who unionized, Radiology, Lab, etc, remain unionized with 1199.

Sacred Heart is my winner, hands down, over Deaconess. They each own smaller hospitals - Sacred Heart owns Holy Family in the North side of town, and Deaconess owns Valley Hospital in the Spokane Valley. Valley Hospital nurses have remained unionized with 1199.

If you have experience, you should not have trouble getting a job. I would check their websites, and see what is available.

I do not know what the pay scales are. You can check the WSNA web site and look at the union contract. Deaconess has to stay close, pay and benefits wise, or they would not have any nurses.

Spokane has many schools of nursing right here in town- Spokane Community College, RN, and LPN programs, Washington State, Gonzaga University, Whitworth, College, BSN, right across the border in Idaho, is North Idaho College. ADN, Boise and Boise State, and I believe Lewis And Clark College have BSN and Masters programs as does the above college BSN programs, there are also ADN programs throughout Washington State, and programs in Idaho and Oregon.

There are also several BSN and ADN programs in Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia.

The Tricities area of Washington State, also has nice hospitals This is located in South Central Washington State and is comprises of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. They are all right next to each other, hence the name, "Tricities". They also have their share of nursing programs. Tricities is right across the border to Oregon.

Nurses have NEVER been treated especially well in Spokane.

If you look at all of the nursing programs available, churning out new grads every six months, the, "right to work", right next door in Idaho, you can see why. I am glad that I am retired.

PM me if you decide to move here, and I can show your around. Good Luck.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN,(ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Scottwcordill · Oct 19, 2015

Lindarn,

Thank you for your honest and thorough response. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. My partner is relocating to Spokane for work. He grew up in Spokane and we have a very large/very close family there. We visit quite often and love it. Thank you for pointing me to the WSNA contracts for wage information. That was truly helpful. It looks like wages are about $4-5 less than Portland (albeit Portland's cost of living is outrageous), but I will be happy with that. Again, thank you for your time.

:-)

Scott

jenanna · Oct 20, 2015

I am not a nurse but found this post when I Googled something about Deaconess. Geez, lindarn, 26 "miserable" years? Thankfully the OP has been to Spokane and knows it's not some circle of hell. I'm sorry you are so negative but not all Spokanites feel that way.

lindarn · Oct 21, 2015

Individuals who are not from Spokane, and come from more sophisticated areas of the county,(NYC), do not find Spokane, "charming".

Right from my father's mouth, as he sat on the park bench in the baggage claim, watching all of the people at the airport, while my mom and I waited for their luggage,"what rock did these people crawl out from under? I have never seen such weird looking people in my life".

THAT was my parents first impression of Spokane. As was mine when mine moved here.

If you have never lived any place else, you get a narrow view of things.

I am not the only person who has moved here, that feels like I do. I know more people who have moved here, and feel the same as I do, as people who moved here and love it.

I grew up in a union household, never heard of, "right to work", or, "at will", allowing people to be fired for no reason, I detest the ant-employee attitude here. It smells of the Koch Brothers.

I am sorry if you do not value your self as an employee, and don't care if you are treated like dirt. I do. I have worked elsewhere and know better.

Until Spokane offers something better, and I can finally escape, I will remain with my same feelings toward Spokane.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

jenanna · Oct 22, 2015

I don't know why I'm arguing with you, but here goes. I HAVE lived in other places (Texas, Cali, Florida and also Seattle), so I'm not some narrow minded hick. As for "such weird looking people," that's just judgmental and rude. I can see why you are so bitter, however, since you've lived somewhere you hate for several decades and have never had the wherewithal to find a way out. I hope you can find some peace.

kalycat, BSN, RN · Oct 22, 2015

I have actually lived all over the country and I get where lindarn is coming from. That said, I had to live in the TriCities for 8 years for work and ended up getting married and staying for a bit. I came to Spokane for nursing school because I hated the TriCities and wanted to work at a larger hospital/trauma center. I personally think that the TriCities is far weirder than Spokane, but I hate the heat and the desert and don't dig the cultural scene at all....and I even like food and wine! I also think several of the hospitals have some serious issues, but that is coming from someone who was formerly in healthcare administration and social services and who is now a nurse.

I like Spokane and enjoy working there. I feel like nursing is a fairly tight knit community in the area and that it is important to forge solid contacts. My impression is that experienced nurses are somewhat in demand. Definitely check out WSNA; the contract for SH is online and will give you the pay scale.

Spokane has some issues, but at the same time, there is something I truly enjoy about the community that makes me want to invest in making it better in any small way. I also enjoy the outdoor activities, etc, and the 4 seasons. I'm originally from central Oregon but have lived in SoCal, Boston, and several cities in the Midwest. I do miss Seattle on occasion, but not the traffic nor cost of living. I could have a McMansion for what I paid for some of my places in Seattle. Good luck OP!

Eta: I saw your specialty was cardiac step-down. SH recently expanded their CICU, so if you check their website, you will see several openings for both cardiac floors since many experienced nurses apparently moved on to ICU. One is cardiac medical, which is a broader patient base I believe, and one is more specialized, higher acuity cardiac telemetry. Both have a good culture and the nurses seem satisfied from what I hear, and my friends tell me there are always shifts to pick up if you want them. Hope that helps a little!

Scottwcordill · Nov 6, 2015

Thank you so much Kalycat:-) I've been in contact with a Prov recruiter and I'm excited to make my move:-) Spokane here we come!