wilmington

My aunt lives in Wilmington and I have visited there many many times. It's not that big. Alot of small subdivisions. There is really only 2 hospitals there and both are from the same company Columbia which is for profit. There appears to be alot of turnover there and they have decreased alot of the benifits from what I've been told. There are SO many people moving and relocating there where the population is growing but the roads are pretty bad and cannot handle the congestion, which makes transportation even worse. It is beautiful right now, I just hope it doesn't get lost in its growth. For instance there is a strip on the beach they call the boardwalk... It is being torn down because it is considered an eye sore for one of the new high rise condo duplex's. I heard the locals talking of this last summer while visiting the shops in the few shops in the boardwalk, which is pretty sad because they are family owned and operated, it really added to the charm. As for kids being raised there, I guess it depends on where you are now. There is definately more people there, but that also means more things to get into which can be a good thing, but... Anyway. Good luck with your decision, and I hope this helps some.

The person who said Columbia owns 2 hospitals in the Wilmington area is in error, they sold out years ago. There is a fairly large hospital operated by the New Hanover network right in Wilmington, and a smaller hospital in Brunswick County (between N. Myrtle Beach and Wilmington) called Brunswick Hospital operated by HCA. Just depends what you like- city living (Wilmington) or more rural beach communities (Brunswick).

Is Cape Fear Hospital still there? I had no idea Columbia sold out. Thanks for the information. It still seems like a nice place to work from their website information.

The person who said Columbia owns 2 hospitals in the Wilmington area is in error, they sold out years ago. There is a fairly large hospital operated by the New Hanover network right in Wilmington, and a smaller hospital in Brunswick County (between N. Myrtle Beach and Wilmington) called Brunswick Hospital operated by HCA. Just depends what you like- city living (Wilmington) or more rural beach communities (Brunswick).

Is Cape Fear Hospital still there? I had no idea Columbia sold out. Thanks for the information. It still seems like a nice place to work from their website information.

Cape Fear is owned by New Hanover now.

Do they really have a one to five nurse patient ratio with your own CNA ?

Cape Fear hospital is now owned and operated by the Newhanover Hospital network. I did my orthopaedic clinicals there a couple of years ago and I have a friend who has worked there for 32 years. It is a very desireable place to work and it is VERY competitive to get a position there, and yes, the patient to nurse/CNA ratio is good but I do not remember exactly what it was.

2 great hospitals in Brunswick county- Brunswick Community Hospital is the larger of the two in Supply on Highway 17, and Dosher hospital in Southport. There are probably five or six nursing home/rehab facilities in the county as well. Brunswick county is MUCH cheaper to live in than New Hanover County but one could also live in Brunswick County and work in Wilmington which isn't too far. If you call any of these facilities to get information, ask the Human Resources department to give you descriptions/jobs at each facility.

thank you siloa for the information, what a help to get some insight before i get there. looking foward to moving asap.. thanks again

liz

Last that I knew Brunswick Community was owned by HCA-Columbia, a for profit group that does not have a good reputation for pay or benefits for the employees. Also got into trouble with the government a few years ago and signed an agreement with the gov. that all employee's will have training in ethics on a yearly basis. Sounds good, but the people who make the real decisions are never there and abuse still occurs. :angryfire

Many great hospitals and corporations have ethics and compliance training for their employees. While Brunswick Community Hospital is managed by HCA, they are locally managed and operated. Since it is one of the largest hospital corporations in the US, when you "talk them down" you are actually putting down about 170 hospitals.

I do know they have generated many "best practices". When I checked their benefits, they were competitive with both pay and savings and retirement, etc.

I would be careful about using the word "abuse" on this forum, unless you have something substantial to back it up. Brunswick was never implicated in any billing issues.

I have a few friends who work there, and they are happy with their employment because their patient satisfaction is very high. My experiences with this hospital (as a patient) have been positive.

I went to nursing school in Wilmington and worked at New Hanover and Cape Fear (they're under the same umbrella-- New Hanover Health Network). It's a great hospital and I have a lot of friends that work there still. Wilmington is a booming town and nothing beats living at the beach, but the :) one thing I can say against it is, even though Wilmington is booming now, it's still "small town" and you piss one person off in the hospital and they can make it hell for you. That's what happened to me-- four years of perfect attendance and never being written up or verbally warned, and I pissed off one charge nurse my last year of school and somehow got blacklisted and was not able to get a job there when I graduated to save my life. Other than that, it's a great place to live and New Hanover is a great place to work. :)