Corporate heavy-has lost the true feeling of caring about our community
Pros
Good teamwork overall in nursing division. Actually know who the CEO and upper management is/are--CEO Ted even rounds on units regularly. Mission statement is "to give the healthcare we want our loved ones to receive" and it is true overall. Occasional bonuses. All but two of the hospitalists are amazing--responsive, understand to concerns, etc. Overall staff members work well together. Help the low income and less fortunate (or those on tough times) pay their medical bills. Encourage employees to do volunteer work in the community.
Cons
Constant direct management turn overs. Huge corporation getting bigger by the minute. No longer feels like a small, family environment as everything must be system-wide whether or not appropriate for your particular hospital/community. Too much time spent having us enforce "the brand." Constantly changing things--what someone at a desk in marketing comes up with--and obviously have no bedside experience and no actual idea what we do. Like most hospitals they run it like a bank and not a place to actually care for people. Frequently short staffed (but that's healthcare for you), however short staffed to the point of often doesn't feel safe and many nurses feel license is at risk. Can't live the mission statement (see above) when don't have time to actually be with and care for patients because so busy and short staffed. No time for the basics such as giving a bath or a back rub and barely enough time to actually do a nursing assessment much less any kind of ADPIE. Very focused on getting patients out the door whether or not they are ready--the PCI doctors want their stats to look good, then blame when re-admissions happen. Biggest complaint is the corporate feel that lacks empathy for the patients and the staff. Upper management gets richer and everyone else has to suck it up. While there are benefits to being corporate, making things so uniform that you lose touch with your community and employees is not a pro. Finally, for being a healthcare system our health insurance is atrocious. That's what happens when one of the cost saving techniques is to get into the insurance business and self insure.
