hospitals in decatur (Bloomington, Normal, Zion: house, rent, job)

[patsy615]

any information on the hospitals in decatur would be appreciated. looking into the the town of findlay or shelbyville. what is it like to raise children there; schools and sports? we are looking at moving in june. any suggestions? thanks

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by patsy615

any information on the hospitals in decatur would be appreciated.

Decatur is served by both Decatur Memorial Hospital and St. Mary's Hospitals. They are strategically located on opposite corners of the city (DMH on the NW and St. M on the SE, right on Lake Decatur).

I had several surgeries at DMH, including a radical thyroidectomy for Thyroid cancer in recent years and their ENTA center, headed by Dr. Steven Sobol is absolutely top-drawer! Sobol is one of the top thyroid cancer specialists in the country; having trained at Sloan-Kettering in NYC.

Most recently, I *just* had surgery to re-attach my tendons to my left knee cap that were torn off in an unfortunate accident right after Christmas. This was performed by Dr. John Kefalis, who was also excellent provider.

This surgery was actually performed at St. Mary's because of the urgency of the surgery required and his "surgery day" at St. Mary's was earlier in the week than his "surgery day" at DMH (he has surgical privileges and operates offices located at both hospitals)

Looking into the the town of findlay or shelbyville. what is it like to raise children there; schools and sports? we are looking at moving in june. any suggestions? thanks

Findlay is pretty a small and isolated community. I don't know anything about the schools, although it is on Lake Shelbyville. I think that it's mostly typical small-town-Illinois, with the Lake thrown-in for good measure and recreational opportunities.

Shelbyville is a very nice, somewhat larger community; again having the attraction of the lake, but as well, has one of the nicer community parks and pools in the Summer.

When my daughter used to live in Mt. Zion (SE suburb of Decatur), she used to take her two boys to the Shelbyville pool during the Summer.

I used to have an employee that commuted to DeWitt County from Shelbyville to work for me and he always had good things to say about the community, but this was, of course, second-had information from several years ago now.

Another community worth considering looking into is Clinton, which also is near a good-sized man-made lake (if it's boating/recreational opportunities that you're looking for, I presume) and has excellent schools. Our daughter bought a house there and moved her boys up this past Fall.

The nice thing about Clinton is that it is centrally located. Easy commute to Decatur south down 4-lane US 51 and Bloomington/Normal is just about as far away to the north and is a bit more "sophisticated" community than Decatur, since it is a very white collar town with heavy insurance (State Farm and Country Companies HQ-ed there) and university (ISU, IWU and Heartland Community College) employment

Maroa or Forsyth are both also quite nice (Forsyth is more expensive but just north of Decatur) and has an excellent school system (Maroa/Forsyth) with a new grade school to be built in Forsyth this year just now going out for construction bidding.

HTH!

[patsy615]

thank you arpschneider, do you know what the pay scale is for registered nurses at either hospital?

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by patsy615

thank you arpschneider, do you know what the pay scale is for registered nurses at either hospital?

Not a clue, but here is a link to the DMH Employment web page:

Nursing Positions and Employment Opportunities

I have a friend in choir at our church (St. Paul's Lutheran in Decatur) that works as an RN, but I'm not sure which Hospital. I know several other folks at church that work there too, and if I think of it (and they're willing to tell me!) I'll try to inquire tomorrow and post something if I learn anything.

Our choir director's daughter is studying nursing at Millikin U and she may know too.

Oh, and if you're looking for a GREAT church, do come and try St. Paul's Lutheran on W. Wood St. in Decatur. We live in DeWitt County and drive (22-some miles) for it, but it is EXCELLENT!! They offer 5 services ranging from traditional to contemporary, so you should be able to find anything you're looking for.

St. Paul's Lutheran

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by patsy615

thank you arpschneider, do you know what the pay scale is for registered nurses at either hospital?

According to the RN I talked to after church today, the rate of pay seems to range from $17.00 to $30.00 an hour, depending on many different factors, such as whether or not you work weekends, years of experience, etc. She says that both hospitals pay scales are basically neck-and-neck.

I'm sure they'd be delighted to give you all of the information you'd ever want.

For DMH:

https://healthcaresource.com/decatur...a7a3a417496428


For St. Mary's:

Hospital Sisters Health System - Employment

Good luck!