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I agree that the lifestyle is worth the cost, but disagree that one needs to sacrifice a lot to get the Santa Fe lifestyle. There are a huge number of very well-priced homes priced in the $200 - 400K price range. And if you can afford more, the bargains (compared to the prices we've seen in this decade)are pretty spectacular.
Outpatient health care is generally quite good, and inpatient care is improving, like Towanda's experience exemplifies.
Good jobs are tough to come by, but those who persevere can succeed.
I would have to dispute that statement based on my personal experience.
I had only lived here for three months when a life-threatening illness sent me to Christus/St. Vincent's.
They literally saved my life there.
And as I nurse, I knew what to look for in evaluating the hospital, and my treatment there was an A to an A+.
Towanda... I'm glad to hear that. Well, I not glad to hear you had a life-threatening illness of course. But am glad to hear your kudos from a medical professional's perspective of St. Vincents.
We've never needed emergency medical; however, as we now are growing older, it's good to feel secure with St. Vincents, since it is our closest "larger" hospital. Holy Cross in Taos only has 50 beds at the most but is only a few miles closer.
A family member of mine has been in there several times and without boring you with specifics, they were pretty miserable. She had to be taken to Albuquerque to get proper medical attention. These were life threatening conditions.
Perhap I should retract what I wrote in my previous post because based on your experience maybe they do excell in some areas of medical care. And, at least, it's better than nothing.
And perhaps I'm basing my opinion too much on other hospitals I've been in. My grandmother (who died of old age) died in a really nice hospital in Dallas called Medical City. Before she died they prepared pretty much gormet meals (I know because I fed them to her) and the nurses were not only friendly but very helpful and very professional. The nurses I encountered at St. Vincents knew thier jobs and were good at it but they lacked a bedside manner. I understand being a nurse is hard. My grandmother was one but at least the people she cared for loved her for her bedside manner as well. I'm not going to make that "it's so much better in Texas" comparison because I can't say that it is. It just seems that Medical City Hospital was a lot nicer and better than St. V's. But Medical City in Dallas could not be compared with John Hopkins in Baltimore or Mass General in Boston or Mount Cedar Sinai in L.A.
So, I won't dispute your positive experience with St Vincent's and I will have to go there one day for treatment. I'll just be a little worried about it and at the very least, I'll know what to expect out of the nursing staff in terms of their attitudes.
My wife has had a few experiences with St V's in the past few months. One quite good (surgery), another quite bad (emergency). St V's seems to have a pretty poor reputation here in SF- across the board people recommended making the trip to ABQ- but we were completely satisfied with the the surgeon she used here.
The thread I started here about jobs has now become a discussion about hospitals. I love this forum...starts talking about one topic and starts talking about something else that really doesn't help me at all. lol
As a nurse (yes mortimer, I am one ), I am always interested in hearing various peoples' opinions about care in hospitals.
My coworkers and I were always puzzled by the intangibles that are in play for patients. Two patients in the same room with the same doctors and being cared for by the same nurses could end up with two very different opinions of their care. I have seen it happen over and over .. and I cannot explain it.
I will say this in defense of St. Vincent's emergency room -- from what I remember of the experience, those people were angels. They literally dug in and fought to save my life. The ICU was full, so I had to stay in the ER for several days before I could be moved to ICU. I only remember the first day before I became comatose, but from my memories and the details my husband told me when I woke up, the St. Vincent's ER and ICU nurses were as good as any hospital either of us have had experience with.
southernjedi, I am sorry for contributing to the highjacking of your thread. But it is just SO very important to me that people moving here will not have to worry about getting good medical and nursing care. At least in my own personal opinion they won't have to worry...
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), I am always interested in hearing various peoples' opinions about care in hospitals.
