RN jobs and healthcare system (Tampa, Sarasota: to rent, health insurance, condo)

[Rebecca67]

We are finally selling our house in cold dreary gray IL and ready to move to the Sarasota Nokomis Venice area! YAY!!!
However, my husband has metastatic melanoma and will need excellent healthcare. He is approved for SS disability and so employment is not an issue for him, however I work full time as an ER RN and carry our health insurance. So, I see a couple openings at SMH... One at Venice Hospital... Anyone have advice or general input about the quality of healthcare in the area? The cost of health insurance? Does one hospital in the area have a better or worse reputation either from quality of care perspective or employee opinions? Are the snowbirds (no offense intended) using up the healthcare resources making it hard to get an appointment? I'm sure there are specialists in Tampa, I just need to make sure we will have access to them!
Currently we are about an hour outside Chicago but his cancer treatments so far have been local, about a 15 minute drive from home. We have 2 young children, ages 6 and 7. We like the area and plan to rent for a few months and then try to buy a fixer upper that my husband can do cosmetic updates on and then sell. "Flipping houses", in a way except live in the home during renovations. He was a self employed carpenter and still in good health. Not experiencing any symptoms as of yet. I am well aware of the importance of not moving until I have a new job secured, but our house closes June 10 and my husband sees us moving right away. He is ready to be away from the stress of life here and ease into a semi-retired type of life style. At that point we will do some credit score repairs (rent for a few months during the off season there) and still have a nice chunk of change to put down on a home. Or, at least him and the kids move right away and then I move when I have a job.
Thank you in advance for your input. Some may wonder WHY if my husband has cancer are we moving away from family and the area we've spent our entire lives to go somewhere that we know no one and have no support system. Well.... Why not?!? Living life is about not having any regrets! If it doesn't work out we can always move back up here.

[SoFLGal]

I like your attitude but I would also tell you to proceed with caution

My uncle works as SMH in the cath lab and has for years. I have several other friends who work there as well. They seem to like it there as far as I know.

A few areas you might want to look at renting in are North Port (which would be your most economical option). The Venice area or parts of Sarasota. I have written several blogs about the local schools, things to do with kids, etc which you can find in my profile section.

What is your budget for a rental? What kind of things do you like to do? I'm assuming you are looking for good schools since you have school age children? What would be your perfect house/neighborhood? If you can answer a few of these questions it will help us pinpoint the best area for you.

Best of luck to you!

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Best Hospitals in Florida - US News Best Hospitals

[Sunshine Rules]

You'll find health insurance is probably going to be more expensive, higher deductibles as health care costs run higher in Manatee and Sarasota counties than even other parts of FL. Quality of care depends on the specifics, specialty, etc. Over the course of the years my husbands parents managed to find a couple of really good doctors and a lot of very busy ones that overbooked patients and, in my opinion, the care given suffered as a result.

Sarasota Memorial is very difficult to get on in regard to full time employment. I have a friend that is an RN, she has been working floating shifts and on call there for a couple of years now and still hasn't been able to secure full time employment on a day shift, she is on a long list of nurses waiting for openings.

After this past winter, I can understand wanting to leave Chicago. (I have family there and have heard first hand about the incredible cold and snow storms.) However, if you securing employment is a requirement for a successful move here, please either make sure you nail down a job before you move or have at least a 6 - 8 month emergency fund to hold your family over until you can get your FL license and secure an acceptable job. There are a lot of openings in medically related fields here outside of the hospitals, the issues are wage rates and benefits packages. Sarasota often comes in a far 2nd when compared to jobs in places like the metro Chicago area.

Please don't consider that I am trying to discourage you from moving here, I am merely trying to give you my honest opinion on this topic. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[Rebecca67]

So after further discussion we are putting Florida on hold. Too much all at once, and with health care concerns we want to make sure we have a good handle on my husband's cancer treatment before moving. I obtained my Florida RN license last year in anticipation of the move, so that is already in place. We would be looking for a 3 bedroom home/condo with a pool to rent, my main concern is good school district. Second concern is a safe neighborhood. Our biggest problem is that we have a 70 pound black lab and a cat! Being a former landlord myself I completely understand concerns about renting to families with animals, and appreciate how difficult it will be for us. I have applied for a couple of jobs on line at local hospitals, and for health insurance reasons we obviously won't be going anywhere until I have a regular PT/FT benefits job offer in hand.
Until then I will continue to lurk around this site, which has been a wealth of information! Thanks!

[Sunshine Rules]

We will be happy to have you "lurk" around this forum, ask any and all questions, there are a number of well informed people that post here and share their wealth of info with everyone.

[Rebecca67]

Thanks, Sunshine Rules! I appreciate your kind words of advice! :-)