WCOM NEWS

10-13-04

Memorial Hospital Miramar aims to fill 600 jobs

MIRAMAR--As Memorial Hospital Miramar prepares for its scheduled March opening, it must find experienced and qualified people for more than 600 positions.

There are about 200 openings in nursing alone, according to Leah Carpenter, the hospital's chief nursing officer.

To help meet that need, a second job fair has been scheduled at the hospital, 1901 SW 172nd Ave., from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

The newest addition to the Memorial Healthcare System -- which includes Memorial Regional Hospital, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Memorial Hospital West and Memorial Hospital Pembroke -- will have one of the most advanced online documentation systems to track patients and employees as well as filmless radiology, Carpenter said.

"We're opening up wireless. All of it impacts care, gives more time to caregivers to be at bedside," she said. "More time means safer care. There's less room for human error."

What's most needed for the 100-bed, Mediterranean-style hospital is experienced personnel, said Jim Ball, RN, the facility's director of emergency services.

Job fair organizers said they are hoping to fill positions in plant engineering, radiology, nutrition, adult and pediatric emergency care and nursing. Particularly needed are pediatric nurses and nursing assistants.

The first job fair attracted about 700 applicants, Ball said.

"It was a great turnout. I didn't expect to see that many people, not in the middle of the week," he said.

Ball, who has been with the hospital system for 24 years, said Memorial Healthcare several years ago set out to establish relationships with its patients and meet their needs even after they leave the hospital.

"We are talking about caring for the elderly while they're here, transporting them back to where they reside and then confirming their after care once they get home," he said.

"That's the legacy we'd like Memorial Hospital Miramar to surpass."

(source) Sun Sentinel (Yvonne Carey) 10-13-04