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Nurses are in demand in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain region. The average number of RNs per 100,000 people in this country is 825. Idaho comes in at third from last, with 628, barely ahead of Nevada and California, with their well-documented shortages. Utah is fifth from last, with 660 per 100,000. These numbers come from the newly released report, The Registered Nurse Population: Findings from the March 2004 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.

 

But the region is rich with diverse career opportunities for nurses, from well-known medical centers in the big cities to tiny rural mountain hospitals. A mecca for the computer industry, Seattle-with a population of more than half a million-has big-city amenities and a well-educated population. Portland, Oregon, is nearly the same size. Both cities have professional sports teams and cultural opportunities for every taste. Outdoor sports are popular in this area of the country, too, with skiing, hiking and camping, in the mountains of Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.

 

The region is now home to 17 of the 242 Magnet facilities. Colorado has five, the most in the region, including North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, which received its Magnet designation in March. Utah has four facilities, all part of Salt Lake City's Intermountain Health Care Urban Central Region. Oregon has three, including Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland. Idaho has two, including Kootenai Medical Center, Coeur d'Alene. Montana has one: Billings Clinic in Billings. Washington has one: the venerable University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, the nation's first Magnet hospital, originally designated in 1994 and redesignated every four years since. Alaska also has a Magnet facility, Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage.

 

Your Guide to Job Opportunities in the Mountain and Northwest States

 

Banner Healt-Corporate Offices

 

1441 N. 12th Street

 

Phoenix, AZ 85006

 

(602) 747-4000

 

Franciscan Health System

 

1717 S. J Street

 

Tacoma, WA 98405

 

Contact: Nurse Recruiters

 

(800) 215-9687

 

Web site: http://www.fhshealth.org

 

Renown Health

 

1155 Mill Street

 

Reno, NV 89502

 

(775) 982-4100

 

Web site: http://www.renown.org

 

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center

 

1055 N. Curtis Road

 

Boise, ID 83706

 

Contact: Charlene Smith, Nurse Recruiter

 

(208) 367-3118

 

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Web site: http://www.saintalphonsus.org

 

St. Mary's Hospital

 

2635 North 7th Street

 

Grand Junction, CO 81501

 

Contact: Christy Pfost, Employment Manager

 

(970) 244-2811

 

Fax: (970) 244-7194

 

Web Site: http://www.stmarygj.org

 

Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center

 

3186 S. Maryland Pkwy.

 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

 

Contact: Belinda McGraw

 

(702) 731-8000

 

Fax: (702) 731-8668

 

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Mountain View Hospital

 

3100 North Tenaya Way

 

Las Vegas, NV 89128

 

Contact: Robert Nettles

 

(702) 255-5000

 

Fax: (702) 255-5074

 

E-mail: robert.nettles@hcahealthcarecom.

 

University of New Mexico Hospitals

 

Human Resource Office

 

1650 University Blvd. NE

 

Albuquerque, NM 87102

 

Contact: Phillip Pelleriti, Recruitment Manager or Valerie Grant, Senior Recruiter

 

Phone: (505) 272-2325 or (866) 837-9040

 

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Web site: http://hospitals.unm.edu click "Careers"