Nursing Areas

Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) are essential members of our provider group. An advanced practice nurse (APN) is a registered nurse who has completed additional coursework and clinical practice requirements leading to recognition as a nurse practitioner (NP), certified nurse midwife (CNM), clinical nurse specialist (CNS) or certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).

All advanced practice nurses must meet rigorous education, certification, and continuing education requirements. Standards of practice are set and monitored by nursing professional organizations. Advanced practice nurses work collaboratively with physicians and other health professionals to coordinate health services for the best outcome for the patient.

As central Indiana's largest provider of mental health services, Community’s behavioral health services offers an extensive continuum of treatment options.

Our health care team sees more than 4,700 inpatient stays and 19,000 outpatient visits a year. Patients range from age four to senior adults and may be seen in individual, family, or group therapy.

Nurses on the unit collaborate with physicians, psychologists, therapists and counselors to evaluate and develop personal treatment plans for each patient. They have an innate concern for others and truly understand what it means to care for patients. They are nonjudgmental, patient, and exhibit the ability to effectively use critical thinking skills.

RNs stay with behavioral care because they like working with mentally challenged patients and enjoy the spirit of teamwork that comes from collaborating with a close-knit group of caregivers.

Progressive Care Unit

The 40-bed PCU unit at Community Heart and Vascular Hospital (CHVH) serves patients who are medical/surgical, progressive or intensive acuity. Staff levels are determined by patient acuity and level of care needed. Available shift lengths are 4-, 8- and 12-hour. The nursing staff mix includes RNs, LPNs, patient support persons (PSPs), student nurse externs (SNEs) and advanced practice (AP) nurses.

Patients in the PCU at CHVH have been diagnosed with cardiovascular-related conditions and are recovering from cardiac surgery or other cardiac intervention.

A sampling of equipment used in the PCU includes ProCare products, Dash patient monitors, bladder scanners and Alaris "smart" pumps.

PCU team members combine all of their skills for the greatest patient outcomes. They work closely, noting that "teamwork is great" and that "everyone can work together to take the best care of our patients even though a certain task may not be our specific job." Outstanding nurses in this area are dedicated, conscientious, compassionate, willing to go above and beyond, organized, hardworking, and diligent; they also have positive and joyous attitude.

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

SICU nursing involves a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care including physician, respiratory therapy, SNE, and AP, dietary, pharmacy, and case management. In addition, a multidisciplinary communication form is used daily to share the plan of care.

Daily nursing activities in this area include care for and recovery of post-surgical cardiovascular patients, including adult and geriatric populations. Common diagnoses of patients in this unit include post-open heart surgery care, carotid endarterectomy, peripheral vascular disease and abdominal aneurysms.

Equipment used in the SICU includes ventilators, intra-aortic balloon pumps, CCO swans, Prisma continuous renal replacement therapy, Alaris pumps, Hil Rom beds and ventricular assist devices.

Medical Intensive Care Unit

Daily nursing activities in this area include care for cardiac-focused intensive care patients, including adult and geriatric populations. Common diagnoses of patients in this unit include acute myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiogenic shock, post-cardiac intervention, hypothermia protocol, pulmonary edema and complex multisystem failures.

Equipment used in the MICU includes hypothermic therapy, Prisma CRRT, ventilators, intra aortic balloon pumps, CCO swan monitors, Alaris pumps and Hil Rom beds.

Opportunities are available to cross-train among the ICUs. CCRN review is available for those interested in pursuing certification, as well as charge nurse and preceptor education and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification within six months.

Anticoagulation Clinic

The anticoagulation clinic is part of the Center for Advanced Heart Care at Community Heart and Vascular Hospital, Community Hospital South and Community Hospital East and Community Hospital Anderson. Nurses in the anticoagulation clinic should be detail-oriented, have excellent communication skills, and have a desire to teach patients and families.

Patients at the anticoagulation clinic are both cardiovascular and pulmonary patients. They may be recovering from a variety of conditions/procedures, such as atrial fibrillation (AF or a-fib), mechanical valve replacement, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or pulmonary embolism (PE). Anticoagulation clinic nurses may perform INR point-of-care testing, educate patients and families about anticoagulant medications, and recommend dose changes based upon INR results following a standardized protocol.

Special equipment used in the anticoagulation clinic includes Coagucheck.

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation services are conducted at Community Heart and Vascular Hospital, Community Hospital South, Community Hospital East, Community Hospital Anderson and Community Howard Regional Health. Nurses in cardiac rehab should have a passion for cardiac health. Nurses in cardiac rehab work with a mix of experienced staff including RNs, exercise specialists and technicians to treat cardiovascular patients.

Cardiac rehab patients may be recovering from a variety of conditions/procedures, such as MI (myocardial infarction; heart attack), stent placement, coronary artery bypass (CABG), valve repair/replacement and stable angina. Cardiac rehab nurses may monitor Phase II cardiac rehab patients during prescribed exercise sessions, educate patients about cardiac disease and risk factor modification, and communicate with referring physicians about patients’ progress.

Community Physician Network practice nurses work at hand-in-hand with physicians at their practice locations to achieve quality outcomes for patients. Areas of practice include primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, ob-gyn, pediatrics, rheumatology and endocrinology) and specialty care.

Successful nurses in this area are caring, compassionate, efficient and pleasant. Examples of equipment used in Community Physician Network practices include autoclave (for sterilization), EKG machine, spirometer (to test breathing) and sigmoidoscope (to examine the colon).

Day beds nurses provide care to adult (over age 17) outpatients, outpatients in a bed, and extended recovery patients. The private suites allow patients and families to be together for support. Common procedures performed by day beds staff include IR invasive procedures, IV infusions, blood transfusions, IV antibiotic administration and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Cardiac monitors are employed at every bedside.

All day beds nurses are required to have Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification.

Our home care nurses help patients with varied diagnoses, including cardiac and wound issues, joint replacement, COPD, diabetes, and palliative needs using equipment such as cardiac monitors, oximeters, wound vacs, PT/INR machines, and CADD pumps.

Characteristics of outstanding home care nurses include a natural desire for compassion; the ability to work in diverse settings, cultures, and socioeconomic environments; the desire to work independently; strong pain and symptom management skills; as well as strong critical thinking skills.

Community home care nurses appreciate the flexible hours and strong team atmosphere this role presents. It’s also an ideal way to have autonomy while working with one patient at a time.

Hospice nurses are compassionate and true. They have the ability to work in diverse settings, cultures, and socioeconomic environments. They work with a multi-disciplinary team that includes social workers, chaplains, the hospice medical director, and others.

Using a variety of equipment individual to each patient’s illness, the diagnoses they manage include cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and pulmonary conditions.

Working to treat a number of critical conditions, Community nurses in the ICU and PCU respond to patient needs using state-of-the-art equipment and technology. Education and cross-training opportunities enable our nurses to respond quickly to a number of diagnoses and crises.

The neuroscience units at Community Hospitals East, South, North and Anderson, and Community Howard Regional Health are certified Primary Stroke Centers by the Joint Commission.

Daily nursing activities in the neuroscience area include basic bedside nursing, stroke care, care of back surgery patients and video EEG monitoring. Patients in the unit range from young adult to seniors and may have conditions/diagnoses such as stroke, seizures, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, migraine headaches, back surgery and Parkinson’s disease.

Neuroscience nurses at Community have the opportunity to gain specialized knowledge in stroke care, e.g., utilize the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), a tool for assessing stroke patients' neurological deficit. Neuroscience nurses may also pursue a neuroscience nursing certification (CNRN); scholarships may be available through the Community Health Network Foundation.

Outpatient oncology care is provided through Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Centers at the Community hospital campuses (North, East, South, Anderson, Howard). Oncology nursing includes medical oncology and radiation oncology. Diagnoses of patients seen at these centers include cancer or hematologic (blood) disorders. Patients are 18 years of age and older.

• Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center is a partnership between Community Health Network and MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world’s largest and most respected cancer centers. 

Oncology outpatient is an area where you give a lot, but also gain a lot—an area where you learn every day and have a close relationship with patients, families, peers and physicians. Outstanding nurses in this area desire to work with patients who need care on an ongoing basis. They have the maturity to be able to discuss life and death with patients daily. They embrace diversity. Along with their great technical skills, they are compassionate and caring every day. Above all, they want to make a difference in the lives they touch.

The staffing mix depends on the acuity, but is usually one nurse to four or five patients at any one time. Types of nurses employed include RN, LPN and PSP.

Daily nursing activities may include working in the physician office areas, medical oncology/hematology treatment, infusion and radiation oncology treatment.

Depending on location, specialized equipment used during care may include Alaris pumps, electric carts, Varian Clinac iX linear accelerator (imaging), TrueBeam™ external beam radiation therapy and Philips Brilliance CT Big Bore.

Nurses in this area are truly patient advocates and they will tell you that they receive much more from the patients than they give. They experience high levels of satisfaction from the work that they do and their greatest joy is the relationships they have with their patients and their co-workers. The nurses in this area are such a high-performing work group that, many times, they can read each others' minds. They are all team players and look out for each other in every situation.

Nurses in this inpatient area have the opportunity to learn about oncology (cancer), chemotherapy procedures and renal failure care. Patient populations served include elderly, hospice, renal and oncology (cancer) patients. Common patient diagnoses include pneumonia, congestive heart failure, diabetes, acute and chronic renal failure, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and oncology concerns (tumors, etc.). Typical daily nursing activities in this area include assessments, medication passes, critical thinking, chemotherapy and direct care of patients.

Specialized equipment used in this area includes Stryker beds with built-in bed alarms, computers, bar code scanning technology for medical administration, Pyxis®, team lift, IV pumps, PCA pumps, Dynamap blood pressure monitors, bladder scanners, AirPal, EasyStand standing frames, and Accu-Chek blood glucose monitoring products.

Nurses in this unit feel it is special because of the "supportive staff, specialized care of the chronically ill patients, and the blessing of assistance in hospice care." Nurses who stay in the oncology/renal area like the challenge of being busy and seeing something new every day. They treat each other with respect and hold one another to a higher standard of care.

Outstanding nurses in this area care with their whole heart and are giving of themselves to the care of the patient and family members beyond what is expected. They are observant, intelligent critical thinkers, as well as very patient and understanding.

The Center for Joint Health, a dedicated unit for hip and knee joint replacement patients, focuses on the entire patient experience. The goal is to help patients get back to doing the things they enjoyed before being sidelined by joint pain. Patients admitted to this unit are healthy but have knee or hip pain. These patients are motivated to participate in their recovery and get back to an active life, free of pain. The distinctive center allows patients to work together and support each other as they build strength, mobility, and a better quality of life. The Center for Joint Health is located at Community Hospitals East, North and South.

Nurses at the Center for Joint Health perform assessment, planning, teaching, treatments, medication administration and pain management, documentation and assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs). Patients at the centers have a mix of diagnoses related to orthopedic/joint health, including joint pain, osteoarthritis, necrosis of the hip, stroke, complicated migraines, pneumonia, GI hemorrhage, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), malignant neoplasm of the prostate, osteomyelitis of the foot and acute right humeral fracture/dislocation. Patients served are adults with an average age of 66.

Types of equipment used in the centers include IV poles, pumps, feeding pumps, walkers, exercise recliners, sequential compression devices (SCDs), traction equipment, trapezes, sphygmometer, pulse oximeter, incentive spirometer, bedside commodes and ice packs.

For those nurses who want variety in experience, the joint health unit offers that as well. With a mix of orthopedic patients as well as the medical/surgical population, nurses are able to stay “sharp” in their assessment and hands-on skill sets. Specific cross-training opportunities are available in hip and knee replacement.

Community Health Network’s plan for providing nursing care is designed to support improvement and innovation in nursing practice and is based on both the needs of the patients to be served and the network’s mission statement. Within this plan, resources are allotted for nursing staff and leadership to participate in or attend:

• Nursing and interdisciplinary committees
• Continuing education workshops and seminars
• Staff meetings where new information is communicated and discussed
• Process improvement meetings
• Safety-related training and meetings, huddles and calls
• Other mandatory education as determined

In designing and assessing nurse staffing, the network gives appropriate consideration to the utilization of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, unlicensed assistive personnel and other nursing personnel—and to the potential contribution these personnel can make to the delivery of effective, efficient and safe patient care. Consistent standards (standards of care, standards of practice, standards of performance, policies and procedures, level of care determinations, staffing guidelines and process improvement and safety plans) for the provision of nursing care within the network are used to monitor and evaluate the need for nursing care and its quality and safety. For example, a safety measure in place for acute inpatient care is increased patient surveillance through bedside report and purposeful rounding by the care team and staff.

Innovative improvement proposals are generated from staff nurses, clinical nurse specialists, educators, leadership, and other areas that collect data about nursing care processes and outcomes, all of which work together to advance the practice of nursing at Community Health Network.

Professional Nursing Practice Manual

Radiology nurses touch many imaging-related areas of practice at Community Health Network, including interventional radiology at Community Hospital North, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, fluoroscopy and generals.

Characteristics and skills of an outstanding radiology nurse include the following:

• Physical fitness—the majority of time is spent walking or standing 
• Critical thinking ability
• Mature judgment and leadership
• Confidence in job performance and skills
• Integrity, honesty, caring, compassionate and ethical mindset
• Professional and personal accountability
• Ability to maintain positive working relationships

Radiology nurses care for all age groups and deal with a multitude of diagnoses; there is a high population of renal patients.

Standard equipment used in radiology nursing includes Dash monitors (with PA pressures), Alaris pumps, computers, I-stat, Accu-Chek glucose monitors, PCA pumps, Pyxis, and Vocera hands-free communication system.

Radiology nurses have graduated from an accredited school of nursing and hold a current licensure in the state of Indiana.

There are opportunities to further one's education by obtaining a BSN or MSN and/or radiology certification. BLS, ACLS, and PALS are required to work in the radiology department at CHN. PPD training is optional. Radiology nurses attend continuing education seminars and complete CEUs from nursing journals to further their education in addition to the mandatory unit/RN education. 

At Community, nursing research involves the disciplined inquiry into the delivery of nursing care throughout the network. Nurses conduct research in order to answer the questions that reshape the science of nursing, touching all diagnoses and patients served.

Nurses stay involved with nursing research to contribute to the science of nursing and exercise their intellectual curiosity. They are committed to continued improvement and excellence in the delivery of nursing care.

At Community, we understand the key to recruiting and retaining a dedicated nursing team is our ability to provide an accommodating environment. So we give our nurses the opportunity to develop their careers along with the time they need in their personal lives.

The size of our health network enables us to offer assignment availability and increased opportunities for our resource team in an agency-free environment. You can have the opportunity to float just one site and have a set schedule or float between multiple sites within Community Health Network.

Resource team nurses are just that – a resource to help provide exceptional experiences when areas in the network need additional staff. In response, they find that fellow nurses and everyone else on staff is a lot like them: caring, compassionate, flexible, dependable, helpful and respectful. From an emotional standpoint, you will enjoy a genuine comfort level as you provide care and compassion in a safe and supportive atmosphere.

As a nurse on our resource team, you will bring at least two years of experience to areas where you are needed most. We currently staff Med/Surg, PCU, ICU, rehab, LDRP, NICU, psych, ED, and outpatient settings throughout the network. You have the option to choose a campus location that suits your needs and customize a work schedule to fit your life. You can also enhance your skills through cross-training in various areas of interest.

Where you might work

• Community Hospitals East, North and South
• Community Heart and Vascular Hospital
• Community Howard Regional Health

Short-term assignments

• Traveler and agency competitive wages
• 14-20 week assignments for RNs and LPNs
• Opportunities available in most units
• All shifts available
• Assignment renewal and additional opportunities available upon completion of the assignment

Non-benefited opportunities

• Resource team members without benefits have a variety of options available based on shift and can choose one, two, three or four of our Indianapolis campuses to float.
• Non-benefited positions offer agency competitive wages.
• Some of these opportunities include our short-term assignments and our one-site options called Just in time (JIT).

Comprehensive forensic medical services for sexually assaulted patients are provided by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) who are specially trained registered nurses. The 24/7 SANE availability has been achieved by maintaining an optimum staffing level of four SANEs.

Patient services include a thorough forensic medical examination, evidentiary identification, collection and preservation, photo-documentation of injuries, prophylactic treatment of sexually transmitted infections, emergency contraception, tetanus prophylaxis, and a discharge treatment plan with prescribed follow-up care based on the individual needs of the patient.

The SANEs are available to provide immediate services to patients of sexual assault. They conduct a comprehensive medical forensic examination including identification, collection, and proper preservation of vital evidence. They also conduct a forensic history with the patient, and they determine an individualized treatment and discharge plan. In addition the SANEs, on behalf of the patient, coordinate the activation of the sexual assault response team.

SANEs are registered nurses who have completed specialized sexual assault nurse examiner training which includes approximately 40 didactic hours and 40 – 60 clinical hours. After successful completion of the course requirements, a national certification examination is obtained.

Sexual Assault Nursing Locations

Madison County Sexual Assault Treatment Center 

Established in 1998, the Madison County Sexual Assault Treatment Center (MCSATC) is located on the Community Hospital Anderson campus. The MCSATC is co-located with Alternatives, an emergency shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The MCSATC operates a 24-hour clinic devoted exclusively to the delivery of comprehensive medical forensic treatment including evidence collection to patients who have been sexually assaulted. The point of entry for a patient is through Community Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Center of Hope

Since 1998, the Center of Hope at Community Health Network has been dedicated to caring for victims of violence, abuse or neglect, especially sexual assault and interpersonal violence.

Victims presenting to Community Health Network can be seen by a forensic nurse examiner (FNE) at Community Hospitals East, North or South.