Harrisburg Hospital vs. Hershey medical

jsliko

Hi Folks!  First time-posting here!  I am 14 weeks pregnant.  I have enjoyed my first 2 appts with my OBGYN (in Hummelstown).  But my OBGYN contracts with Harrisburg.  I went to Harrisburg Maternal Fetal Medicine and had a HORRIBLE experience.  We waited 2.5 hours to get 2 things of blood drawn, 1 ultra sound, and ~45 sec with the doctor.  The waiting room STANK of cigarette smoke, and the doctor (during his 45 sec visit) confused me with another patient.  The nurses there assured me this was an atypical day as one of the doctors was called to the hospital unexpectantly.   I would need to go back and see them at my 20-week anatomy ultrasound (and god knows what else). Because of this horrible experience, I was considering switching doctors to the Penn State Hershey system.  

Has anyone had experience with either Harrisburg or Hershey?  Good or bad?  

I appreciate any and all advice!

cathieh

I had my first 2 at Hershey. No real complaints. Although they will have students and they like to be in control of your labor. For example with my second I came in around 2am because I thought my water broke and it turned out that it did. My husband was working 4 hours away and when they checked me I was 5cm. I called him and he came as quick as possible but they wanted to give me pitocin. He nurses rock and if you speak up for yourself and what you want you can have the delivery you want. I'm pregnant with my third now but I've chose to deliver at Holy Spirit this time. I love that they let their midwives deliver and there is always one at the hospital. Hershey doesn't let midwives deliver. Good luck deciding.

zbornak123

Had a good experience at Harrisburg.

brod20

I live in Harrisburg, and went to Harrisburg Hospital when I had a miscarriage a few months ago. Worst experience ever. I vowed never to go back there again unless I was unconscious and had no choice! I would def choose Hershey over Hbg. I decided to deliver at Women's and Babies Hospital in Lancaster. It's a 40 min drive from our house but worth it IMO. I go to May Grant Associates in Elizabethtown for all my appointments.

midge519

I live about a half hour from Hershey and had my second there. I had an unusual labor (3.5 hours first contraction to delivery). I only had a few appointments with their doctors because I moved back into the area around 35 weeks. But with that said I had a great experience with all the doctors I saw and the nursing staff. The delivery went smoothly even being in the triage room in L&D because of the delivery rooms being full. But they have (or at least did in 2010) a patient controlled pain medication that goes through the IV instead of using an epidural called the remiPump. I found that a much better option than the epidural even though I wasn't able to get it. Everyone was amazing during my delivery and they even did a quick ultrasound to be sure baby was in the correct position for delivery. They answered everything I asked and were quick to walk me through anything I didn't understand. Recovery went great. DD would gag in her sleep so I asked them to take her when I'd try to get some sleep. They were fantastic about not supplementing and following my wishes to bring her back when she was hungry (in her case all the time since she cluster fed a lot). 

This time I'll be at GSH only because thats where my doctor is and I'm not sure I'll make it to Hershey in time this time.