Hospital Tour

robynlesley · May 2009

Yesterday my DH and I toured the 2nd of two possible hospitals to deliver our baby at. My OB practice is affiliate with both. The 1st is closer to where we live and the 2nd is closer to my job (and where I grew up). And my mom's friend is a NICU nurse at the 2nd hospital.

I thought the first hospital gave the better tour and it was newer and had more amenities. But it seemed more regimented and had "rules". The second seems willing to work with the patients and their physicians.

The only thing that annoyed me is that the woman who gave the tour (who I'd met previously at my u/s with the perinatologist there) at the 2nd hospital gave me a look when I said it was my first pregnancy. Yes, I KNOW I'm old... but it's not THAT unusual to have your first child at age 39 in this day and age?especially in my area of NJ. Two other women (also first-timers) on this tour looked to be around my age, as well.

Leaving that part out of it, even though the first hospital is a regional trauma center and has the better NICU, the 2nd seems to be more nurturing towards new moms and I think I'll have my baby there?even though it's about 10 miles further away.

I'm assuming that a half hour's drive from my apartment to the hospital isn't too far for a first baby. At least I hope not!

iluvtom · May 2009

Yeah Robyn, I am glad that both are highly rated and you are happy with your decision, I will be going to tour my hospital , LIJ at the end of the month.

busybea · May 2009

Wow, Robyn, you're lucky that you actually have the choice of 2 to choose from, my OB is only associated with one, thank goodness it's about 5 blocks away from our house, but it is about 1/2 hour from my job. Regardless, we were extremely pleased with the hospital's maternity ward, had no idea at all that it had undergone a complete transformation recently and it looks just awesome! The nurses "seemed" pretty nice and overall we were very happy to see all the new technology that was now there and all the pretty (family) rooms now available.

stever · June 2009

Glad you have a choice Robyn. We had our hospital tour last week , at only one hospital, and were pretty darn pleased.

It's really exciting, isn't it?

JenniferTCU · June 2009

Doesn't it feel great to check stuff off your list?

Ours is about 25 minutes away. We do our tour in June when we do the lamaze classes. Soooooo exciting!

Assembly_Reqd · June 2009

I think you should go with the one that you like better. I would only choose the other one if the one you like had no NICU at all....If you are still unsure I would tour the 2nd one again. Maybe you got a crappy guide....

SFAug07 · June 2009

Cool you got to tour 2 hospitals! We only toured one last week here in San Francisco. The tour was fine but I felt like an imposter - all the other ladies looked so much further along (although we are all about the same). My DH commented on it too...

ljlkm · June 2009

The distance should be fine. Our hospital is 35 minutes away without traffic or...as long as an hour and a half away if traffic is bad (it's in the heart of San Francisco).

robynlesley · June 2009

Yeah, I'm going to stick with the 2nd hospital?which is actually the one I told my insurance I'd have the baby at when I notified them of my pregnancy (and it's where I've had all my prenatal tests). I only decided to tour the 1st one after I found out they had a new maternity wing (all private rooms like the other one).

I do the same commute every day (I work less than 5 miles from the hospital where I'll deliver) and it's not bad. The one thing that will be funny is that I have to drive past the closer hospital on the way to the one I want.

Mango2 · June 2009

Hooray for knowing. You're lucky to have a choice. It's so important to be comfortable

fiazo · June 2009

robynlesley:

Yeah, I'm going to stick with the 2nd hospital?which is actually the one I told my insurance I'd have the baby at when I notified them of my pregnancy (and it's where I've had all my prenatal tests). I only decided to tour the 1st one after I found out they had a new maternity wing (all private rooms like the other one).

I do the same commute every day (I work less than 5 miles from the hospital where I'll deliver) and it's not bad. The one thing that will be funny is that I have to drive past the closer hospital on the way to the one I want.

Robyn, which hospital will you be going with? I have been procrastinating a bit & need to do a tour myself. I'm having mine at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.

robynlesley · June 2009

fiazo:
Robyn, which hospital will you be going with? I have been procrastinating a bit & need to do a tour myself. I'm having mine at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.

Just to let you know, my cousin had both her children at Valley in Ridgewood and she loved it. She traveled from NYC to Valley... so that shows how much since there are several excellent hospitals in Manhattan.

I'm going with St. Clare's in Denville. The other hospital I toured was Morristown Memorial. Morristown has the better NICU but I got a better overall "vibe" from St. Clares. Though Morristown does give all new moms a "free" massage?it costs $35 at St. Clare's. LOL!

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