What the hell is wrong with Lovelace Women's?!

Jamjapoarm · May 2012

I called to start doing prenatal care yesterday, they told me that the ONE person who schedules those appointments is out -- apparently Rose is the only person who can do this? Anyway, Rose calls me back today and was totally rude! First she told me that I HAD to see a midwife and not an MD because midwifes ARE OB/GYNs???? What the heck does that mean? I'm not an idiot, and Midwifes DID NOT GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. I saw a midwife for my last pregnancy and it was a total disaster that ended up in my baby almost dying and an emergency c-section -- I DO NOT WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN. Then she told me that I could NOT see anyone until I was 8 to 10 weeks (I'm exactly 7 weeks today) and then tells me that the next available appointment is June 18 -- which puts me at 11 weeks! Also, I have to go to an 'orientation' before I can even see anyone and if I fail to show up to orientation they will cancel my appointment.

Is Rose just being rude to me? I can't figure out if she is a horrible person or if she is just stuck in the bureaucratic system? Anyone else has had these problems with Lovelace Women's?

If anyone can suggest another practice that takes Cigna, please let me know, this is a really bad start to a long journey and I would prefer not to work with them if this is the way they treat people!

eturp · May 2012

I'm sorry! That sounds a bit off to me. I have no experience with Lovelace though. Will Women's Specialist of NM take Cigna? That's where my OB was and she was wonderful! GL!

marta602 · May 2012

That is strange. My OB wouldn't see me until 8-10 weeks either and I was an established patient. I've never heard of an orientation, but I didn't go to Lovelace womens. I go to Women's specialists also and love them. They seem to take a lot of insurance so I would try there or ABQ health partners. Check online with your insurance and they should give you a listing of in network providers.

Good luck.

KathleenHolscher · May 2012

That's odd. I'm moving to nm next month, and will be arriving when I'm 33 weeks along. I scheduled an appointment at the clinic attached to the Women's Hospital, and they didn't say anything about an orientation-- they just said to get there a bit early to fill out the necessary paperwork.

sterfehr · May 2012

I had my son at Lovelace Womens. I never had to attend an orientation so that seems a bit wierd. I had to wait until I was 8-10 weeks too. I think I called right away when I found out (at 4 weeks) and I was able to get an appointment at 8 weeks. I did see a midwife, but that was my choice. I had great experiences with midwives with both of my kids. I do know that they have MDs at their office though.

Maybe you could try calling back and acting like you never called before and you might get a different story? I'm not sure who else might take your insurance but I would say it is definetly worth checking around. With my son we had Blue Cross and Lovelace and UNM took our insurance. We have since switched to Presbyterian because we got the same coverage through our employer at a lower cost. I had a great experience with Presbyterian in Rio Rancho with my daughter.

mhevronbailey · July 2012

OMG! I can not believe that. Especially when they have MD's there. I would go to UNM or Pres instead of dealing with that.

supergirlsarah · August 2012

That's terrible! I hope you found a doctor you could see. I called ABQ health partners and got the run around from that same Rose. She was never there when I called. Sometimes I'd call three times a day. Why would there only be one person to handle a huge network like that?! Seemed ridiculous. So I called the women's specialists of NM. The clinic is right behind Women's and they're awesome! I have a great doctor!

mdmcfadden · September 2012

Wow! I'm prego now, due Feb 6th and have had both boys and the prenatal care with this preg with Lovelace Women's. I have been nothing but please with their service! I call 254-6500 for scheduling (general ABQ Health partners line?). Also, it's helpful to call every week or day and see if they've had any cancellations, they will get you in right away. ABQ Health Partners also services the Gibson and Journal Center locations as well as Women's. Most of the midwives travel to all locations. It is normal to not schedule prenatal care until 8-10 weeks for Lovelace Womens, it was that way with all 3 of my pregnancies. I would suggest seeing Danielle Hoelter, I have really enjoyed her. I think you have to realized that Lovelace is a midwife heavy system and they tend to have the high risks go to the MDs for obvious reasons, however you can see a Dr at any time, it's all in who you schedule your appointment with. But realize there are far less DRs than midwifes and it will be harder to get in. When you deliver, there are always DRs there whether you're delivering with a midwife or not and at any point a Dr can be called in to assist with a delivery. Even if you see a DR your entire pregnancy you can't guarantee you will have him/her for your delivery. I had a DR assist my first delivery due to an emerg C-sect (breech baby quick labor) they were amazing. Dr. Martinez and Dr. Leonard were wonderful eventhough I saw a midwife the entire time. Don't let one rude person stress you out

choppdaddy · October 2012

I my name is tobasco....I have been dealling with lovelace for two years now and yes a lot of the people that work there are mean and rude I had stapples in me about20 I got a desease that was created by me smashing my foot no broken bones or anything it just heald wrong! Anyway my skin is very sensitive and whe I tried to explane this the nures called me a baby! I'm 32 years old and can even go in the sun and the last thing I need is some rude ass woman that I need help from. Its crazy and I feel for you. I have to deal with them still.....good luck and God bless you. Dod what I do and hang up the phonecall back and ask to speak with somone else then tell that person you had to hang up because the person before was rudeand almost always the new person will take that and use it as a drive for them to do better for you:

JinJosh12 · January 2014

Lovelace has been bought by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I doubt you will have these problems with them!

MommyEllenSue · March 2014

I delivered at Lovelace in December and was happy with the whole experience. I never had any problems scheduling appts or having to wait. I had a midwife and wouldn't go to anybody else now. Lovelace is a baby/mom friendly system that is why there are so many Midwife's. Because of this their c-section rate is considerably lower than average. You usually don't see a MD unless you are high risk. If you want to only see a Dr. you probably need to go to Presbyterian. No matter where you go though you more than likely will not get an appointment before 10 weeks. That's pretty standard.

hrossi253 · January 2015

I was having some problems the other day and was supposed to be f/u with an OB in 2 days. Pres couldn't get me in for 2-4 WEEKS, Lovelace literally got me in the NEXT DAY. I met with a midwife, super nice, and they told me I could continue with her or see an MD, my choice. They are seeing me for my next appt at 9 weeks, standard I would say, but the midwife told me to call or come in with any concerns. So far, I really like them!