Touring the Hospital

(source)

We went on our hospital tour the other night.  It is highly recommended by the hospital, and since this a new place for me to deliver I thought it would be a good idea.

I will be having Logan at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, OH.  It's actually where Michael was born, along with most of his family.  It's literally two minutes from his mom's house where he grew up.

I have heard nothing but good things about it.  I've had a few friends who have delivered there.  It's a level 3 maternity center and has a level 3 NICU.  It is suppose to be one of the best (and busiest) hospitals in the nation, and was featured on two seasons of Lifetime's "One Born Every Minute".

Even still, I had a pretty good idea that this experience would be nothing like the one I had in Texas.  The hospital I delivered at there was fairly new and was referred to by some as the "Taj Mahal of hospitals".  It is physician owned, which I think is what sets it apart.

The tour started out well.  The girl guiding the tour was pretty young and had her script memorized and spewed out facts like a robot.  It all started going down hill when people started asking questions.  She pretty much deferred every single question to, "You will have to discuss that with your doctor.  Each doctor has their own set of rules."

While we were in the labor and delivery room, I noticed that there was no sort of couch or pull out bed for Michael to sleep on.  There was one at our last hospital, so I asked about it.  Her response was, "Well, you are only in here for an hour and a half to two hours after the baby is born so he won't need a place to sleep."   Yep.  My jaw dropped.  Really?  You give maternity tours at a hospital and you don't know that labor could take DAYS!?!  So I explained that last time I had a child, I was in the labor and delivery room for 24 hours and that was with a very smooth labor and delivery.   He would, indeed, need to sleep!  Her face turned red and she pointed out that there was a recliner.  Awesome.

At Baylor, Michael got 3 meals a day.  As soon as I delivered, no matter what time of day it was, I was allowed to order anything I wanted to eat and have it delivered to my room.   Once we got moved to postpartum there was a room down the hall filled with snacks and drinks.  Michael could get them for either of us at any time.  We also got a steak and lobster celebratory dinner on our last night of stay in the hospital. 

At Riverside, the mom gets some food vouchers and the dad can purchase food vouchers.  Our guide was unsure at the cost of those vouchers.  Helpful, right?!  Michael can also go down and purchase food from the cafeteria, or leave and bring outside food in.  There is no snack room down the hall. There isn't even a vending machine on the floor.

Thankfully, we aren't taking any classes this time around.  Last time all of our classes were free.  They also had a beautiful spread of food--even at the hospital tour.  I added up the cost of the 3 classes we took last time and would have to pay $160+ if we took those same classes here.  My multiple visits with the lactation consultant were also free.  I am pretty sure once I leave the hospital this time, that I will have to pay for any services.

Someone asked about the pediatricians checking out the baby.  I called around when we first moved here, and from what I've found, most of the pediatricians here no longer go to the hospital.  You just have to use the on staff pediatrician for discharge.  She had no clue how to answer their question.  I'm pretty sure she didn't even understand it.  It was embarrassing.  I felt bad for all of the first time parents.  If I didn't have a clue what was going on, I would not be happy with the answers I got from that tour.

They also didn't go over safety at all.  Um, that's pretty huge.  Especially since there were was just a baby mix up in the news last week.  All hospitals say they have a great security system in place, yet mix ups are still happening.  A good chunk of our tour at Baylor was about the safety of the infant and the protocol they follow.  Here we were told that we will find out at admission.  It's a little late then if you aren't happy with the system!  Ay yi yi.

Regardless, I'm sure it will be fine.  We aren't getting a steak and lobster dinner, but I'm sure our baby will still be in good hands.  We just got incredibly spoiled in Texas.