Baby Hospital Advice!!! (Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale: relocating, insurance, travel)

[Jaribu2000]

I will be relocating to AZ by the end of the year and that is when my baby is due. I don't know the phoenix area that well. Can any one recommend me a nice hospital to give birth in, based on experience. Also any hospitals you would NOT recommend due to bad experiences. I will be living in LFP but im not too concern if I have to travel to another town just to have a good experience. Thanks!

[shadow91]

I don't know where you are living at, what kind of town you are coming from, but here, when you deliver, you keep the baby with you unless it is sick. Scottsdale Shea is a good hospital as is Osborn in Scottsdale. Mesa general is closing in May and delivers nothing but Spanish babies. Tempe St Lukes is the same way, small, just opened their unit last July, we had one nurse anesthetist that would say "tempe st lukes, we're better than nothing". St Joes, Baptist, West Valley, Maricopa County, Banner's are like assembly lines, too busy. Maryvalle I heard they call Scareyvalle. If I was having a baby, I would probably go back home to my small little town. If you have a very sick baby, it would go to Banner, St Joe's, or Maricopa to the NICU depending on where beds were available. Excellent doctors and staff, just too busy. If you want to go where there are no illegals (trust me, there are millions having their babies here), go to one of the Scottsdale hospitals. Check the internet online for Scottsdale Healthcare System.

[Jaribu2000]

Well I currently live in NY so having babies here is kind of in & out then next...! The hospital where I first gave birth here was very nice but has no private rooms. Privacy is very important. It was also nice because its attached to a childrens hospital. My daughter was born with complications so she was send to the NICU right away. I will definetly do more research on Scottdale. Thanks for the advice!

[nolagirl]

I just moved out here and found a doctor I really like that delivers at Scottsdale Healthcare on Shea, she came highly recommended from another OBGYN I know out of state. While I haven't been to the hospital yet, I have heard it's very nice.

I did have one person tell me not to go to Paradise Valley Hospital and that Good Sam has a great NICU if you happen to need one, but I believe it is also a public hospital & therefore probably not as nice.

Where will you be living?

[roundball]

Spanish babies? I wasn't aware we had a lot of Spaniards around here.

We had our 3rd girl at Banner Good Samaritan because she was working there. Sure its a big hospital, they have all the maternity wards separated into little wings so it doesn't seem large or busy.

You live right by Banner Esrella and Arrowhead is close. I would just go tour those and other hospitals to get a fell for them.

We're having our 4th in about a week at John C. Lincoln because my wife works at Deer Valley so....

I think that there is another thread here somewhere about good OB's. I would think having a good doctor would be more important than where you deliver. But I'm a guy, so what do I know?

[sassieb75]

Banner Thunderbird has a very good reputation, despite what someone said about Banner being an assembly line. I know nothing about Scottsdale, but I do know if you are in LFP that will be quite a drive! Thunderbird is only 20 minutes maybe? I'd say no to Arrowhead as their rep isn't that hot, and although JCL I don't know much about, I chose NOT to have my baby there due to the location. It's not so great! These area all my opinions. Everyone's personal experience is always different. I had excellent care at Thunderbird and I also can recommend a good OB in the same area!

[sassieb75]

Originally Posted by shadow91

I don't know where you are living at, what kind of town you are coming from, but here, when you deliver, you keep the baby with you unless it is sick. Scottsdale Shea is a good hospital as is Osborn in Scottsdale. Mesa general is closing in May and delivers nothing but Spanish babies. Tempe St Lukes is the same way, small, just opened their unit last July, we had one nurse anesthetist that would say "tempe st lukes, we're better than nothing". St Joes, Baptist, West Valley, Maricopa County, Banner's are like assembly lines, too busy. Maryvalle I heard they call Scareyvalle. If I was having a baby, I would probably go back home to my small little town. If you have a very sick baby, it would go to Banner, St Joe's, or Maricopa to the NICU depending on where beds were available. Excellent doctors and staff, just too busy. If you want to go where there are no illegals (trust me, there are millions having their babies here), go to one of the Scottsdale hospitals. Check the internet online for Scottsdale Healthcare System.

I hesitate responding to this post becasue Im not sure what it matters who is having their babies at what Hosp. and why their legal status matters. Having said that, I thought if you were illegal, and had no insurance, you had to go to county? Maybe I understood that wrong. But how do you know these folks legal satus anyway?

[roundball]

-Maybe she's Basque or Mexican and doesn't like Spaniards.

-Maybe she means Mexicans and is racist and thinks some brown may rub off on her baby in the hospital. (That would be a good excuse if the baby isn't your Hubby's)

-Maybe she didn't "mean" anything by it and was trying to be as descriptive as possible and we read to much into it.

JCL North Mountain is in a less desirable part of town.

I live a couple miles North of Arrowhead and a lot of ladies around here have had babies there. I have heard the bad rep thing also. Not sure why, maybe because its a for-profit hospital?

[LadmoFan]

The PC word is hispanic although when I was growing up in Phoenix we called the Hispanics Mexicans. Nothing derogatory it was the language of the times. Language changes and so do the names. BTW one of my best friends was Hispanic and I am not racist.

LF

[Sunshinne]

I would recommend Scottsdale Shea. Very nice rooms and very caring nurses.