I lived in AZ when my first son was born 8/2005, he was delivered at West Valley hospital because my OBGYN delivered there and Maryvale (which I had zero desire to deliver at after attending their birthing class). Now my obgyn (same doc as with my first delivery)has privileges at West Valley and Banner Estrella. West Valley is probably 3 miles at most from our home in Litchfield Park and Banner Estrella may be like 5 miles at most so driving time is not much different. I was not overly happy with one of the nurses I had at West Valley and I brought it up to my obgyn with this (my third pregnancy) and he recommended touring both hospitals and said West Valley has changed a lot in three years. We plan to take the tours, but I have been told Banner has no "visiting" hours, your friends and family are not going to get kicked out unless there is an issue or you want them to leave while at WV they have a time that people have to leave. When I delivered at WV the person that collects your hospital stay fee (with my insurance that time it was $250) kept coming in my room like every 15 minutes the day of discharge and bugging us for the money. We at the time did not have the $ asked if they could bill, she was really mean and kept coming back. We had my MIL pay it over the phone with a credit card (my son came much earlier than expected and we were waiting until the next payday to have the $250, My son was born Monday & my husband was paid that Friday). The lady even came in while I was in the shower and my husband became very annoyed and yelled at her, the nurses told us we could just drop by the desk on our way out and take care of it but the lady came in like 8 times. I am just not sure...I did visit Banners ER for bleeding early on and the staff in the ER was nice and very sensitive to my issue, I would hope their L&D is the same. My cousin has been in Banner Estrella's ER, and ICU because of medical issues she has and she has not had any issues and said the food was wonderful (she has been in and out of MANY hospitals and knows good food when she tastes it). I have an appointment tomorrow for my glucose screening and I have to remember to ask my OB how many days I have to stay in if everything is normal. At WV I was in there for 3 nights with a normal delivery, at Kaiser last year I was discharged 24 hours after delivery (they practically kicked me out saying they needed the room). I have AHCCCS and am aware that they cover both hospitals, I am hoping like someone else said AHCCCS should not affect my care, it hasn't affected it to this point. I only have it because we do not make enough to pay my husband's insurance at work and yes I do pay a monthly fee. Any of you Moms in the west valley have experiences with these two hospitals? My second delivery was at Kaiser in Northern CA and I had a midwife and nurse I never met deliver him, they were super nice but the anesthesiologist there was awful and made 4 attempts to get my epidural in before succeeding. The other part of my question is did any of you Moms bring treats for the nursing staff to make them happier for the deliver and to thank them for helping? I am not talking something expensive or time consuming..Not so much as bribery, but I know how many hours nurses put in and I once considered going to nursing school after my first was born because I loved Labor and Delivery and babies, but am still putting it on hold until my kids are in school. I am toying with the idea of making some cookies, or maybe banana bread, cupcakes or even cake (I love to bake) and it will be not long after Christmas so I generally bake a lot at that time any way and can just freeze them in tupperware and grab them on our way out to the hospital. I figure it would be a nice treat for them, a good snack for my hubby too while he is waiting (which since it is #3 I hope wont be too long). Thanks for the advice, sorry I always write novels.
I'm going to take the tour at Banner Estrella and go there for the delivery. I just hated how badly I was treated the first time at WVH...I also received a ton of private messages about how great Banner Estrella is and if needed they have an awesome NICU although I pray I will not need to take advantage of that. Thanks to everyone that responded, you Mama's Rock!!! Oh and I decided I will try and make some extra snickerdoodles or chocolate chip cookies when do my Christmas baking and then just freeze them to take with me to the hospital for munchies...And of course I will offer them to the nurses that come into my room. I like to think of it as positive reinforcement lol...They have a hard job and they deserve a nice treat...
My niece delivered her second child at Banner Estrella and they were wonderful. I was in the LD room with about 6 other family members and we were all treated wonderfully. The food she was servered was great it actually had flavor. I don't recommend WV for anything more than an autopsy. Good luck, Banner is a beautiful and easily accessible hospital.
I have never been to West Valley but I delivered both my boys at Banner Estrella, the 1st in Jan '07 & 2nd in July '08. I had great, caring, attentive nurses both times & would highly reccommend Estrella. I never had to ask twice for anything. Each nurse had an assistant during their shift so someone was always available if I needed something. The "no visiting hours" worked great for us because we had family that drove from Ca & didn't get in til later in evening & they were still able to come see us in hospital that night. Hope that helps, good luck & congrats on your impending arrival!
Hi A.,
Since the average birth now seems to cost about $11,000...I find it shocking that women feel compelled to bribe nurses with gifts so that they are "happy" so they get treated decently. Nurses got into their jobs with their eyes open. As a public school teacher I make a lot less and I do not expect to get extra "tips" from kids or parents.
I can not recommend either place...I am not sure anyone can because staff on duty make the difference...and that is a matter of luck...who just happens to be there when you are. (One reason I avoided the hospital and had a home birth....I wanted to know exactly who was going to be caring for me...and I wanted them to know me and what I wanted) good luck deciding!
I toured both and chose Banner Estrella when I had my son in 2006. I am due with baby number 2 in the spring and I plan to use Banner Estrella again. All of my nurses were very nice and helpful. They even made me laugh during delivery. The meals were great...lots of great choices. I don't think that bringing the staff gifts is necessary. I had so many nurses take care of me during labor, delivery and post-pardom. You'd had to bring an extra suitcase just for the gifts. You could make a container of cookies or something to be shared by all if you really wanted to.
Good luck to you.
I'd go with Banner Estrella. My friend had her baby there and loved it, my gma had a stay there and it was nice hospital, very attentive staff. Didn't have the best experience with another matter at West Valley....it wasn't a labor/delivery issue though. I delivered all of my 5 children at Banner T-bird and loved the staff there. Best wishes w/ your upcoming delivery. As far as a gift for the nurses....I've sent a card later, but gifts should not affect your care while you are there, really I've never heard of bringing a gift for your nurse to receive better treatment. If you want to bring a gift for something above and beyond and special, I'd do it maybe when you leave the hospital. At least you'd know that their behavior was genuine, not bribed.
I had my now 3 &1/2 year old at Banner Estrella in '05. The hospital was pretty new then. I seem to remember a similar situation with the tour as someone else mentioned where no one was there to actually give us one. That is not really a big deal, I guess, but they should be more organized. I remember that the nurse couldn't even get an i.v. in me, and after several tries, just gave up. By the way, my veins are extremely easy to find! No one else ever tried, so I just went without one. Everyone was really nice there, but they were WAY understaffed when I was delivering. I was in labor for 36 hours (mostly at home), but I was in so much pain that I decided I would get an epidural. My mom and husband told the nurses SO many times that I wanted one, but they never came in. I never had one. They did mention that they were understaffed. If you go there, I would definitely make sure that won't be the case. Then when I thought I was close, they told the nurses, but they didn't think I was ready (without checking me). So when they finally did check me, they called my doctor. She basically walked in the room and caught my baby. I am sure this is probably a one of a kind experience. Hopefully it was because it was a new hospital and they have now gotten all their ducks in a row. I was on AHCCCS at the time. Hopefully that would not change the care they would give someone. Saying all that I have, I really liked the room, especially after birth the nurses were nice, and the food was great. I would consider delivering there again, but would talk to them ahead of time about not letting those things happen again. Hope eveything goes well for you!
From what I've heard from friends and family, Banner Estrella is your best bet. I haven't heard many good reviews from West valley. I delivered at Banner Thunderbird with my 3rd son and I loved the Banner hospital. I think the 2 extra miles to Estrella is worth the drive :) Best of luck!
S.
A.,
I had my baby at West Valley in February. Everyone there was wonderful. We toured both hospitals, and took birthing classes at West Valley. The reason we chose West Valley was...we had signed up for a tour of Banner 2 months ahead, along with about 15 other expectant mothers and their families. Well we were all there waiting, and waiting, and waiting. The tour was supposed to be at 7:00pm. There was noone at any kind of information desk. The only people around were in the gift shop, and they really couldn't help us. Around 7:30 a security guard realized there were 30 or so people waiting around for no apparent reason. So, he tried to find some one to help us. Finally, after being taken 3 different places they found a nurse to show us around. I'm not sure what this nurse did in Labor and Delivery, but she was not able to answer any questions aside from where things physically were. She could tell us where the coffee was. Where the recovery rooms were. Where the waiting room was, and that was it. All very important, but not really worth waiting over an hour for a tour that didn't show me anything. Well, it did show me that Estrella can not even coduct a tour, so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to trust them to care for my child and me.
I know everyone can have a bad day, but this was my first and only impression of Banner Estrella. I hope it helps. Best of luck to you with your newest blessing.
I had both of my girls at Banner Estrella 2005 and 2007 my husband and I love the staff and the hospital and we had a few people in the room with us and they didn't have to leave until I had to go in for a c-section or if I wanted them to leave when they would do there checks and then they took all my stuff and my mom to the room I would be in after.
