girls who delivered at good sam

what was their policy as far as visiting and such -

are DH allowed to spend the night?

and can you get a private room?

I know I have some time to worry about this but I'm just curious!

TIA!

Message edited 12/27/2009 9:56:19 PM.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

visiting was very flexable! i had family and friends coming an going all day into the night. but never really past 9pm.

dh got there by 830am and stayed till at least midnight. they didnt allow him to spend the night but i was ok with that because i actually sent the baby to the nursery and i got 3really great nights of sleep!

im pretty sure theres only 2 private rooms and they are only used to people who need them. if they have MRSA or some other reason for needing a private room. or if they are packed and you get lucky.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I had 2 of my 3 kids at Good Sam, in 2/06 and 5/09. I was not wild about the place either time, and if I had a choice (if my doctor delivered anywhere else) I would not have gone there. There aren't any private rooms, and the rooms are quite small. It was always kind of loud there, and my DH was not allowed to spend the night. They supposedly had a quiet time in the middle of the day, but it was never honored, and it was always extremely loud in the hallways. My SILs have had their kids at Southside and Stony Brook, and had nothing but great things to say about both hospitals. If we go for #4 (doubtful, but hey, you never know ) I would probably change doctors to deliver at another hospital.


PS- I don't want to sound like I'm totally down on that hospital, because I'm not. Their labor and delivery floor is AMAZING. I just felt like my recovery from an extremely traumatic emergency c-section could have been a lot better in another hospital.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I was lucky...I had a private room...because DH was sick...sort of...not really...ok....dont get me started. The other rooms are tiny and you will share. DH could not spend the night but he did stay with me till about midnight or so. Didnt think it was noisy...but then again I had a private room....

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I wanted a private room but couldnt get one, if I had had the twins in my room there would have been no place to move..the rooms are soooo small. I had a bad time b/c I had a crazy ( literally bipolar) roomie ( was a nightmare) who would keep me up all night, and her baby roomed in the room with us while mine were in the nicu, I was sooo upset over this situation and her mental illness played a number on me ( off topic but she'd start telling me I had PPD and ask me if I was crazy when I cried b/c the girls were in the nicu, just had NO boundaries)...and so the nurses fought to have my room have no roomies once she left. I liked all the nurses.

DHs tayed till about 12-12:30 am every night.

eta- ...my Mom and Aunt showed up during the day anytime they wanted...

Message edited 12/27/2009 11:34:49 PM.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I delivered at Good Sam. DH was not allowed to spend the night which was fine b/c he would not have gotten good sleep there. The visiting hours were VERY open..they were too early though, 1030am...the only time they actually said anything was at nighttime when the visiting was over, around 8:30 but they let DH stay till midnight if he wanted. I did find the rooms to be small but I had a section so I was there 4 or 5 nights...the last night, I ended up getting the private room b/c my new roommate had a spouse or someone that smoked and smelled the whole room up like cigarettes....they had the room open so moved me to it. They were all very nice there. Only thing that I do wish was that they were a little stricter w/ their visiting hours b/c I was so exhausted from the section and I never had any time to rest.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

i had a private room because of medical reasons... they do not really allow dh to spend the night and they have good reasoning for it (it was explained at the c/s class and my lamaz class)... they actually want dh to go home so that he can get a good nights sleep... honestly i 100% agree... i did have the baby with 100% of the time so i didnt get much sleep (not by choice as again i had a medical reason for it) but having a well rested dh made it easier when i got home.....

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

Yeah, don't bet on a private room unless you have a medical reason.

The other rooms are small and 2 to a room. Be forewarned that the bathrooms are shared with another room so it's 4 for each shower/toilet. Bring flip flops for the shower.

It was so busy there the week I delivered that some moms were roomed on the floor below.

Visiting hours and policies are too lax, IMO. There's no one screening them at all so you can have 40 people visiting your neighbor while you're trying to rest.

And it is LOUD there.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I like Good Sam a lot. Visiting is very flexible!! My dh stayed until about 11 each night. I didn't have a private room the first night. My dh begged for me to get a private room b/c it was too hard sharing a room with somebody who had their baby in the room when my boys were in the NICU.

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

i delivered at Good Sam.. I had a great experience in L&D.. I did get a rivate room b/c that was all that was left.. it was litteraly a 2 X2 room.. my cubical at work is bigger. I did have my own bathroom though. There was room for a chair, bed and little nightstand When they brought dd to me there was barley enough room for the cradle. but it was nice to have my own room.

Just as aside. I delivered at 10:12 and i got to my room around midnight or so and hadn't eaten since the night before.. the nurse was nice enough to bring me something of hers to eat(the cafeteria closes early)

Re: girls who delivered at good sam

I just delivered on 12/4 via planned c/section. I had a wonderful experience!!! I cant say enough about the nurses and staff... even the volunteers-

I think your experience depends on your point of view and expectations... having delivered at Beth Israel in nyc w/ DD in 2006, GoodSam seemed like a country club! Beth Israel's staff during the overnights were awful- you had to buzz 3 or 4 times for them to come.. the bathrooms were nasty and the whole hospital seemed dirty... Good Sam's staff was amazing- the nurses came right in and did everything to make you comfortable!

Yes, the rooms are small- but not much smaller than other hospitals I've been to- my sister delivered at north shore- and honestly, those rooms didn't seem to be much bigger to me.

Regarding sharing a room- yes, it's annoying with the visitors- but keep in mind that maybe everyone from aunts to uncles shouldn't be coming in while you're at the hospital anyway- my roommate had a steady stream of visitors- and it honestly didn't bother me as everyone was very nice & respectful- I didn't really have more than 5 the whole 4 days I was there b/c I requested people come & visit me at home and allow me to recover in the hospital- which is what the hospital is for- recovery.

Yes- the hospital is noisy- but keep in mind there is lots of comings & goings all through the night- women are still giving birth and being brought into their room... babies that are rooming in are crying - I didn't have DS with me the entire night- but had him up until 1am or so.

No, DH wasn't able to sleep over- but I don't know why you'd want him to anyway- you need your rest and DH needs his too.. this is the last rest you are going to get for a while- once your DC comes home, that's the end of a full night's sleep!!!