St. Catherine's in Smithtown

How is the maternity ward at St . Catherine's? I am considering having my baby there.

Thanks!

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I had DS there in Dec 2007 and have nothing but good things to say. I thought the nursing staff was helpful and the nursery staff attentive and friendly. The LC was very helpful as well.

I will say that I was pretty low maintenance, and didnt see much of the nursing staff during the day, but I didnt need anything so...

My L&D nurse during my c/s was amazing she kept me calm during my first surgery and I really apprecaited everything she did, I didnt want her to leave!!!

Any specific questions?

Also maybe x-post on parenting I think there are a few St Catherines moms!

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

My only 2 complaints were the rooms are kinda run down(peeling wallpaper & paint) and the showers are down the hall. Other than that the nurses and staff are great there. I had both of my kids there--last one 3 months ago....

Message edited 1/25/2009 9:15:10 AM.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I had DD and loved it. I wa sso lucky- it was a slow weekend, I had no roomate, and the nurses (except 1) were all wonderful.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I had my DD there February 2008. I had a wonderful experience and I was lucky enough to have the corner room with a shower. My nurses were beyond nice and took great care of me and DD. I will have my next child there as well.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

Up until 5 weeks before delivery I was suppose to deliver at Huntington..I had to change doctors at 32 weeks and wound up delivering at St Catherines at 37 weeks.....

I was so happy that I delivered there. The staff was wonderful...it was close to home...I found the rooms adequate..

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

OK, I'll be the dissenting vote here. I HATED it!!!!! I found the nurses in Post Partum to be almost non-existant. I had an emergency c-section, 23 hours after my water broke. I had not slept more than 6 hours total in 2 nights and was in alot of pain and didn't really handle the c-section well, probably because of my lack of sleep. Well when they came in to get me out of bed the first day, they were very rough with me. They only came in to check my vital signs and my PCA pump.

They put 3 people in a room and it is very cramped come visiting hours. And if your roommates snore loudly or don't agree with the temp you like the room to be, you'll all suffer. I actually had to wait until they brought one woman's crying baby in to her to nurse to be able to fall asleep. The crying baby was easier to sleep through than her snoring. She then complained because I slept with my TV on, but low, to cover up her snoring. My 2 roommates were SLOBS too!! They both had vaginal deliveries and could move around pretty well, but they left blood dripped all over the bathroom, including on the toilet seat. They left their bloody pads just thrown into the garbage pail open, for the others of us to look at.

The LC was very nice but I didn't really find her all that helpful. I was having alot of trouble getting my DD to latch and the LC seemed to get as frustrated as I did. I felt like she didn't spend very much time with me. She just kept telling me to keep trying and that it would get easier. Well it never did. By day 2 I gave up and just asked for a pump.

The nurses in the nursery were pretty good, but I felt they wanted to get my DD out of there because she cried pretty loudly. My DH gave them specific intructions on the 2nd night that we had just fed DD (at 11pm) and explained that I had not slept much in 2 nights and asked them to feed her at 3am and that I would then take her at 7am again to eat. Well they brought her in to me at 4am telling me that she needed to eat. I asked the nurse why they didn't feed her like my DH asked them to. She said that they did, at 1am instead of at 3am like we asked them to. She had major gas issues so I feel that when she woke up at 1am crying that it was because of gas, not hunger but they fed her anyway, just to keep her quiet. So I told them to take her back, and for them to feed her again if they thought she needed to eat. I do have some guilt over that, but I needed at least 1 night of sleep! I did keep her with me from 7am until 10-11pm when my DH left. I didn't think it was that much to expect them to take care of her during the night.

I know the whole roommate issue is not their fault, but if I can deliver at a hospital where I can have a private room, that is what I plan to do.

Sorry so long, but that is my 2 cents on St. Catherine's.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I just delivered at St. Catherine a week ago. Honestly, this is my thoughts.

-Labor & Delivery was amazing. The staff in the section deserves A+++, they were so on top of me, I always had somebody in there with me and they were so sweet. I had a c-section and our nurse Kasey didn't leave our side. Same with post-op.

-Nursery Nurses: Ok, I found them a little annoying but they were good. The reason they annoyed me was that one nurse keep coming in our room saying it was too cold for the baby meanwhile my nurses said it was too hot. They were helpful though. I'd give them a A.

-My nurses in post-pardum. I agree, non-existant. My doctor ordered me motrin for my back pains at 9AM, I didn't receive the first pill till 4PM after my DH asked them twice for it. They came to check vitals and such and I did find the evening crew far more efficent than the daytime crew. The only thing we all found odd (but it was ok) was that I had my c-section at 10PM on Sunday night and by 7:30AM Monday morning my cathader was out and they wanted me up and moving. Not sure if this was my doc's ordered, but we felt that maybe the staff thought I delivered early on Sunday, not late evening because that seemed extremely fast to be removing everything. Overall I'd give them at C.

-Room: we were extremely lucky were were solo in a double the entire 4 nights. It was great. There were some girls doubled up, but nobody was tripled up. Yes, they aren't the most beautiful rooms, but honestly its a hospital, I thought it served it pupose. There were 11 babies in with our Liam and the staff told us that was a lot, so that can help you get a jist of what they can handle. I'd give the room a B.

-Bathroom: Fine, I didn't mind walking to the hallway to shower. In fact, I was up and walking day 2 and felt great doing so. I showed everyday and it helped get me moving. I'd give them a A.

-Food: F----, I had my thyroid removed at Stony Brook in Jan'08 and was spoiled. They had a more diverse menu, I could ordered anything anytime. In St. Catherine you had like a choice of 3 gross things and you had to place the orders by certain times (hence my first day (I delivered at 10:39PM night before) I missed breakfast and lunch because I didn't know this. By dinner day 2 my family brought me in stuff.

-Discharge: Went extremely fast and smooth. I told the staff my Dh had to work at 2PM so could I be one of the first to be discharged. We walked out at 10:15AM. Very fast!!! A+++

Hope this helps. I would probably deliver there again.

Message edited 1/25/2009 6:07:27 AM.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I had several friends deliver there.....and they were very pleased.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

The labor and delivery nurses were great. The nurses in the maternity ward were horrible. Unfortunately, I really like my doctor, so I will have to deliver there again.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

OMG Catherine I had a snoring roommate the second time.........It was absolutely horrible. She sounded like a friggin lumberjack!!! I actually taped it on my cell and sent it to my DH

And I forgot to comment on the food. I actually thought it was decent. I liked the new custom menu where you called down to the cafeteria and told them exactly what to bring.

Message edited 1/25/2009 9:07:44 AM.

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown

I was there several times during my pregnancy. Two of the stays I was strictly in L&D and the last time when I actually had the babies I was in L&D for a few hours and then post partum. I was very happy with the care there - the nurses were great on both sides. The rooms are a little run down, but whatever. When I had my c-sec I was in a double room. I was alone for two nights and had a roomate for the second two. Having a roomate wasn't bad, we got to talk during the nights and mornings. I felt bad because they kept coming in during the night with the babies so I could nurse, and her baby was in the NICU.
The showers sucked - down the hall and I could not get the water warm, so I had to take an ice cold shower. The other days I just washed in the sink and took a nice long, hot shower when I got home.
The food was ok, honestly I didn't eat too much of it, DH brought me food from the outside pr from the cafeteria downstairs - the non patient food is a lot better!

Re: St. Catherine's in Smithtown