Local Hospital Experiences

I just delivered my second baby at Labor of Love Birth Center in Lutz. A great experience. It is my second birth, first was at home. I believe they are part of a study of some sort where they were doing VBACs for women that are low risk. I highly recommend this location!

St. Joseph's is wonderful!!! I delivered at St. Jos in March and was treated like a queen. My friend delivered at Brandon in December. She had a c-section and ended up with a staff infection. She was sick for over a month!

I had my twins at St. Joe's Women's and had a wonderful experience-had to have an emergency c-section and needed the NICU. I live in Brandon and although it was a long drive it was worth it.
C.

I've loved UCH Women's we are expecting are third and delivering there again. We looked into UCH and St. Joes. I was most impressed with UCH's commitment to breast feeding, lactation consultants, and their NICU (just in case). Some of the other factors for our decision were: that we wanted to labor in water, yet still be in a hospital, and they had two rooms available. In addition, I wanted a teaching hospital that would be on the medical cutting edge, as well as a hospital that was not affiliated with any religious organization that would cloud their policy or judgement when it came to medical care. Finally, they have always been very receptive to following our birth plans and being as flexible with us as is possible in a medical setting. I hope that is helpful. The one hospital we didn't look into was Tampa General, only because my practice didn't have priveledges there and I adore all of the physicians associated with the practice and would never trust another. One thing I will say is that after having had a medical emergency with my mother in law and having to take my son at 3 days old into brandon Hospital, I was disgusted with the lack of professionalism and knowlegde that their nursing staff had in both instances and will never trust them to care for anyone I loved. I live in Valrico, and anywhere on earth is worth the drive. Besides, it only takes 15-20 minutes to get to either UCH or St. Joes.

I also know several women who've had successful VBACs, a dear friend of mine even delivered twins vaginally just 18 months after an emergency C. You need to interview your prospective doctors thoroughly and demand that unless their is a medical emergency, they let you try. Before we chose our practice, after having moved at 5 months pregnant from California I literally set up interviews all over Tampa until I found a doctor I trusted and whose philophies matched my own. Otherwise, I told my husband I'd stay in Los Angeles alone until our baby was born, in order to deliver with a doctor and hospital I truly trusted.

Hi K.,

I have had two c-sections at Brandon Hospital and both were great experiences. The first was an emergency c-section and I actually believe that the great nurses (fast acting) helped save my son's life. The second wasn't exactly an emergency, but it was an "unscheduled" c-section and again the hospital was great. My doctor's office is right down the road Obsterics & Gynecology Associates - the doctors I love are Dr. Armas (man) and Dr. Arnold (woman). Dr. Pitt (woman) and Dr. Baron (man) are also good. I have been going to Dr Armas for over 20 years and Dr Arnold delivered both my children (7yrs old and 19 months). I know this is a big decision and I wish you the best. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

my opinion only...

NOT Brandon
UCH Womens or St. Joe's Womens

I would not even go to a doctor that ONLY uses Brandon, so I would cancel the appointment. My doctors use both UCH & St. Joe's, and have 2 locations, each near each hospital. I had no problem driving to their offices in Tampa, not a big deal for me. Here is a link to the practice I used, in case you want to check them out.

Fyi, I had 1 miscarriage (at St. Joes), and 2 c-sections (at UCH). And, my 2nd c-section WAS mandatory as well. However, I was fine with that, even happy to have a c-section again...but that's just me. Good luck!

http://insigniawellness.com/

please do not go to saint josephs .My daughter had her baby there just last week and it was the worst experience of our lives .I am the mother of three daughters and this daughter is the only one that went there and the doctors there will never see her again or my other daughters.The whole experience was a nightmare.So again please dont have your baby at saint joseph !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi K.,

I will be delivering at St. Joseph's Woman's Hospital in around 5 weeks. I have heard nothing but great things from mommies, breast reduction patients and other surgery patients. I have heard University Community is good too. I have not heard much about Tampa General except for their new maternity department. I opted against Brandon as I had not heard the best of things either. However, those with good experiences at Brandon typically know someone who works in the hospital. There are a few groups in Brandon with rights at St. Joe's. My group is Solomon, Morris, Young, Bray and Perkins out of Tampa. Hope this has been helpful.

K.:

I delivered my first 13 years ago at Tampa General and my second 2 years ago at St. Joseph's Women's. Both were fine but I was really happy with St. Joseph's Women's. My OB was Dr. Dill with Partners in OB/GYN - they were a great group and I was very happy with most of the doctors I saw there and extremely happy with Dr. Dill. Good luck.

I had an emergency C Section with my first child and I delivered at St Joesph's in Tampa. I was happy with the facility and the nurses. I switched dotors and when I got prenant with my second child 2 yrs later, and he delivered at UCH on Fletcher. Very disappointingly - He wouldn't let me do a vback but I was really happy with him as a physician. I really like UCH out of the two. I have to say, the food was REALLY good too! They took excellant care of me and came anytime I needed someone. I'm not ever going to switch my obgyn unless he no longer delivers at UCH.

Both of my children were born at St Joseph's Women's Hospital. We had a fabulous experience both times and I highly recommend the facility. They have a new labor and delivery wing that is only about 1.5 years old. Rooms are private with room for your husband to stay if he can. However, it would be probably 20-40 minutes from Brandon depending on where your home is located.

Brandon Hospital is horrible. They are overcrowded, due to being one of the only hospitals in the area that take individuals without insurance. At other hospitals, if a person without comes in, the provide an exam and if they have not progressed to a point of immediancy, they are not admitted. They are instructed to pay up front or go to another hosp. ie brandon.
My sister delivered there. It was an emergency c-section with complication. They day after the baby was born, they told her that she looked great and they were short beds so if she was agreeable they would go ahead and discharge her. There waiting area is crowded with craziness.
University Community is great. St Joes is great.

As for doctors, I use Insignia Care for women. They have 3 offices in Tampa. One in Wesley Chapel, one near Bearass and 30th, and one off Armenia. I love this practice

I use the certified nurse midwives at Women's Health Care, which is in an attached building at Tampa General. I gave birth there in 2000 and thought it was wonderful. We have been talking about #2, so I asked Karla, my midwife/nurse practicioner what she thought of Tampa General now, and she raved about how much better it was now, how much they recently upgraded all the rooms so they are all private, the staff is great to work with,how they really respect the individual birth plans now (she said one lady had all natural birth, even no IV only ice to stay hydrated, which impressed me since I am completely needle phobic and had a natural childbirth with my son, but had a HORRIBLE experience with the IV--they broke a blood vessel on the back of my hand, which swelled up to the size of a tennis ball),etc. etc. I am looking forward to going back there. My sister-in-law had a c-section there last year, and they have a special hall just for that, since those women have longer recovery times, and require more rest/care. She told me all the nurses treated her wonderfully and were there very quickly, and trying to help when she was experiencing the post-surgerical pain.

p.s. Not everyone has a great St. Joe's experience. My best friend almost died while there because she had lost a tremedous amount of blood (was passing out just moving in her bed), the nurses were so busy that her mother-in-law had to threaten them to help after she had collasped (yet again) while attempting to use the restroom. It was about 6 months after that there was an article in the Tampa Tribune about the Storm coach's wife dying at St. Joe's from a blood-loss issue/complication. But my friend just had a baby there again this year and said her experience was a lot better than the first time, but not by much--a friend came to visit her, and her toddler had an accident in the bathroom and the nurse on duty said they didn't have maid service and did not send maintenance or anything to clean it up for HOURS.

Try the Labor of Love birth center in Lutz ###-###-####). I honestly don't know what their VBAC policy is but I really like it there and if they can't take you as a client (they do only low risk births and I'm not sure exactly the criteria) at the very least it seems that they'd be able to point you towards an OB who would be willing to work with you.

I had a c-section 7 months ago at Brandon hospital and it was as great an experience as an unplanned surgery can be. The nurses were phenomenal!! The care was wonderful, the rooms pretty nice, the food actually good, and everyone was so nice and helpful. I was there for four days and have absolutely no complaints. From what I've gathered you don't ever want to go to Brandon hospital for anything other than having a baby (the regular ER is horrid - although I had to go in for an emergency when I was pregnant and they sent me right up to L&D triage which was great). Feel free to email me if you have any other questions - and congratulations!!!

Hi K.,

I delivered at St. Josephs Women's hospital with my 8 year old daughter and Brandon for my two year old daughter. I highly recommend St. Josephs Womens as my experience was great. I actually worked at St. Joseph's Womens as well in their Healthy Families/Start program, and after working their and meeting the staff I was so impressed at their professionalism. The nurses that delivered my daughter 8 years ago where still their, and many of the nurses have been their forever. When I went through the St. Joseph's employee orientation, I can tell you they take customer service extremely seriously, and are held accountable if a patient is not happy, plus it was an awesome, fun, happy place to work, and it showed in it's staff. Hope that helps. I had a nightmare with Brandon Regional Hospital, and would absolutely not recommend that hospital. They were so short staffed of nurses I took care of myself with a C-section. It was miserable. Plus, they totally screwed up my bill and harrassed me for months even though I had complete insurance that was provided to them well in advance. It took over a year to get resolved. As far as the VBAC, I did find a Dr. willing to do that in Brandon, but unfortunately he did retire. Did you try Labor of Love, they are not a hospital but a natural birthing center. I called them and I was too high risk for a VBAC, but you may not be, worth checking out as well. Congrats on baby number two.

I had my son by C-section at Brandon Hospital 2.5yrs ago and they were great. I had no complaints at all. I went into labor 3 days before my scheduled C-section and as soon as I walked through the door, they got me started on my meds (my blood pressure was high so I needed fluids first). The nurses were really helpful and were always there when I needed them. The only thing I didn't like about my birth experience was my own Dr, but that is another story! I had my first son by C-section up in NY at a supposedly "good" hospital and my experience at Brandon was much better. I had to stay at Brandon hospital for a few days for high blood pressure during my pregnancy and they were good that time also (just one bad nurse). I've heard alot of good things about St Joseph's hospital so that would probably also be a good choice. You are right about most Drs down here not allowing VBACs, I think the ones that do are few and far between. Good luck choosing a hospital!

I had my son at Tampa general in 2006, this was during the new renovations. Its even better now then it was then. They have private rooms, and a great view. I didnt like my delivery doctor because they changed them in the middle of my labor and the woman had a broken arm. I was terrified that she wouldnt catch my baby! Well, thankfully he wasnt as big as they expected othewize she would have probably droped him. haha. The post care was EXCELLENT. I loved my experince there, and if we decided on #2, that would be the place to go. They also have a great pediatrics which we still go to. I hear brandon is bad, just going to the emergency room the two times we have been there and once while I was pregant was enough to make me say no to that place all together. I also hear the st joesphs womens hospital is excellent as well. Good luck! If you get a good doctor you might be able to have the baby vaginal. My mother in-law had her first c-section and second naturally. She said she would take a vaginal delivery anyday over another c-section. Look into it, you might be suprised that it could be done with the right doctor team.

I saw that someone below put Dr. Dill she is terrific. The whole practice is really good. I also had to have a c section with my daughter and it went perfect. I delivered at St. Josephs Womens and I lived in Brandon at the time it's only about 20 min. if you take MLK all the way down. I have also heard some bad stories from Brandon. You should definately give Dr. Dill and her practice a shot it's Tampa Bay Womens Care. Plus, they're really good about keeping all of those dr. appointments short and sweet. Hope this helps. I wish you tons of luck.

I delivered my daughter at Brandon 11 years ago and for us it turned out to be the best place we could have been. We needed the services of their NICU as my daughter was 9 weeks early and it was definitely an emergency c-section. All the nurses on the floor were wonderful, responsive to my needs and that of my family; my older daughter was 3 at that point. I spent a week in the hospital as I developed pneumonia and they took great care of me.

Now I don't use it for our pediatric needs. My daughter has been hospitalized many many times since birth and we went to Brandon once...it wasn't a good experience. So all I can tell you is the Labor & Delivery and NICU are great. In fact I recall hearing at one time the NICU was one of the best.

Good luck and congratualtions.

Hi,
I delivered vag at Brandon in 2002. I had a wonderful experience, my L&D nurse was awesome. As an ex-employee of Brandon Hospital, the L&D dept and NICU are very good there, otherwise stay away...

I stayed away from Brandon because of the same reasons and used St Joe's Women;s. It was a fantastic experience.

K.,
Try St. Joseph's Hospital for Women, Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Tampa FL
L. :O)

Hi K.;

I understand your worry and frustration, and I hope that everything works out for you and you deliver a healthy happy baby. I had absolutely no problem with Brandon Hospital, I've had all three of my kids there, my first was vaginal, my last two were c-section, I was going through Dr.Reimer, Saavedra, Amorosa, and Suarez, (hope I spelled them all right), and I had a wonderful experience everytime. My second child had his unbilical cord wrapped, and they had to do an emergency c-section, and I have to say, they did an excellent job, and I really enjoyed the fruit and cheese platter. Also, if you are looking to breastfeed, they helped me a lot with that as well, and took very good care of my babies. I hope this helps, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy your experience no matter where you go. Take care.

Candi ;O)

I was going to keep my mouth shut, and maybe I should, but Pam, the woman above my response just pushed a bad button with me, and that's the way she downs Brandon hospital for taking people without insurance. Not everyone is fortunate to have insurance, we have half decent insurance, but there are so many people who don't, and I commend Brandon hospital for being so caring as to take in people who are less fortunate. I was recently one of those people, and I could have died if not for their generosity, we got our insurance information worked out, but I don't know what I would have done if they would have turned me away. I don't want to pick an argument with anyone, and I don't want to tell someone which hospital they should use, but I will not down a hospital because they also help people who otherwise wouldn't have anywhere else to go. It just hurts me to read something where someone has such a lack of compassion and empathy for others who aren't as fortunate as maybe they were. Once again, I hope everything works out for you regardless of where you choose to go, everyone has different experiences at different places, I hope yours is a wonderful one. Take care ;O)

I've had my OB/Gyn in Tampa. The doctors at that office are great and they share an office there in Tampa and one in Brandon. I live in Brandon and asked them about delivering at Brandon Hospital. They said they used to but that they no longer do. That there no longer meet their standards so they do not deliver there. They advised me to have my child at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital in Tampa. I had my son there five years ago by c-section and I got amazing care there so I had no problem driving to Tampa to give birth. It's only about twenty minutes or so away from here. Anyway, had my daughter there six months ago by c-section and again was very pleased with the service there. I did not have to share a room, my husband was allowed to meals throughout the day along with my meals and they took great care of my daughter who ended up being 6 weeks early and was in neonatal intensive care for a little while. Anyway, I heard the same thing directly from the doctors at my OB/GYN that even though they are affilliated with Brandon Regional, they do not suggest giving birth there. My daughter-in-law had both her kids at Brandon Regional, the last one was about four months ago and everything seemed fine.