Melissa Salazar

Review of Hunterdon Healthcare

I feel the need to state that I am a registered nu...

I feel the need to state that I am a registered nurse, which affects my opinion about HMC, due to the fact that I understand what quality nursing is as well as the triage process. I do not and have not ever been affiliated with Hunterdon Healthcare though...

Labor/delivery/post-partum care: I had both of my children here, and while the overall experience was good both times, there were some issues I had. I am lucky for the fact that both my labors were incredibly quick. I wonder how my experience here may have been affected had I gone through the normal time it takes to give birth. With my daughter, the second I got in the bed after changing into the hospital gown her head was already starting to come out... I was in so much pain and was offended when the nurses rolled their eyes like I was just another new/dumb mom who had 14+ hours to go and couldn't handle it. They were too concerned with my registration, which I had already done in advance via my birthing class there, yet they had no record of it! Finally, another nurse came in and said, "There's the head!" The registration nurse said, "Do you feel like you have to push?" Hmmm, I don't know, the head's popping out, what do you think? And the other nurses scrambled frantically for my doctor... 2nd labor was going to be induced due to how quickly the first one went and my fear of giving birth at home/in the car. The primary nurse and doctor got into a huge argument right in front of me. It was very awkward. My water broke and I began going into labor after my doctor examined me, which was why they were fighting (nurse said someone should have been in the room while the doctor examined me? Why? This was a female doctor mind you). Anyways, after that was sorted out, both parties apologized. The doctor then sat in the room with my husband and I for a great deal of time while my labor progressed. We had some great converstation which distracted me from the pain. I have never in my life felt so comfortable, safe, and better cared for as I did that day. We all know how doctors are in such a rush, but that day, I felt like I was her only patient.
Post partum: I had been advised by my birthing class instructor and friends to take advantage of the nursery so I could get some sleep before going home, so I politely asked if they could watch my son so I could take a nap. They took him, then brought him back about 45 min later and woke me up saying he needed to spend time with me. Yes, I understand all about bonding (this was my second child), but he had been in the room with me for the past 18 hours and I was delirious...

Family Practice: Ours is located within the hospital and I have nothing bad to say against them! They are awesome!

Emergency Room: Unlike others, I have had positive exeriences in their ER... Then again, because I am a nurse, me/my family only goes to the ER when things get REALLY bad (or as I joke "when we are dying") so therefore regardless of how many people are in the waiting area, we usually get priority and are seen right away. I was seen immediately after fracturing my finger. Both my children were also seen immediately when they each suffered deep scalp lacerations (within the same year! ugh!) which required staples. My son was even seen right away when he couldn't stop crying because his "pee pee hurt" and all of my interventions to help him failed. I do often wonder though if we were expedited due to my use of medical knowledge/terminology (medical professionals get nervous when their patients are also medical professionals), but then again, my family and I don't go to the ER for things like stomache aches, fevers, etc., unless I know it's something I can't diagnose/fix myself or something that can't wait until the next day when the doctor's office is open.

Other: Lastly, my son went to speech therapy here and he made tremendous improvement! I loved the staff. He had 2 different teachers who were both great, kind, and caring. I will never forget them!