Alexian Brothers vs Advocate Lutheran General

All three of my children were born at Lutheran, but my youngest is 16. My first pregnancy I had 22 hr labor with a c-section, and the other 2 were scheduled c-sections. My middle child was sick at birth and in the neo-natal unit. What a relief to have him in the same hospital as me. The care I got a Lutheran was fantastic. My kids pediatrician is at Lutheran and we have had excellent care there. I highly recommend it.

Hi M.,
I had my daughter at AB in Elk Grove and I cannot say enough good things about them. My delivery nurses were amazing they really made me feel like a person and not just a #.
If you have any other ?'s, please feel free to pm me.

In Regards to Monica's post, my family were able to hold my daughter in my room- she is 4- so unless the policy has just recently changed I would question that.

Thanks and Good Luck!

I had both of my kids a ABMC and had perfect experiences---I really do mean PERFECT. You can't go wrong there.

Hi M.,
I had my first baby at Lutheran General and my second and third at Alexian in Elk Grove, so I have experience with both. I had great experiences at both locations. I would return to either one without thinking about it. Alexian is closer to my house now, so that's my first choice, but that's the only reason. The delivery nurses, doctors, postpartum nurses were all great at both hospitals. AB has decent food too... They had the medical students at both hospitals and they ask you if it's ok for them to be there or not, so it is YOUR choice. I had them in all 3 of my deliveries and had no problems with that at all. They were only there to watch, nothing else.

Reading Monica's response and it is not true that visitors cannot see your baby at AB. Visitors CAN see the baby, they can hold the baby. You can keep the baby with you at all times if you wish, unless they have to take him/her for tests or there are some medical issues. Trust me, I just had my 3rd there 2 months ago and that wasn't an issue at all.
They have mostly private rooms now too, so unless there is a bus full of women in labor coming, you will have a private postpartum room.

They do have tours at the Elk Grove location, try calling them instead of looking on line. I did a tour for my 2 older kids a couple of months ago before my 3rd was born. I can honestly say that you can not go wrong with either one. Just pick the one that's closer to your house....
On the side note, I had to go to Rush hospital in Oak Park for something recently and have to tell you that both AB and LG are like 5 star hotels comparing to that place... ughhh
Good luck to you
Yvette

I haven't had any experience with Lutheran General, but had my daughter at Alexian Brothers and will have our second one (coming within the next few weeks) at Alexian as well. You can call the Labor and Delivery at AB and set-up a time to take a tour - there is no "set" times for tours. All the Labor and Delivery/Postpartum rooms are private - no sharing of rooms! The nursing staff is wonderful and I LOVE my midwife and doctor (Jill Edwards and Dr. Mruz). The whole Labor & Delivery/Postpartum areas have wood floors and beautiful rooms - you feel like you are at a hotel rather than a hospital. It is WONDERFUL! I would recommend it to ANYONE!

My gynecologist suggested Advocate Lutheran General because they have a level III pediatric unit. There is always someone on staff there that specializes in children at any time of day or night. I don't know a lot about Alexian Brothers. I hope that helps a little bit.

Hi M., just wanted to respond to your question about your hospital choices. I have to I don't know a lot about AB, but I have to say that Lutheran is an awesome facility. Everyone is nice, and they know how to get the job done. I had my son there in 2004 and my daughter in 2007. I actually heard that the new maternity wing is wonderful, which just opened/ finished in 2009. And on another note, my girl friend delivered her twins there 3 days after my son and she had been on bed rest at the hopital 2 weeks pryor to delivery. She also had a great experience at LG. Good luck hope everything goes well. Hope this helps. Jenny

Hi I have had both children delivered at ALG and I was pleased with my care. With more improvements than ever
I feel it is the choice.

Go with your gut. If you experience a negative than you can always switch. You must be your own advocate no matter how good a hospital is and remember we are dealing with human beings and we can have high expectations so hold them to those standards. You are the customers and they should aim to please and act professional at all times. All the best.

I live in Elk Grove but delivered my son at LG a year and a half ago, because that's where my ob is. To respond to the other posting, yes, there were residents coming in during my almost 20 hour labor, but they were very kind, professional and encouraging. There was a resident toward the end who helped me and the nurse in the pushing stage, and she was fantastic, and it was so evident that she really loved her job. So yes, you can request that the residents not be there, and I expected to want to dismiss them, but I found them to be a great part of the whole experience.

On another note, I did take AB's Baby Basics class because it was closer to my house, and they talked about the tours of AB, so I know for sure they do tours. Just call the main switchboard at the hospital and they will put you in touch with the right folks.

I've lived in Park Ridge my whole life and it is common knowledge there that if you have any ailment you go to Lutheran General, one of the best hospitals in the midwest. Nobody talks about Alexian brothers. I didn't even know it had a good reputation. L.G. is awesome! I had my baby there and it was fantastic; I couldnt have been happier, and my firends who've been there sick have said the same.

M.;

I just delivered at LG 2 weeks ago and the new "tower" was great. The staff was very accommodating, professional and informative. The also have the best NICU around heaven forbid you needed it. Tell your husband to think twice! We loved it. Good luck!

J.

I had 3 of my 4 children at AB and my grandson was also born at AB all in EGV. Cannot say enough good things about them. Neo-natal excellent. Almost lost my 13 year old at 5 weeks and they were WONDERFUL. He is 5'10" now and will be 14 in a couple of months. No experience at the other.

Hi,

I had my first child at Lutheran General, but it's been 9 years, so can't comment on any upgrades that may have been made to the facilities. A couple comments. First, it is highly respected, and probably has more resources for high risk issues. Second, it is a teaching hospital. What does this mean? Well, in my case, it meant there were a bunch of student doctors running in and out of the room asking me questions and giving me bad info when I was uncomfortable and just wanted to be left alone. You can choose whether or not to have them present for the actual birth, but if not, you will have to speak up. A resident assisted the doctor at delivery, and did much of the process under his supervision. Not my choice, but I guess they have to learn somehow. All in all it seemed like a very chaotic place and I didn't like it much.

I did not have children at Alexian Brothers, but have been there for other things. Even though it is literally just down the road for me, I opted for Northwest Community Hospital instead for my other children. The primary reason is because A.B. has a policy that if anyone comes to visit, you have to put the baby in the nursery. None of your guests are actually allowed to hold the baby, just gaze at him/her through the nursery window.

I was doing some promo work and worked with the education director of Alexian Brothers & St. Alexius. Their education materials were misleading. I was initially under the impression that many classes, tours, etc. were only held at St. Alexius. In actuality, they do things at Alexian Brothers on a routine basis, and promo the special things that apparently happen more rarely at St. Alexius. So, it may be worth a call, etc. They probably have very routine tours, etc. at Alexian Brothers.

I know you didn't ask about this one, but I had very favorable experiences at Northwest Community. I've had 2 children there, and I know they've revamped the maternity wing recently. They have specialists from Children's Memorial on staff and on site in case there are any special needs.

I gave birth to both of my children at Alexian in Elk Grove - been there for procedures since then - it is a very caring hospital - they genuinely care about the person.

I would recommend Dr. Pozzi - ###-###-####

M. in Elk Grove

Hi there-

I have had the "luxury" of going to both hospitals. LG is very well respected but my experience with them wasn't that great. My son was born there 6 years ago and while we found an excellent cardiologist out of there, the rest of our experience was less than desirable to say the least. From the docs to the hospital and staff. Yuck!

I can not say enough good things about AB- both in Hoffman and Elk Grove. They are FANTASTIC, literally with a capital "F". :) The docs, the staff, the hospital. I have found, though, that the Hoffman campus is better for the Peds ER and their Peds wing/ floor is amazing. Elk Grove is great with everything else though. You really can't go wrong with AB. In fact, I recently moved to Montgomery, IL and was sick. After going to Rush Copley and having a bad experience, I immediately got discharged and went to AB. I drove the hour long drive, sick and concerned about my health, just to be back in the care of docs that I trusted. I can't tell you how much better I felt once I was back in "their capable hands".

If you need more info or recommendations on docs, let me know.

Good luck.
N.