I think as a mom, my number one issue in choosing hospitals to have my children was finding the facility that was best equipped if something went wrong during my delivery. Dr. Manny Alvarez is the head of OB GYN at Hackensack and his team is outstanding. My son was a preemie - and their NICU was great. I had a nice private room, lots of support, and exceptional care. It's about a 25 to 30 minute ride from JC.

I am a nurse and I use to work at Christ Hospital and the nurses are very overwhelmed since St. Francis Hospital closed from downtown J.C. I have also worked at Hoboken Hospital the old name was St. Mary's and I had two children there and breastfed. I don't recall any difficulties with labor and delivery. By the way I recommend Dr. Mcquilken he is a great Ob/gyn physcian and he is the lead doctor for OB in Hoboken. I also have worked Jersey City Medical Center. Right now they have a lot of new nurses out of nursing school. I rate Hoboken as no. 1, JCMC as no. 2 and Christ as third if you want to stay in the area. I have never worked Hackensack but I know from nurses that work there that they treat their staff well which in return makes happier nurses and happier patients. I hope this was some help.

2.5 hours to be seen for a low priority condition like a hurt leg is not bad at all. I take it you haven't been to many ERs?

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My wife delivered at JCMC 2 years ago. The facility is brand spanking new. The delivery area is very nice and overall we thought the care was at the very least average if not above average. However, the maternity side was terrible, no breast feeding support, very little communication of information.

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I don't mind a small hospital like Christ Hospital being conservative about labor and delivery, but the fact that it's so terrible about nursing is pretty scary.

When I gave birth at Beth Israel in New York, I had some concerns about stuff like the fact that a nurse gave my dangerously wrong advice about a morphine drop (she told me I had to take a MINIMUM of two toots of morphine to escape agony, when, in fact, I was in little pain and I was supposed to only take a MAXIMUM of two toots of morphine.)

But at least nothing they did ever hurt all that much (even pre-near-morphine overdose) and they had a lactation consultant visit each mom bore and after delivery.

Go to Hackensack Hospital it's much much better. Hackensack is like a New York Hospital. I do not reccomend C.H.

My sister has worked as a nurse at Christ for many yearss. I'ts the best hospital in JC, but it doesn't compare to the better hospitals in Manhattan and the burbs. I know Hackensack has a good rep. My ob/gyns are located in Englewood, and they practice out of Hackensack and Englewood Hosp. They much prefer Englewood Hospital, and I can see why. I had a rough time with my first delivery, and the staff was fantastic. Because my baby refused to eat,her pediatrician didn't release her until about six p.m. of the day when both she and I were supposed to check out by eleven. Even though insurance wasn't paying, Nobody kicked us out. Not only did they let me stay there, but they continued to check my vitals, and give me and my husband meals. I also had a separate room with a pull-out sofa for my husband. He slept at the hospital with me for two days.

As I said, I had a rough time recovering, and that hospital made it so much more bearable.

I delivered my 2nd child at Christ Hospital. This was about 5 years ago and I had no problem at all. I had one nurse attending to me while I was laboring and she was wonderful. My doctor had requested I receive a private room after the delivery and that's what I got. The hospital was very clean, modern and my room was very sunny.

The only thing worth noting - and this may not be the case anymore - but the labor and delivery rooms are two separate rooms.

Thank you all for the helpful posts.

What about Hoboken Univ. Medical Center? I read they just underwent a substantial renovation -

Maybe I went on a rough night, but I went to the JCMC ER around 9:30PM one night for a hurt leg (turned out to be a knee sprain), and didn't get seen til sometime around midnight. What was worse was that they wouldn't let me leave to grab food or something, or else I'd lose my spot in line. Among the people there was a small child who threw up in the waiting room, even after this happened, the family had to wait a good half hour or so before they were seen.

But maybe it was just a bad night to be hurt/sick...

both of our children were born at Christ Hospital, overall fine, the labor and maternity area appeared new and fresh (5-7 years ago).

however, they are conservative by the book... both of our children ended up born by cesarian and there was no breast feeding support (or even encouragement), my wife was urged to supplement and the babies were given sugar water at the begining, rather than giving her the immediate opportunity to nurse.

If you and your relatives don't have a car, I think you're better off with a Manhattan hospital.

Also: I don't know about maternity, but I took my daughter to the emergency room at the Jersey City Medical Center a couple of times (once over a 105 degree fever in the middle of the night; once over a smashed thumb) and the people there were terrific and got to us quickly.

For the thumb, someone just came out and looked at the thumb and told us we didn't need the ER. (We only went in because our insurance company triage nurse told us, too.)

So, in case you ever need emergency care for your child, the JCMC children's ER might be an OK option.

I second the motion for Hackensack.....Great Hospital....

Christ Hospital use to be the best hospital in JC at one time and way before it was taken over by the health care group that owns it now.

If you can and , I would highly recomend HUMC in Hackensack, they have the Best Maternity ward in the Entire state, head and shoulders above the rest.

It's less than 15 miles from JC.

Good Luck


CK

I was born in the Medical Center and have lived here since. I just had my son at NYU this past summer.... Wonderful hospital. I loved it...Honestly, you couldn't pay me to use a Hudson County Hospital. Just my opinion.

And, don't fret about getting there. I had my bag pre-packed and called car service. I was there in 15 minutes (of course, no tunnel traffic at the time).

http://health.usnews.com/sections/health/best-hospitals


Take a look at the US News rankings for your particular needs.

It's unfortunate. Hudson County is desperate need of a great hospital.

my Dad was born there, and he turned out okay.

Any word on this place? How is the maternity ward/suites?