Desperate! How to get baby discharged from NICU

amother

Leaf

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 1:49 am

amother IndianRed wrote:

I'm still traumatized from my experience in Maimonides. My baby was born perfectly healthy but small and her sugar level was low. They pricked her tens of times and forced me to feed her formula which she promptly threw up.

After a day in the hospital, they told me they were taking her to the NICU and, mama bear that I was, I put up a fuss. I was in constant contact with my pediatrician who reassured me that she doesn't need the NICU (he had seen her the day before.) At one point they forcefully took her out of my arms in order to take her down to the NICU and I fought like only a mom can, with my pediatrician yelling at the nurses over the phone that he'll give them legal trouble if they dare admit her.
She was finally discharged less than an hour to zman shabbos and it took me a long time to recover from that experience. Haven't been back since and I don't miss that place one bit.

It saddens me that you don't understand that a hypoglycemic baby can slip into a coma chv... They were absolutely correct to feed with formula and prick her tens of times as you say... Happy baby is ok

sweet

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 2:30 am

bnm wrote:

Jersey Care won't cover CHOP unless it was an emergency transfer and they have to be approved to transfer there. Its not so simple.

Jersey care covers chop if you walk in through the e.r.
They also covered all outpatient appointments having to do with the specialty the child was admitted for.
Same as a person who walks into any hosp. Without insurance, they're legally required to treat them.

amother

DarkOrange

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 5:17 am

amother Currant wrote:

So my question remains.

Where are all these perfectly healthy babies growing up in the NICU because Maimonides refused to release them? There must be thousands of them, if their parents weren't savvy enough to "turn the world over" to get them out.

Our community cares for our children and are more on top then some non Jewish parents
The things I have observed in the nicu are outrageous!
I couldn’t say anything to them because you are not allowed to look at other babies

And they definitely keep babies for no reason !

I begged them to take home my kid
Teach me what I need to know
They told me I’ll get nervous from the beeps

A month later they thought me how to put in a ng tube and sent me home
Why did I have to sit there ?

Then they decided to keep me another few days to wait for some medical equipment to arrive
We bh have so much gemachim and help in our community - I could’ve gotten it myself
They said it has to be there company and refused to tell me what it is

They then kept me another extra night waiting for “travel oxygen” after the decided she needs oxygen when I stepping out
I found out by coming into the room and seeing her hooked up (no call nothing)
I have so many medical connections I told the nurse I’ll bring oxygen can I take her home
She went to speak to the doctor
The response was “we have a plan and we are sticking to it “

After the entire medical team came to have her cleared
The pulmonologist (lung doctor)stayed a bit back and tells me quietly I should take her off the oxygen at home !!!????

At that point I knew not to trust doctors
I took her to my pediatrician straight from the hospital we sat there for over 4 hrs monitoring her
Without oxygen and took her off
Then came the process of weaning her off so many medications that were unnecessary
One the hospital even admitted oh why is she on that?

Pp saying trust the doctors the nicu is only here to help
Open your eyes

I sat there every day for 4 months straight
I can’t even begin to repeat the horrors I’ve seen
And what I went through

amother

Hunter

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 6:44 am

Sebastian wrote:

Hatzalah in lkwd bypasses many closer hospitals and usually take to jersey shore for cardiac since they are the better hospital for that. They will take a yoledet to monmouth even though mant hospitals are closer. I dont think its a legal thing, unless it is in ny. Kimball is the closest emergency room and they usually dont go there.

I never heard of hatzalah in bp or flatbush taking to manhattan. Their policy is very strict.

When do they take yoledeses to Monmouth? If they do its very rare.

I and everyone else I know were taken to brick.

amother

Cerulean

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 8:01 am

OP, I had 2 of my kids in the NICU in Maimonides. I have only the nicest things to say about the care they received. They also kept my son an extra 3 days because of something I felt was unnecessary, and it was over Shabbos when he was already there for 10 weeks. And eventually, they let him home. As healthy as a baby that was born full term. Sure it was frustrating, but at the end of it all, I was calm and confident when I brought him home. They don't keep a baby there extra. They just don't want any baby coming back with an ambulance. Or worse.

NotInNJMommy

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 8:37 am

The doctors, especially specialists in a hospital, are not concerning themselves with insurance. They don't have time for that, and it isn't their job. The nurses follow the doctor's orders--and may ask questions, or make suggestions, but have to follow the medical orders.

Neonatologists 100% want the babies out of the hospital as soon as they are medically stable. I also can't speak for Maimo (which sounds like a circus on many levels), but when I had a child in NJ >15 yrs ago in the NICU, the entire panel of neonatologists (4-6) had to agree on discharge decisions. One of those in my child's case was more cautious and wanted more time because my son was by far the earliest discharge they'd have had for that type of case--ultimately, the panel discussed more and they did discharge him that day.

It may also be that they schedule cases to evaluate for discharge. Patient A--not today, let's look again in 1, 2, 3 days....1 week (depending on particulars), and then they don't discuss as a panel discharge again before then unless the daily review indicates accelerating that schedule....so they can have some order, seder, etc.

I do not think any medical professionals want to keep NICU babies longer than appropriate. They know that once medically stable--the best place is home and out of the hospital.

amother

Begonia

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:37 am

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Was this maimonides??

amother

Wandflower

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 11:44 am

all of you who haven't had your babies trapped in a NICU shouldn't say anything

I had my baby stuck in Methodist hospital for weeks and weeks and weeks on end with zero progress. When I tried transferring they gave me hell and back.

Yes it IS a money thing. People in the medical field have admitted as such. A frum neonatologist told me that sadly it occurs in hospitals. It's a thing. Ego gets involved all over.

My poor baby had a heart defect, and when we finally transferred to a different hospital they found the problem right upon taking an echo.

There's more details to this but yes moms SHOULD advocate and don't get scared off by posters claiming chilul hashem blah blah blah blah. It enrages me. You don't have to be a screaming lunatic but you must be firm and insistent because nope, the hospital doesn't actually care about what's best for your baby. Sure, some nurses and doctors might but overall there definitely is MONEY in the equation.

Say what you want, but if you haven't been in this situation your words do not matter. Your just scared for our image. Guess what? My baby's health is more important then our image and being seen as sweet nice Jews who just nod politely and say sweetly oh sure yeah you want my baby here longer for no reason, sure why not, you can't find the issue, oh well surely you're doing your best.

NOT.

ETA my baby ended up having open heart surgery at 12 weeks. Had this been discovered sooner he'd have it in the first week of life saving us much needed agmas nefesh and trauma that we now deal with. Obviously it was bashert for us to go through this but I won't listen to this BS about hospitals not trying to make more money and meaning our good blah blah blah. Enough.

amother

Seafoam

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 12:31 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Had the issue with the travel oxygen as an adult with Covid. They kept me for hours waiting for travel oxygen and they also wanted me to get a transport. When my husband told them we’re leaving by x o’clock suddenly the oxygen materialized. We have a ton of Gemachim could’ve gotten oxygen elsewhere.

amother

Tangerine

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 12:34 pm

amother Leaf wrote:

As a diabetic myself my babies are prone to low BG at birth. The hospital is supposed to have a set protocol. No the baby does not need to be pricked 10x a day. They definitely need to nurse or have formula to get sugar into their body. And if baby is unable to regulate after a couple of hours that’s when they admit to NICU. But a healthy baby should be able to stabilize BG right after eating np.

amother

Olive

Tue, Jan 17 2023, 12:37 pm

I didn’t read the whole thread!

I had a baby in the nicu and every day they found a reason as to why they are keeping her and I saw at one point it’s stupidity and I told them they got mad at me and said we want off the case tell your pediatrician to take over well she did and my baby was discharged the next morning. My pediatrician told me afterwards that small hospitals keep baby’s linger that’s how they make their money bigger hospitals discharge right when they can. After my experience I saw it was true.