UPDATED: Despite talks of Kimball Medical Center strongly considering closing their Maternity Ward, KMC says they don’t have any plans to do so at this time. Officials told TLS the hospital is reportedly seeing dwindling numbers of mothers choosing the local hospital to give birth, and are flocking to Monmouth Medical Center and others instead.
“Keeping the ward open for the few % choosing KMC, just doesn’t make sense,” an official who wished to remain anonymous said.
But despite talks of the hospital closing the ward by as early as this Summer, Kimball says they don’t currently have such plans.
“There are no plans to close our obstetrical department at this time,” said Hospital spokesman John brand. “In fact, Kimball has expanded women’s and pediatric services in partnership with Monmouth Medical Center over the last two years. Kimball continues to explore ways to further enhance the care the hospital provides and ensure the community maintains access to quality health care services. We foresee an enhanced focus on community wellness and outpatient care, as well as continued investment in technology,” Brand said. [TLS]
It’s such a shame that Dr. Feinberg is no longer there…..if he was I don’t believe that this would be the case. The nurses on the maternity ward there were so nice and kind. I am sorry that I had to switch to a different hospital, but they don’t have the high risk doctor that I require.
i used kimball for delivery and it was great. staff was amazing, rooms nice and clean, halls quiet… and location cant be better !
i hope they dont shut down
all my kids & Lakewood grandkids born there. Care is great. & when time is of essence it’s good to have them there
Why don’t they bring in a team or a few solid doctors and make it work?
I just had my son there, they were so good to us
It would be a shame to close down the ward in an area that probably has one of the highest birthing rates in NJ.
in 2009 Lakewood had 3,746 babies alone!! Per http://www4.state.nj.us/dhss-shad/query/builder/birth/BirthPopMuni/BirthRate.html
Instead of “considering” closing it down, how about “considering” improving the quality of care and affiliating with good doctors.
some thing just does not make sense here, in the town with the highest birth rate in new jersey why in the world are such a high percentage of residents flocking to other hospitals to give birth? many even traveling as far as Robert Woo Johnson and Hackensack medical centers. why would Kimball not invest all the money and resources to have more of the mothers-to-be give birth right near their home. I am sure every couple would love to save them selves that long stress filled trip when the wife is in labor. would that not be a smart investment for this hospital. some thing just does not make sense…
Interesting this should be published on my sons 11th birthday. He was born at KMC under fantastic care of Dr Feinberg and his midwives. At 19 hrs old he developed breathing problems and was transfered to care of the neonatologist on call. My local pediatrician no longer had jurisdiction over him. After 2 days of poking him to the point where he had no accessible veins, they discharged him because they could not find a cause of the problem. B”h we were not first time parents and took him to CHOP. He was admitted in critical condition. The staff was shocked that he hadn’t arrived by ambulance. He was kept there for a week until his condition was stabilized and ultimately had surgery to correct a heart defect. KMC is very convenient but if something out of the ordinary occurs your excellent obstetrician and pediatrician will have no jurisdiction to help you.
“KMC is very convenient but if something out of the ordinary occurs your excellent obstetrician and pediatrician will have no jurisdiction to help you.”
And why not? Perhaps they aren’t any better?
The whole kimball situatuion is a head-scratcher. Its a classic example how mismanagement can take a profitable product in a great location & turn it into a loser. All hospitals are heavily wooing us, Kimball has us in its backyard & they still can’t put together a top-level team of Drs, specialists etc to make the place work. Lakewood Teacher was right on. I hope she teaches my kids.
We had 2 children delivered by Dr. feinberg at Kimball. we only have the highest praises for the hospital, they were friendly, proffesional, and extremely courteous. However, the difficulty lies in the fact that Kimball is not a university hospital and therefore simply holds no attraction to the teams of specialists necessary to offer the high level of care found at the surrounding university medical centers.
Perhaps joining with Monmouth, as the article mentions, may actually be the best option for them as it will provide access to the level of care which our community demands.
We have a lot of gratitude towards them and wish them the best of luck.
monmouth medical center is years ahead of KMC in both facility and proffesionalisem. i once had to use KMC and felt like the staff warn’t that orginised to say the least. another huge issue is that most peoples doctors work out of MMC.
Truth: There are procedures in place in hospitals to determine who has responsibility for each patient. When there are complications a specialist has jurisdiction and your doctor has no authority. When the infrastructure of a hospital is not on par with an individual
doctor, you will encounter difficulties if you find yourself under the care of one of the in house “specialists”.
there are doctors who only deliver at KMC, my daughter is having my grandson there in September and her group of Doctor’s work only from KMC
” When there are complications a specialist has jurisdiction and your doctor has no authority. When the infrastructure of a hospital is not on par with an individual
doctor, you will encounter difficulties if you find yourself under the care of one of the in house “specialists”.”
This is your mistake. If your Doc has rights in that hospital then his pt. is always under his care. The specialist is called in on top of your regular Doc, not instead of. What usually happens is that your primary Doc relinquishes care to the specialist because the specialist knows better/more. There are a lot of misconceptions in the Frum community regarding medical care and I’m happy to correct them.
KMC has a wonderful group there now and has always been Dr Fabercant OGOA and his associates are just the best. Had cn”hall my children there and delivered with them. I strongly recommend them and the hospital to anyone.
i use OGOA and am very happy with them. they only delivery in kmc and i have always have a positive experience there.
i think that kmc got a bad name because a few people had a bad experiene and told others about it. also if a certain pedatrician would tell his patients to use the hospital instead of telling them not to go there then many more people would go there.
i had 4 babys in kmc and only have nice things to say about them! u know the saying the grass is always greener!!!!!!!!!!!8
Truth: In my experience my dr had absolutely no control over the care or lack thereof that my son received. Driving a five day old baby to CHOP in critical condition is not a misconception it is a nightmare. A local pediatrician is not a cardiologist, pulmonologist or neonatologist. He does not and will never have authority to override the expertise of these specialists. In a typical setting this status quo is perfectly acceptable. But in dealing with a subpar hospital, you are at the mercy of whomever they have on staff. Given Lakewoods close proximity to Philly and NYC you would be hardpressed to find a specialist at KMC that is comparable to those in the cities.
I had a great time every time, even after Dr. Feinberg left. The food is great, the midwives are wonderful, and my babies got the best care possible. Kimball is my Aim V’Yeled!
There is a reason some doctors won’t send their patients to KMC. Its what leads to “some people having a bad experience” there. We should not be concerned with increasing the number of people who go there if we are seeking competent medical care across all disciplines. If the goal is to have a pleasant birth and recuperation and are equating it with a kimpeturim heim by all means use their services. But please understand the risks you face in case of complications
Reply to truth: we’re talking about run of the mill births. A1 high risk should obviously go elsewhere as they do not cater to those types of births.
#23 -agree. I personally (actually my wife) had kids in Brick and Monmouth.
“A local pediatrician is not a cardiologist, pulmonologist or neonatologist. He does not and will never have authority to override the expertise of these specialists. In a typical setting this status quo is perfectly acceptable. But in dealing with a subpar hospital, you are at the mercy of whomever they have on staff.”
This statement is correct. My issue was with your previous posts.
Your Doctors (the regular ones), if they were actually good, would help the specialists deal with any issues that arises. Now they should be able to suggest to the specialist which direction to take, if he is lost. At the very least your Doc should call for a transfer of the pt. if he can’t help the specialist go in the right direction. The main responsibility of the pts. lie with the primary care Docs, not with the specialists.