I've just seen a glowing review of the Florence hospital where the nurses speak English & its was very clean and the bedside manor were top notch. (Free wifi is a bonus) now I'm confused, I was booked into Mi hospital and have heard good reviews - I know not to expect state of the art facilities but there seems to be a few more things attracting me to the Florence now... Any words of wisdom from people who have been to either? Thanks ????

They drained my bulb quite a bit and did after the blue dye.

Oh. I was REALLY unimpressed w the leak test guy @ mi. He rushed me through there so stinkin fast. I really didn't feel like he was thorough at all. I've seen videos of leak tests. Nothing like that.

#randomrants

They drained my bulb quite a bit and did after the blue dye.

Oh. I was REALLY unimpressed w the leak test guy @ mi. He rushed me through there so stinkin fast. I really didn't feel like he was thorough at all. <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> I've seen videos of leak tests. Nothing like that.

#randomrants

I had trouble focusing on my barium swallow leak test because Dr. Campos was standing right beside me and I was lost in Crush-land.

Seriously though, Dr. Campos stood patiently with me while I sipped. I think I took 3-4 sips. It was neat.

#unrequittedcrush

They didn't check your drain other than for the leak test?

Mine was emptied and measured daily at Almater Hospital. But if I remember you were underwhelmed by Mi Doctor' date=' right?[/quote']

Nope it wasn't drained at all after I drank the blue dye. The dr came in the next morning and didn't check it either but like I said I kept an eye on it myself. Figured blue stuff would be hard to miss

I was sleeved at florence by Dr Garcia on March 28th. Florence was a clean facility. There were folks coming to clean and sanitize twice a day. The room equipment used was comparable to a smaller, rural hospital in the states. The OR was modern. With the exclusion of the bed. I had to scoot onto the operating table, and after have bruises where my legs hung over. ( I am tall). The room was clean, but seemed like it had been through a bad home remodel. The faucet in the bathroom only worked on one side. I ran out of TP while there and ended up using tissues.

On the other hand, I was visited by nurses round the clock. All but one spoke English. The one who didn't had an app on her phone that translated. The overnight nurse was lovely, can't remember her name. And my day nurse was Fatima, she was a doll and did anything I needed. There was a doctor there 24-7 and Dr Garcia's team was there each day to check on me.

Overall I had a great experience. The care was phenomenal. I traveled solo and had no worries. The coordinator, Meli, informed me when my fellow sleevers were around. I visited, briefly, with others I have chatted with on this site.

The blue dye test is the one that is done while you are under anesthesia and still in the operating room, alot of patients come back to the rooms with the blue dye still on their lips actually cause they maybe spit up a bit after it. The second one is the one where you drink the fluid and you see the the DVD of it or the xray of it..the 3rd is just the drain..watching it to see what is coming out.

I had a leak test during the operation. I slept through that...

The blue dye test the day after the operation which allowed me to start having liquids. Dr. Aceves even took a pic of my blue tongue!

Then the barium swallow, with the adorable Dr. Campos guiding me, on the 3rd day with the x-ray which allowed me to upgrade my liquids to their yummy chicken broth.

My drain was emptied and a description of the contents noted and measured. The drain was removed, by my BFF Dr. Campos, the day before I was scheduled to leave. Not painful, but kinda unpleasant.

I was sleeved at florence by Dr Garcia on March 28th. Florence was a clean facility. There were folks coming to clean and sanitize twice a day. The room equipment used was comparable to a smaller' date=' rural hospital in the states. The OR was modern. With the exclusion of the bed. I had to scoot onto the operating table, and after have bruises where my legs hung over. ( I am tall). The room was clean, but seemed like it had been through a bad home remodel. The faucet in the bathroom only worked on one side. I ran out of TP while there and ended up using tissues.

On the other hand, I was visited by nurses round the clock. All but one spoke English. The one who didn't had an app on her phone that translated. The overnight nurse was lovely, can't remember her name. And my day nurse was Fatima, she was a doll and did anything I needed. There was a doctor there 24-7 and Dr Garcia's team was there each day to check on me.

Overall I had a great experience. The care was phenomenal. I traveled solo and had no worries. The coordinator, Meli, informed me when my fellow sleevers were around. I visited, briefly, with others I have chatted with on this site.[/quote']

Parker hit the nail on the head with this. My experience was exactly the same. Fatima and Sarah were my nurses and they were AWESOME! I'm a guy so didn't have to worry about TP, lol, and the Water worked fine on my sink. Overall the experience was great and care was even better, on par with and sometimes much better than care I received here at home.

Surgery 3/28. My care at Florence was also top notch. No problems. Nurses were good. Yes, the place is dated, but being renovated. Despite the older look and equipment, it was adequate and all in working order. I had all WLS patients in the rooms near me. I had Dr. Kelly, and while leak tests CAN be done at Florence, he prefers the newer and better images on the flouro camera at Hospital Angeles which is very modern, so he has it done there enroute to the hotel. Surgeon preference and wasnt a big deal.Wonderful personal experience, and would do it again at Florence.

Thanks everyone - I'm feeling very confident in my switch to Florence ... I leave for my trip 3 weeks today!

I just want to mention some things that I didnt see mentioned in the other replies that may help someone in the decision process, since we all have different things that are important to us. I had my surgery with Dr. Kelly at Mi Doctor last August and didn't have any problems with the beds, nurses, or any noise. I was very pleased with my experience and care.

When I was released, my coordinator needed to stop and check on another patient who was at florence, and since she and I were sleeve buddies off here, he took me and my hubby with... so I have been in both hospitals. My initial impression from the courtyard of Florence was that it was going to be very nice but when we got inside I was happy I had Mi Doctor. Nothing was bad about Florence, but her hallways and room felt darker and gave me kind of a closed in feeling. I felt like Mi Doctor had a brighter happier healthier feeling.

The other thing that my friend was not happy about was that she had trouble getting more pain meds at Florence even though Dr. Kelly had authorized it. The coordinator told me that was a common problem there and seemed really ticked of that it was happening again. I have also read that a few other times on here.

I was very fortunate to not have much pain, but the nurses at Mi Doctor were constantly asking if I needed pain meds. I said yes once immediately after surgery but never needed any more, but they were there at the drop of a hat. My hubby is having surgery June 1st and we requested Mi Doctor again, because we were very pleased and because he is a big baby and wants to know that there is pain medicine readily available lol.

Oh and few last things we really appreciated at Mi...the free wifi, t

he AC, and the satellite tv. The AC (with remote) in our room was fantastic, as an obese person that was VERY important to me...now my hubby will probably freeze me lol).And when we compared notes with our friend it seemed like our satellite tv at Mi had more channels (many in English) which is probably more important to your guest but its nice to have. I know these are little things but they made my hospital recovery easier. (Sorry for the weird font change I typed this on my tablet.)

Does florence have wifi and a way to call home and let family know you are ok ?

Does florence have wifi and a way to call home and let family know you are ok ?

Yes, its free and open. No hassle. There is a phone in your room. You give them the phone number and they connect you. OAN: My doctor called my family for me immediately after surgery.

I was still not sure I wanted to change to Florence after being scheduled for Mi Doctor, but after speaking to Alma at R4AC it seems like Mi Doctor isn't an option anymore anyway. I was told "all surgeries have been moved to Florence." And then was told to fill out a new consent form with Florence Hospital indicated instead of Mi Doctor like my original. I think for the most part it's kinda a toss up. They both seem to have some pros and cons. So I guess Florence it is for me now too! lol

Kristina J . When are u going ?

I was still not sure I wanted to change to florence after being scheduled for Mi Doctor' date=' but after speaking to alma at r4ac it seems like Mi Doctor isn't an option anymore anyway. I was told "all surgeries have been moved to Florence." And then was told to fill out a new consent form with Florence Hospital indicated instead of Mi Doctor like my original. I think for the most part it's kinda a toss up. They both seem to have some pros and cons. So I guess Florence it is for me now too! lol[/quote']

There I go again being a trouble maker lol

I moved Janine and I and I think Liz changed - sorry if it was my fault K .. I think we will be fine there tho x