Dear Source,
My wife and I had a very positive experience at the Schneider hospital where our third daughter, Margaret Emma McConnell, was born. Our other two daughters were born at home, in part because of the hospital's poor reputation. However, from the moment we arrived, everyone we encountered treated us with a wonderful, friendly attitude. Upon our arrival, we were shown to the delivery room, which, as it turned out, was the hospital's new "birthing room," very well equipped, beautifully decorated, large, yet cozy and personal, with wonderful privacy (including a private bath). In addition to its extraordinarily maneuverable bed, it had two very comfortable chairs, one of which folded out into a bed for a husband or coach to stretch out on during a long labor.
We had provided our doctor, Margaret Sprauve, with a detailed birth plan, which she, the nurses and support staff carried out beautifully. At the moment of delivery, Dr. Sprauve and nurses Wade and Stapleton did a superb job of coaching and encouraging us. After the birth, the room was fully equipped to carry out all the tests and procedures on little Maggie without her ever leaving the room. The nursery staff was wonderful in answering our questions.
We had one complaint: no bottled water for sale in the hospital. However, as it turned out, the hospital's new CEO, Rodney Miller, overheard me asking the cafeteria personnel for some water, and whisked me away to his office where he gave us a couple bottles out of his personal refrigerator. Along the way, he explained his plans to turn all the delivery rooms into comparably equipped "birthing rooms." (He also promised to look into the bottled water shortage.) Clearly, Mr. Miller has his focus on providing superb customer service, and it appears to be taking root with his staff as well.
William S. McConnell
St. Thomas
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