ok im just wondering how many of you had a baby at darnell and was it a good expreiance? cause im 12 weeks right now and so far im not impressed this is my 4th baby and at my 1st app up there at womans health they told me they wouldnt be able to do a ultrasound until i was 15 weeks cause they wouldnt be able to tell it was a baby then they told me they cant hear a heart beat on a doppler until im at least 16 to 18 weeks now with my 1st 3 i had my ultra sound when i was 10 weeks just to be sure everything was going good and i also heard the babys heart beat on the doppler at 11weeks ok moving on at the app when i did get to see a doctor it wasnt a dr it was a mid wife and she was extremly rude to me she pressed down on my belly so hard it brought tears to my eyes and turned black & blue by the next day she said she had to press so hard cause im so morbdily obsese ok i knew i was a little over weight but im only like 20 pounds over what i should be and it was just like the whole time during our app she kept calling me fat and asking me could i hold the baby pouch up so she could check for my uterus i dont know maybe it was just her?? should i try to go off post somewhere cause i have NEVER been treated with such disrespect in my life and i dont wanna keep going here on post if this is how they treat you .....and on a side note i have been this same size since 2004 and my old OB never had ne problems checking me out for ne thing and he never called me fat or morbidly obsese 

FIRST OFF!!!!! I'M SORRY THIS HAPPEN TO YOU SECOND!!!!!!! HOW DARE THEY TREAT YOU LIKE YOUR A OBJECT!!!!! I WOULD MAKE A MAJOR COMPLAINT AND DO NOT LET IT JUST BLOW OFF SOMEONE SHOULDERS!!!!!! THIS IS SAD AND I WOULD OF SAID TO THE LADY YOU THINK, I'M FAT DO YOU WELL MAYBE YOU NEED TO THINK OF GETTING A DIFFERENT JOB!!!! AND I WOULD OF ALSO TOLD HER TO BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR A NICE COMPLAINT!!!!! OH AND I WOULD OF TOLD HER TO HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!! B1TCH!!!!!!!!!!!! 

yea i did call tri care and tell them what had happend at my app and i told the nurse or whoever at the desk when i walked out they didnt really seem to care much but as of now im never seeing her again and if they try to make me an app with her it aint gonna happen 

That's terrible!
If you can, get Lena Fabian. Loved her! I would totally go back to Darnell and have my child there again if I was guarenteed her. Otherwise, it sucks get appointments (book months in advance!) and if you are high risk, you are screwed! I was with both babies, and I couldn't even get an appointment the last month and I WAS HIGH RISK! I just had my second off base in Georgia, and the experience was ten times better! Had two-three appointments a week.
And tricare only pays for one ultrasound (18-22 weeks) unless there is something wrong. My advice, go to appointments at least an hour early (the parking is TERRIBLE!) and report that lady that was so mean and rude!
Good Luck! 

I hate them too; so much so I dis-enrolled from tricare prime and enrolled in tricare standard so I could get a civilian doctor. My pregnancy is considered very high risk bc of this stupid stupid disorder (grrrr). In any event I started bleeding and they refused to see me, my primary doc refused to see me and the E.R. said to go to the women's center. In addition, they refused to see me until 8 weeks for the nurse, 14 weeks for the doc. I need my titer levels checked monthly to see if my baby needs a blood transfusion (kind of a bit important!!!) I could not wait until patient advocacy was open (it was a four day)so I disenrolled.

In my story, they would rather have let my baby miscarry than just take me in; pure evil. This is NOT the healthcare our military and military family deserve! 

I didnt have a problem at Darnell. Not all of them are like that. As far as doppler they should have done one and its crap they didnt. Ultrasound unless your high risk dont expect one until your farther along. Mostly because Tricare doesnt like to pay for it. I am also working on my 4 th baby and had huge problems with my doctor the first appt. She had me in a huge panick for a week. Not cool at all. With not being high risk mostly you will see midwives. They are more caring and listen more then a lot of the doctors. Dont write them off because a lot of them are great. I am high risk, have to go in once a week for ultrasounds because of all the medical problems I have. Id do anything to have a midwife again. The doctor I see doesnt seem to listen well. As for that midwife... report her. Patient advocate, ice complaint etc... take pictures of your bruises and turn her butt in. That was so uncalled for and flat out wrong. Im sorry that happened to you. 

proud wifey
she said she had to press so hard cause im so morbdily obsese
Don't worry, those nurses call me anorexic all the time. One even said " Don't worry, it's 0 calories" while giving me an IV.
You can't be nice to those people and you can't act defeated. You have to let them know this crap won't fly with you.

I got out of the system(switched to "standard") and not planning on ever going back. I suggest you do the same and have your baby at Scott and White. 

stick with prime.. otherwise you pay more out of pocket for standard. 

I had 4 ultrasounds. one in the beggining and 2 in the middle bc they couldn't get a clear pic of his spine to sign off that he was healthy and one towards the end but at the end I had pre eclampsia so then I was high risk. the other 3 I'm not sure how I got. I had tricare prime but lived far enough away from a base that I was seen off post until we moved to bragg and I went to womak then and hated it. 

You might consider putting in an ICE Complaint and a complaint to the Obundsman (not positive how to spell that-but they are like the IG of the hospital staff). Did you catch her name? 

yea i got her name and she was a major in the army my grandma thinks thats why she was so mean to me she said they all seem that way idk i sure miss my old obgyn in michigan but he dont take tri-care and the way im being treated here im almost tempted to switch to pregnant womans medicaid and go back up to michigan just so he can deliver my 4th cause ive known him since i was 15 and he delivered my first 3 kids i guess i wait and see how my app with mrs benson goes up there and if its the same as the 1st lady then idk ill have to talk it over with my husband 

someonesangel
The Only Free Cheese is in the Mousetrap.

It's not just about having babies, people get sick from time to time.
I've had prime for 5 years and I everytime a health issue would come up, they refused to treat it :"You're young, you'll be fine". How about 12 hour emergency room waits? Does that sound like an awesome deal?
It's better to pay a little bit out of pocket, then not get any treatment at all. 

um I am confused on you would get treated different because you have standard.. You are (stupidly) saying that because you had prime you sat in the emergency room and waited for a nurse to tell you "you're young, you'll be fine" BUT if you had standard they would have admitted you, treated you, and saved your life (since obviously prime has resulted in your death) you would just pay more out of pocket. And stupid analogy; since prime isn't FREE, it comes right out of the pay check. 

proud wifey, Darnell has its issues, but overall, it was the people that I liked about the place. You had some bad luck; when you schedule your appointments, make sure you have someone else! And when you find someone you like, schedule them in advance as far as you can! Good Luck! Not everyone there is as terrible as that woman! 

I never had any issues with Darnall except their labor and delivery wing was so small and the waiting room was horribly small (Do they even have the new thing opened yet?)

I am very obese and they had to press on me alot, never to bring tears to my eyes, but not to be insensitive but being pregnant there are lots of discomforts. They poke and prod you all over. When the "measured" me when I thought I was in labor at 37 weeks...OUCH!!!!! Getting pregnant didn't hurt that much! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! But really I had great nurses and midwifes during labor and delivery. They couldn't find my babies heartbeat at my 12 week so they used an ultrasound.

I would definitely file a complaint and just ask for someone else next time. You dont have to go to the same one and they aren't all bad!! I promise! 

ok first off lets not attack each other. someones angel tricare prime is free the only thing taken out of your check is dental. some people prefer standard because it isa PPO insurance. you chose your own doctors and hospitals and pay a premium and copay. prime is an HMO where you have to have a referral for everything and see the doctors you are told to see. it is a personal choice which one to use. some people prefer standard bc of being able to go offpost and see a civilian doctor.


having said that it is possible to fight to go offpost and stay on prime but you do have to be willing to fight. 

megzy.. correction, not OUR paycheck, the army's. Should have clarified. I just hate when people complain since we don't pay a fee and the army covers the cost... I mean, we paid 7 dollars to cover the cost of the birth of my daughter at darnell (food), and when I had my son, they bill tricare for 17,000 and I didn't have a c section! let's show a lil more appreciation is my message. 

In actuality tricare is suppose to be sort of an attribution to the soldier's pay. For example, a soldier is paid less than a civilian bc they offer him/her BAH, BAS and TRICARE to combat the difference in pay. So we kind of really do pay for health care if you think of it that way. 

someonesangel Not even sure wtf are you talking about.

When you have standard you can go to ERs and family docs on the outside and tricare will cover most of it. If you have prime you can only go on post, unless you live further than 30-50 miles from base.
By law a patient is supposed to get triaged within 10 minutes of arriving to the hospital. Army hospitals do not obey that law. It might take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to get triaged at Darnell. Average ER wait at Darnell is 6 hours.
My husband had to go out and get orajel for some woman's child at Darnell’s ER, because he knocked his teeth out and they wouldn't see him for 5 hours and wouldn't give him anything for the pain.
I see people being brought by the ambulance and being wheeled into the waiting area! The whole point of calling an ambulance is to get seen right away!

The average wait in Metroplex ER( that is now a part of Scott and white) 30 minutes. You can only go to Metroplex if you have standard.

Now, your experience, is just your experience. If you are attractive, you'll never get a good treatment, when being seen by a female medic with a low self esteem and the other way around.
People should stay professional, but for the most part they don't. They are human and they can't help not liking some patients.
I'm sure you've given a stink eye to someone you saw and didn't like before.
Well, they do it too and they're in a position of power, because they know you need that free care. Simple as that.
That is why, it is better to have standard, because you can pick and chose your doctors and nurses.

And let's not be hypocrites here, you all know it's true. We've all experienced preemptive rudeness before.

The danger of filing an ICE complaint and requesting a new nurse/doc. Everybody will know that you are "a prissy little princess " and treat you accordingly. They all work together and they all talk to each other. 

MommyPancakeNut
Well, not "us", but our husbands do. Army pay is not that great, benefits is the only thing that makes it "worth it".
Army docs don't see it that way. They think, that if you're in the army or married to someone who is, you're taking advantage of the system.
Even though, those doctors were being put through medical schools by the army! They are too, taking advantage of the system.

Now,sometimes we're being forced to relocate to places with hostile enviroments, that make us develop health problems like ashtma, allergies, altitude sickness, etc. It would be really efing unfair if we had to pay to get that fixed out of pocket. 

I see good points, totally off points, totally missed perceptions, and OPINIONS...keep the conversation general and knock it off with the personal attacks! Everyone is allowed to say what they think without someone attacking them for their views :) Also keep in mind that not everyone is good at wording things to make their thoughts clear to others.
Thanks 

Just so you know you can go to metroplex or scott and white with prime. I refused to go to Darnell Er.ever. I always.went to scott and white and have never been charged. 

After the experience you had, I would do what is going to work best for you & your family.

I was seen a Darnall for several of my pregnacies (all were not full term) and had different experiences every time.

I will say that as a prior soldier, I did notice a difference in the way I was treated (by doctors, staff etc), I wouldn't say worse, just differently.

Kelly got it right on with the ICE complaint & also with her last post.

Overall, I would say to do what's best for you. 

I lived within the limits for going on post but was able to get seen off. all I had to do was ask. if its something you want to do all you have to do is ask. I diddnt have to fight but others may have had different experiences. 

I lived on post for my third and asked to be seen off. I was able to deliver at Scott and White. 

When you have standard you can go to ERs and family docs on the outside and tricare will cover most of it. If you have prime you can only go on post
You have your information backwards. With prime you can go off post. With standard there is a fee. 

The only problem I had with Darnell is when I went into labor it the anesthesiologists so long to come down that it was too late to get an epidural so I had to give natural child birth and my son was 8'11 and 22 in long! So if you do deliver there go early!! 

I had that happen at Scott and White. By time they got it in my daughters head was coming out so it didnt take effect till after I had her. 

I have prime and i am seen off post. I went to tri-care and requested the specific doctors for myself and children. I had to fill out a form and put a reason why, but tri-care approved it. I never have to pay copays and i am seen at kings daughters. Also, I am a nurse and I have worked in a military clinic on post. I have worked with several doctors, both civilian and military in that clinic and I can say there are good ones and not so good ones. I did, however, work with a military PA that was probably one of the best providers i have ever worked with. He was awesome and had a passion for medicine. Not all the docs at darnall or the military clinics are bad. I have worked with some of the best providers at the military clinic. Some are far better than some doctors I have worked with in the outside world. Also, the head nurse takes ICE complaints seriously. At our clinic, the head nurse would talk to nurses involved in the complaint and call the patient back personally and try to make it right. There is a real push for patient satisfaction, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. CRDAMC is trying to make a change, for the better. 

I had my son at Darnall and really have no complaints. I didn't have a negative experience until the doctor I saw on my 39 week appointment... and by then, I didn't care. I started out with a midwife and after getting diagnosed w/ gest. diabetes, I saw all MDs. I got to hear the heartbeat at my 12 week appointment. And I had 3 ultrasounds - the initial one at 18 weeks, a second one at 22 weeks because they couldn't get whatever image of the heart they were looking for and a 3rd one at 31 weeks- it was just a growth scan.

I had awesome nurses and a really great doctor during delivery. The anestiologist and I had a little spat but that wasn't totally her fault. I really liked the nurse practicioner I saw for my post partum check up and IUD insertion. She was a little wacky but very attentive to my questions.

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience there... not all the docs are like that for sure.

My biggest complaint was the parking!