What are the differences between St. Francis & Christiana??

I never knew that you could choose whether you wanted your surgery through Christiana Care or St. Francis. From my understanding, St. Francis has an easier process (which can be good or bad I think, depending on the person). Which hospital did you go through? What are you experiences? I've heard a lot of bad things about St. Francis hospital, but does it really matter which hospital? The surgeon is the same. I've never actually talked to anyone that went through the process through St. Francis. So I guess I'm looking for pros & cons for both hospitals. Thanks. =] 

 By "process" do you mean WLS?   I had mine performed at St. Francis and have no complaints.  The pre-admission team were very nice and everything moved along smoothly.  

The nurses who prepped me for surgery were wonderful.  Very friendly and informative.  As were the nurses during my hospital stay.    The one difference I know of between Christiana and St Francis (that I've been told) are the rooms.  A friend of mine had her surgery performed at Christiana and said the rooms there are like something out of a resort.   The rooms at St. Francis are "typical" hospital rooms.  But still nice, in my opinion.

I think we have 2 places to choose from because there are so many people having WLS that 1 hospital couldn't supply enough operating rooms to fill the demand. CHRIAS has 3 wonderful Dr's in Drs. Irgau, Wynn & Peters. Let the Dr's office fill you in on the differences between Christiana & St. Francis. I think the $$ amount might be a little different.  Christiana uses PMRI to administer the Skills classes, the nutritionist and Psychologist. I'm sure St Francis has a process also. There are Seminars that you can attend at both places. Support groups are a good resource for information to get the info directly from us Looser's. St. Francis has meetings & so does PMRI. Send me your email and I will send you the list of groups in Delaware. Mine is [email protected]   

I had my WLS at Christiana 6 years ago. I've never looked back. Life is great, no meds now, I follow the rules. I attend support groups and stay active in the WLS community. Do as much research as you can so that you can make the best decision for you.

Your next post is regarding pregnancy. Not recommended for a couple years, because of the malabsorption issue with RNY. The sleeve & lap band has different requirements. Good question for the Dr's to respond to. After the Seminar at Christiana there is a question and answer period. Good time to ask away.

Take care, stay focused and positive. ((HUGS)) Elissa