Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Great hospital. My son was in the er for blisters on his lips the triage nurse was so rude. Loved the Dr

Honestly, I have such an uneasy relationship with Luries. Part of me believes that they do an excellent job when they need to. My daughter has complex medical issues and has been hospitalized here a few times. She also sees a pulmonologist here. I’m going to try to give as thorough of a review that I can without compromising too much of my daughter’s medical information.
The very first time I came here was hectic. My daughter had a bad case of pneumonia and was actually intubated. During this particular experience the staff was knowledgeable and professional and showed us tons of compassion as we were going through a difficult time. They set us up with a pulmonologist. During her stay my daughter was treated well. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea and we were set up with a bi-​pap machine through this hospital.
However, she has regularly seen a pulmonologist here. He ended up leaving for another job and told us that we would be assigned to a new doctor. This never happened. Getting a hold of them to do this has been unsuccessful. My daughter was admitted again for respiratory issues and the hospital claims to have no information about her visits with pulmonology and her sleep doctor. No record of her bi-​pap settings, even though they are the ones who programmed the machine which I very much have in my home right now. This is alarming to me considering that my daughter’s health is in their hands. I’m supposed to trust that they are doing a good job and making knowledgeable decisions in times of emergencies, but they aren’t even keeping track of her well visits, and don’t have the ability to consider her specific circumstances. It’s also scary because we work in colaboration between Luries and Shriner’s hospital for her other health concerns. So if they aren’t being precise in their record keeping how could they possible advise the other hospital who asks for pulomonology clearance before surgery if they are «loosing» information on my daughter? I guess for them she is just another face in the crowd, but for me, she is my entire life. It makes me very uneasy.
This being said. Luries has a very bad reputation for calling Child Protective Services on parents for asking for second opinions. I reluctantly come here when I do. Based on the information stated above, I often have to ask myself if their opinion can really be very accurate, and best for my daughter, since they regularly loose information about her. So how can they consider everything to give me an opinion? Then when I want a second opinion I am scared to ask for it. What a paradox, I’m scared they aren’t considering all the facts about my daughter and think I want an outside opinion because it’s my daughter’s life we’re talking about, but then I’m scared that they will try to rip my daughter out of her family if I don’t agree with them.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you don’t have to. They are skilled, the hospital is nice, the staff for the most part is friendly. However you can get all of these things at other hospitals with the assurance that you are making informed decisions concerning your child’s health without having to question if you’re going to be made look bad because you’re worried about your child’s well being.

Today the staff was really friendly and nice. I guess I based my review of this place based on the cardiology department before but overall this place has very nice nurses and doctors. The nurses assistant made my son feel very comfortable before his surgery. She knew just what to say. The hospital is very clean and pretty inside. If your child is going to have surgery this is the place to go just don’t go see the cardiology department. The nurse was extremely nice!

Horrible and scary place. I was there for Superior Mesentric Artery Syndrome and they thought it was becasue I excercised a lot so they tired to get my parents to send me to a mental hospital in a different state. My parents said NO and they tried to take me away from my parents. Don’t take your child there.

My daughter had surgery here, and her post op was on the 15^th floor CCU. 5 stars for the nurses, and her surgeon, Dr. Backer, but 1 star for the Lindsey, the APN. Excuse my language, but this B had the nerve to pull BS reasons out of her ass to try to keep my daughter admitted. Even after I stated to the nurse that I did not want her to come in our room, this woman had the nerve to come back in. Stressful time as is, and she did not make it better. On top of that, this woman pulled me out into the hallway to talk about my daughter’s treatment versus talking to me inside my daughter’s private room. This is a HIPAA violation. There were other parents and people walking around in the hall. My daughter has been sitting here for the past 3 days, waiting to go home. They promised we can go home Wednesday, now it’s Thursday and they want to pull another procedure out of their asses, and want to keep her another day! That’s two days pass the time that we were told my daughter could leave. This is absolutely bullshit, and this Lindsay had the nerve to use insurance not paying for her surgery if we decide to leave as a way to gain compliance. They do not respect parents-​not every medical procedure is necessary, and if it were, they would’ve explained every step pre-​surgery so that parents know what to expect. My daughter has been admitted to 5 hospitals, and this one has given me the most frustration and I’ve come across many unprofessional people here. Furthermore, we’ve been here a week and I am just now hearing that my daughter has a heart condition. Wtf? I should’ve been notified of this prior to her having surgery!!!

Took my grandson to the ER and the register was call him someone else name I said who are you looking for she said the wrong name again I said you can leave out and she just looked at me then came back with the wright name ass rude nasty .I called their patient relations department and the lady on the phone did not give a dame I know because I experience things with her before they will listen and won’t do a damn thing about it they cover up for who the like is a joke overrated

Going on two hours now in the ER. Nurse came to ask some questions, no one has come back to check on us. Never again am I coming to this place. Only came here cause my sons doctor told me to. If your child is sick and it’s an emergency go elsewhere you’ll be seen faster.

They really care about your child no matter what sickness it is… I recommend every parent in Chicago to bring their child here for an emergency. Even though today was busy I did not wait that long and was seen with kid friendly nurses and doctors. Not only is it high tech but they have a tv in the room with the latest movies kids love… and some for the adolescents. I never want to take my kids anywhere else.

My daughter had a fall and we took her to the nearest hospital unfortunately it was not this one but we got transferred to Children’s and it only took the transfer team 30 mins I was amazed and thankful on the care they provided us with from the minute they walked into our ER room. Once we arrived to trauma department everyone was amazing with her. They asked her questions and was not bombarded with too many people just enough to get her checked out and to order test.
Unfortunately, we had to spend the night but we were well taken care of (all of us). They accommodated all my daughters needs and were very professional. This is the place to take your child in an emergency yes its downtown but worth the drive. We want to also thank Doctor Emily Roblen for everything and making everything easy for us,

As a new father, you expect everyone to be diligent in the care for your child. This is was top notch care. This is what peace of mind feels like

Took my son there to ED for some testes because he was sick. Friendly environment but had to wait for 4 hours to bee seen by a doctor and then another 2 hours to leave.
Awesome doctors and the place is very clean and everyone is very friendly. Its a best place to take your kids to get checked out.

Last summer, my daughter needed to have a test done for seizures. We live in the way NW burbs and our appointment was pretty early in he morning, so we booked a hotel near the hospital and stayed the night in the city.
We walked to the hospital (not far at all) and from the moment we stepped into the building until we walked into the testing room, things were awesome. The staff was pleasant and caring and the way they treated the kids in the waiting room was amazing.
I would love to give Lurie’s 5 stars but the tech we had for my daughters test was rude, unkind and uncaring. She was extremely rough with my daughter and at one point, made her cry. When she saw my daughter silently crying she told her to «grow-​up». She was 6 at the time and scared.
I wrote a letter of complaint to Lurie’s due to the treatment of this one specific tech and never heard anything back from them. Very disappointing. However, if we have to go back to the hospital, we will because the rest of our visit was really very pleasant.

We went to their convenient care in Lincoln park on a Sunday afternoon. We were in a nearby playground and our 4-​yr old fell and complained that she was in pain and couldn’t move her thumb. So we figured coming here instead of an ER to get better/​quicker attention and a lower price (that’s the idea of convenient/​urgent care, right?)
The service was ok, they do take appointments, so if you just walk in you might have to wait longer because they might already have people scheduled for the next few appointments. We were given an appointment in 1 hr of our arrival, which was reasonable and were called on time. The doctor was ok, took a look said that it looked like a sprain but ordered an x-​ray to rule out other things. Went home with a splint and instructions to rest the finger for a few days and that it would improve, and it did.
The bad part was dealing later with their billing department. While we were there we gave them our full info and they made copies of our id and our insurance id. The bill came with our name misspelled and saying that they have no insurance information in file, I had to call them and give them the info again, twice. Even with that they are still trying to bill part of their charges. Honestly, if you are an hospital you should know how to bill an insurance, they shouldn’t need to contact me every month because they can’t keep their records correctly.
Also, charges for a «low level visit (as stated by them in the bill)» were a total of 895 $ (including 330 for 1 x-​ray) which is CRAZY EXPENSIVE. We have visited Northwestern Urgent care, and they charge 150 $ for a comparable visit (without the x-​ray).
We won’t comeback here and wouldn’t recommend it.

I don’t give a crap about what others say on these reviews. This hospital is awesome!
Came to the ER last night because my kidney problems sparked again, I was in a bed within 5 — 10 minutes of being in the waiting room. Even before hand they gave me a wheel chair and blankets because I had bad chills.
All of the staff here is great, I saw a doctor very quickly, put on meds and had tests done quick.
South suburban Advocate was terrible when it came to the ER, I wouldn’t see a nurse or doctor for 30 – 45 minutes at a time, maybe even longer.
My kids will go here, they are awesome!

I would not recommend this place to friends or family after my experience calling the main hospital line and speaking to the ghetto operator.
I called around 8:30 — 9:00pm today asking to speak to a dentist on call. The women said she would transfer me to the ER so that I could ask someone there. I was transferred and asked if I could speak to a dentist on call and was told I would be transferred again. Then the line was disconnected.
I called the same number a second time and the same women answered. I requested to speak to a dentist on call. She responded very rudely saying that I had just called and she had already explained to me that the dentists only see patients at the hospital. She did not explain anything to me the first time I called. She transferred me again to the ER and the whole process repeated itself again. I was transferred to the ER and the women on the ER line said she would also transfer me and the line was disconnected a second time.
So I called a third time and asked who I was speaking too and she hung up on me. I could not believe this was happening. I called two more times until she finally picked up. She was very rude and unprofessional saying that «I GON called 3 times» and that I was trying to make an appointment at 8pm when that wasn’t the purpose of my phone call at all. I never said I wanted to make an appointment. She wouldn’t give me her name after I requested it multiple times.
I’m not sure what type of people this hospital is hiring as their first point of contact but they definitely hired the wrong person. This is the worst operator I have ever spoken too. I hope those phone calls were recorded so that they are reviewed. I will be reporting this.

I’d heard that Children’s Memorial left Lincoln Park and had moved downtown as Lurie. Brand spankin’ new. But no one actually ever WANTS to be there to check it out, right? Well, I had the unfortunate fortunate experience of heading in there yesterday for the first time. I’ll spare you the details but my 11 month old needed another opinion on a medical issue and our doctor sent us to the ER at Lurie. I was super nervous because my kiddo needed to go to the ER but on top of it, I hate heading downtown. We live in Jeff Park and I wondered why we had to go alllll the way there for something that was likely an in and out procedure.
Well, it turns out it wasn’t and he was admitted for the night. Ugh. But literally every.single.person we encountered at the hospital was nothing short of amazing. Everyone. The woman working the check-​in desk in the ER, the triage nurse, the ER security guard, the ER nurses, nurse practitioner and doctor, the orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Erik King, he’s amazing!) and the orthopedic resident, the ER observation nurses, the food service workers and even the woman who came in and collected our linens. Everyone was SO incredibly friendly and it made what was a stressful and scary experience into something much less horrible.
I wish I had taken the time to write down names so I could single them our specifically for the amazing care they gave my son but I was pretty frazzled. But THANK YOU to everyone in the Lurie ER for the great care they gave my Jude.

I had a mostly positive experience at Lurie Children’s Hospital, but the stressful moments brought about by a few staff really made an already tough day even harder on my baby boy.
My 3 month old had an outpatient surgery yesterday that required the use of general anesthesia. Naturally my nerves were high — I had been awake with my baby since 3:30am, & my baby was on a strict nothing by mouth order after 5am. Needless to say, when we were prepping for surgery at 9am, my sweet little boy was hungry, exhausted, & generally overstimulated by his environment. He did what babies do — he cried. Inconsolably. The only thing he wanted was his mother to hold him, & I did my best to comfort him while we waited to go to surgery at 10am.
Well, his tears brought concerned staff who — with probably good intentions — tried to intervene & stop his tears. However, if you’re 3 months old, tired, starving, & frightened by a new, big, scary environment, the LAST thing you want is a stranger appearing & shoving rattles in your face, blasting the tv in the room, & loudly instructing your parent on the finer points of infant distraction. I had to beg these staff members to stop throwing loud toys in my baby’s face as he was writhing away from their advances, & I had to beg to turn off the blasting morning talk show on the television in our private room. My resistance was met with an air of you-don’t-know-what-you’re-doing as the staff member went on to explain their actions to me like I was absolutely incompetent.
This staff member even decided to return later in the morning with a battery powered musical light-​up toy. Once again I had to plead to shut it off.
What ever happened to asking a parent’s permission before trying to take the baby reigns? If this person had just said, «Hey, I’ve got this cool toy your kid might like,» I could’ve politely refused without looking like a frantic mom begging for peace for her scared & hungry infant. Give parents a choice — & a heads up — before intervening. Their actions made it so much harder for my baby (& me!)
I understand that staff deal with families from all sorts of backgrounds, but please, don’t make assumptions. I was not there for a lessen á la Happiest Baby On The Block. We were there for a surgery for a 3 month old boy. I doubt that many families visit Lurie for the fun of it. Most parents do know their children better than anyone else, as well.
Otherwise, the majority of staff at Lurie Children’s were brilliant, loving, & professional. I knew that my baby was in great hands with his doctors, all of who made a point to speak with me prior to the surgery & explain every detail. All of my questions were answered & I was assured that my child was in excellent care. I was not worried (any less than any parent would be!)
After the surgery, I was allowed to be with my son immediately in recovery. I was also able to feed him right away, even though he was still hooked-​up to his IV & blood pressure monitor. The recovery room staff were very gentle & understanding in the fact that I desperately needed to comfort my little boy at this point, & when I asked we were granted privacy & time to ourselves while my son came out the anesthesia & while he nursed. His doctor waited a little bit, then came to explain — with photographic visual aids — exactly what was done during the surgery, how I should expect recovery to go, & all aftercare instructions. He was wonderful.
The hospital facilities are state of the art & obviously very kid-​oriented. I stopped at the on-​site hospital pharmacy before leaving on the 3^rd floor, & I took a peek at the lab waiting area — it had been donated by the Museum of the Art Institute & was beautifully decorated with characteristic art & fun kids activities. There is a lovely aquarium near the front desk donated by the Shedd — it’s perfect for entertaining little peepers. Even the elevators are decorated in fun themes for the kids.

I can’t think of anyone who likes hanging out at hospitals, but if you’re going to pick one to send your kid to for an extended stay, you will feel like you’re in good hands.
Convenience Factor: Covered parking with a $ 10 reduced rate and catwalk to the hospital that also connects to the new Prentice.
Facility: It’s a brand new spanky clean, modern facility with artwork everywhere and interactive multimedia screens to keep little ones occupied — a museum experience for those who don’t get out much. For teens there is a special activity room where they can take things back to their room — games, movies, etc. The halls are wide and spacious with security guards everywhere.
The Rooms: My stepdaughter has a beautiful view of the city. She has a widescreen TV in her room that streams kid-​friendly shows and kid-​friendly movies for her to enjoy. Though I wouldn’t want so many people in my room all the time, the nurses are extremely responsive and come in more than you can imagine and there is always someone coming in to clean the garbage and the bathroom.
Food: Patients order food off the hospital menu and they also have specials, like tonight’s fried rice and vegetable option. They also had a chicken and tater tot option. The kitchen closes at 8pm, but for those hungry after hours they round up soup and crackers — no questions asked. You will also find a series of restaurants in the next building over like Au Bön Pain and an excellent cafeteria on the 11^th floor with great coffee and food that tends to run on the hospital-​healthy side of things: yogurt, granola, *green* sandwiches, etc.
The only tricky thing, when you live away from the city and don’t stay onsite full time (not required with teens), is it can take a few calls to get a status report — like whether your kid is being released today or tomorrow. My advice is if you can stay nearby or onsite full time on the pull-​out guest couch it will make your life much easier.
Overall, Chicago is blessed to have such an amazing facility for all kids – who deserve nothing but the best.

If it was up to me I’d never set foot in this hospital, but poor Baby R had to get her adenoids removed this morning. I was a little nervous about her being one of the first patients in this brand spakin new hospital, but my pediatrician assured me that they’ve worked out all the kinks AND this is the cleanest the hospital will ever be. Good point.
I still couldn’t help being a nervous parent (baby’s 1^st surgery!) and called about 8 times yesterday with questions. They were super nice and helpful… and even started calling me by name within seconds of hearing my voice. That’s when you know you’ve called a few too many times
We arrived still half asleep this morning at 6am, but the bright colors woke us right up. My daughter had no idea what was to come and was giddy by all the pictures of the fish, trains, animals. Even the waiting room was designed to look like a bus, which she thought was pretty cool. And I agree!
We didn’t spend much time in the waiting room because we were shown to a hospital room immediately. It had a cool rolling hospital crib, which our nurse informed us was brand new. However, the sheets weren’t so new because my husband noticed that ours was a little dirty. The nurse was extremely apologetic and changed it immediately. The room also had a TV with all of Baby R’s favorite shows so that helped pass the time until surgery.
The surgery was quick and went as well as expected (phew!). They let one of us stay with our daughter (I gave my hubby the honors) until she was out from the anesthesia. She was only out of our arms for 30 minutes and they even called during that time to tell us everything was going well. Thru each stage we were passed on to different rooms and different nurses and all 4 of them were fantastic. And the Dr (Jeff Rastatter) was amazing himself; I felt like my little one was in good care in his hands.
While Baby R did amazingly well, at one point I got really dizzy and practically fainted. They even had a team of nurses who provided me with a place to sit, apple juice and an icepack within seconds. Apparently fainting parents is a common occurrence here, although I think I may have gotten the honors of being the first to do so at the new hospital.
I didn’t get a chance to visit the 11^th floor for food, but did make a quick run (pre dizziness) to the Argo Tea located in Prentice, which is connected to Children’s. I really hope this is our first and last visit to Children’s Memorial Hospital, but it’s nice to know that if there is ever an issue our baby will be well taken care of there.

The time has come!
The new Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital is now open as of June 9, 2012. All day today they are transporting patients from the old Children’s Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park to the new space downtown. Let’s hope it’s a seamless transition.
The last couple of months I have had the pleasure to help out with tours and special events for the new hospital. I learned a lot about the new space and was genuinely touched by the enthusiasm and generosity of all the donors, hospital staff, board members, doctors, former patients and general public who supported the building and opening of the new hospital.
Some interesting tidbits I would like to share:
–The hospital gets it’s new name after Ann Lurie donated $ 100 million on behalf of herself and her late husband. Now that’s some fine philanthropy.
–This is part hospital, part museum. The hospital partnered with many different community organizations including the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, Snow City Arts, the Lookingglass Theatre and The Field Museum just to name a few. The displays, artwork and murals help to provide learning experiences, hope, comfort and healing.
–The emergency room was designed with a substantial increase in capacity for patients, now being able to see about 75,000 patients a year whereas before the old space was operating way over capacity, serving about 65,000 patients a year. There is a beautiful tropical aquarium and coral garden in the emergency waiting area. The emergency rooms even have pictures of sea animals on the ceiling so when patients are laying in beds they can look up to see a smiling dolphin or the face of a cute and friendly seal.
–At 23 stories tall, this is the tallest children’s hospital in the world.
–There are 2 bridges that connect Prentice Woman’s Hospital to Lurie Children’s Hospital so now Moms can easily see their newborns, when before they were separated by about 3 miles with the old hospital being in Lincoln Park.
–On the 12^th floor, there is a custom made Fire truck cab for children to climb in. They can even turn on the lights! It was also designed with kids in wheelchairs in mind, so they can get in and feel like they are driving the truck.
–There are on-​site tutors, a hair salon, and even a place to get massages for families of extended stay patients.
–There are awesome play areas designed for the siblings of patients and designated areas for teens if they wish utilize a space of their own. There is even a production room where kids can watch and participate in the on-​site hospital TV show being made.
What a wonderful accomplishment for Chicago.
To patients and families visiting, I hope you find comfort and healing here.