Since I live in Indy, an awful lot of my IU Health care has historically occurred at either…read moreUniversity or Methodist Hospital.
While IU Health is not my tier 1 provider with my insurance, it's in-network. When it came up that I would require another surgery to address an ongoing issue, I began exploring IU Health North in Carmel in the hope that I would find a smaller, more personal care setting without compromising the quality of care I need as a complex patient.
I was told to arrive at 8am for a 10am surgery. Registration is on the first floor adjacent to the information booth. The surgery suite is on the second floor. From surgery, I would go to recovery (of course) and then be kept overnight.
Parking is free at IU North (NOTE: While I realize it's a bit of a stereotype, I'm not quite sure why the wealthier Hamilton County hospital offers free parking and the downtown Indy hospital does not, but I digress). While this is a bigger hospital than you might expect, I still consider it one of IU's satellites along with Avon, Saxony, Morgan and others.
I arrived on time. Registration was simple via kiosk or with a person. Generally, the person is there to ask questions and direct. Once registered, I was sent up to surgery and the hosting area was almost immediately off the elevators. I checked in, got my arm band, and waited for my turn. I was taken back a bit early by a friendly technician. They got me settled in. Then the nurse and, of course, visits from anesthesiology and the physician doing my surgery.
I'd informed the team up front of some trauma care needs. I was pleasantly surprised that this information had been clearly communicated and addressed. This doesn't always occur so thoroughly. I was grateful.
I was in surgery on time. The surgery went well and I recovered quickly enough that I'm not sure I was even offered water in recovery. They had me on the floor fairly quickly. I got one nurse who was finally able to help me address an allergy inaccuracy.
I was on the fourth floor. Interestingly enough, I was on the maternity ward (post partum). Apparently, they use part of the area for overflow. I was only in overnight, however, I didn't have a negative issue with nursing or techs. All were caring, compassionate, and for the most part attentive (I wasn't a high need patient, so it's hard to gauge attentiveness).
The food? Definitely average. I took photos for three out of the four meals. The cafeteria downstairs is definitely better. I'm sure it's the same team, but I'd take this over Methodist most days - they get it to you more quickly, it's warmer, and those taking the order are simply friendlier.
I figured IU North would be a little more high tech: 1) It's in Carmel and 2) It's a newer hospital having been built in 2005 with a cancer center addition in 2020.
Most of the staff didn't seem to know much about the hospital, a weird deficit in terms of building a culture. Easy questions - like capacity and number of beds - were met with blank stares. It took forever for someone to figure out that there's a phone charger actually on the beds (it worked perfectly with my iPhone 16). I'd brought a charging cord believing that would be true, but could never figure it out. Finally, someone did.
I was discharged as expected the next day. Discharge was a bit weird as it wasn't done by my nurse for the day. Instead, there was a virtual nurse (an actual person presenting virtually). Quite honestly, I hated it. It was impersonal and they clearly hadn't read my situation (for example, making comments about walking to a footless wheelchair user). I was also surprised no staff escorted me out. Yes, I had a ride. It still felt weird.
I got my meds for home from an in-house pharmacy (Noting that I'd told them to send it to my pharmacy). While it wasn't preferred, it was convenient and it was delivered to my room so I could pay.
The atmosphere here is calmer, cleaner, and aesthetically more pleasing. It's MUCH quieter. Instead of room bells buzzing, they have a silent system that greatly reduces the noise. Yes, it's still a hospital and hard to sleep. However, it's much improved. I also found the beds vastly superior to Methodist.
Overall, I'd call this a good but not great experience. There are still some bugs to work out. However, the care was great - the procedure I needed was actually only okayed for this location recently. I was very pleased with the trauma-informed care and greatly appreciated the quality care for a generally basic but very necessary inpatient surgery.
