Tripler Army Medical Center

The services offered by Tripler in partnership with the Fertility Institute of Hawaii are a tremendous blessing to military families, whose fertility treatments would otherwise be completely out of pocket. The significantly reduced cost is why we chose to use the REI at Tripler. I do, however, wish that communication and personal relationships were a bit stronger. It is extremely difficult to get in touch with the clinic, and it usually takes 2-3 days to get questions answered.

You should know that Tripler in general does not do fresh transfers. They conduct retrievals at a local clinic (Fertility Institute of Hawaii - also great). Genetic testing in Hawaii is more expensive than prices you might see on the mainland...The issue will always be the limited capacity they have to cycle patients meaning wait times for a cycle are often six months...The nursing team will get back to you via email within a day or two usually...

The weakness [of Tripler Army Med Center] would be the nurses. The nurses are very helpful and will call you back usually the same day or the very latest the next morning. The nurses are just overwhelmed and could use some training on the process. ... We had to fill out the same paperwork three times due to the nursing staff misplacing and failing to submit paperwork to egg retrival clinic.

Tripler is the only clinic for military families on island so they’re very busy. It can take about 4 months to be seen for infertility and start an IVF cycle. They do, however, work with a civilian clinic called Fertility Institute of Hawaii which means we can use our military doctors and their facility which translates to a discounted IVF cycle and a continuity of care...Tripler clinic advocates for single egg transfer

I would say they are very friendly [at Tripler Army Medical Center] and try to work with you. Your meds are also covered which is a big plus. The doctors i have only heard good things about and i only have good things about the two ive seen. Dr Pier and Dr Middleton are just so amazing. Really caring. I would say down side is they get alot of patients so its sometimes hard to reach them...The nurses are amazing and always on the go. They are pretty good about calling you with results but may take a while as they are consistantly busy. It can be very hard to reach them by phone, i have found emailing works better

Weaknesses [Tripler Army Me Ctr], phone system. Multiple times there have been missed phone calls. Communication from the scheduling staff has been very frustrating. I found that it is easier to show up to the clinic to make appointments then to wait for a phone call back. Especially since it is such a time sensitive process. Strengths, the Ladies out front who check you in, and the nurses who do the vitals and accompany in the exam rooms are great. always cheery and pleasant.

I like that pretty much everything I needed to do was at this location. Dr visits, ultrasounds, labs and prescriptions. The facility [Tripler Army Medical Center] is clean and the staff is friendly. The only negative I would say is that since its in the regular obgyn department, it can get a little hectic and run behind on time.... I believe the total was $7356.00. Most of that cost was for the anesthesiologist and use of the FIH facilities for the egg retrieval and transfer.

The REI clinic can feel disorganized at times, and the nurses and staff over worked. It can be hard to get ahold of nurses when starting cycles, but once situated with a doctor the process seems easier . i do wish they had an embrologist on staff so that i didnt have to be sent out for the egg retrival but i like that dr.levy was also registered with the outside clinic... Nurses from the gyno clinic some times help out the nurses from the REI clinic and the gyno nurses some times give out bad or wrong info.

They [Tripler Army Medical Center] are super busy and can’t always fit you in when needed. I don’t feel like the care is very personalized. I’ve done 4 IUI cycles and have seen different doctors for each one and none of the cycles were successful. I haven’t seen my “assigned” doctor since my initial appointments. It’s frustrating. However, I am thankful that I am able to go to them and that a lot of the treatments are covered or partially covered under insurance.

you have to try each treatment [at Tripler Army Medical Center] a certain number of times before getting on an ivf wait list which can be long...strengths: Medication is free (including injectables)! Bloodwork, ultrasounds, appointments, and other diagnostic procedures (I had an hsg, saline ultrasound, and laparoscopy) are also free. The REs are great once you are finally able to see them. They work with a civilian fertility institute for IUI and IVF procedures so you are receiving the highest quality of care for a fraction of the price...Because the cost of medication, blood work, ultrasounds, and diagnostic procedures/tests were provided by the military, we only had to pay for the actual procedures done at the civilian fertility institute. Each IUI with sperm wash was $233 and a full IVF procedure with retrieval, ICSI, and transfer came out to about $7500. Embryo storage is about $600 each year.

Clinic [Tripler Army Medical Center] offered affordable procedures. Only downside is the waitlist. And that they do it in batch cycles. I understand the need for it though with their clinic. They do a excellent job with how many people they serve. They stay very busy.... Sharlene [a nurse] was organized and made sure all prescription were called in and that I understood how to take each one.

There can be a waitlist for ivf and the Tripler clinic can be hard to get ahold of but once you are in their care they are nothing but great! Their team of rei doctors are great and I definitely would recommend them!... We really didn’t get much time with the nurses more just the doctor but they were all nice!... Dr Middleton was great! She was real but also sensitive and caring. we would not have our son without her help! She definitely listened to our concerns and let me cry when I needed to.

They [nurses at Tripler Army Medical Center] are amazing but very busy and can be hard to get in contact with on the phone...For an iui it was about $100 you only pay for the sperm wash...You will need a referral to them. Your meds are covered which is great. It can be a bit of a wait to do ivf not long maybe 3 months because they have alot of patients. But the entire staff is amazing...We did letrozole then trigger which allowed me to get pregnant via iui but it was a chemical next we moved on to a hybrid treatment using both plus injectables unfortunately didnt work

[Tripler Army Medical Center is a] military hospital, so just be ready for all the protocols, arrive on time they are pretty strict. Call the nurses hello line it’s easier to get through to them. You might have to call a few times but they do always call back if you call them...Everything we did was free but we were advised that iui or ivf would cost money...doctor and the overall team was great especially for being a military hospital.