Alta Bates Summit Medical Center – Herrick Campus, Berkeley

It looks so nice and clean. I’M always here for either, CT scans, lab work. My Grandson was born here.

Best pych ward ever I stayed on all the wards 3, 4 a and b both wher great but sometimes I felt like the edos got more attention but yea

HERRICK campus how I have been here more times than I can count. First off let me start off by saying this I review is based on the PHP/​IOP programs, EDO programs and adolescent and adult psychiatric unit here. PHP/​IOP programs here are really great. Spend about 3 and half years here and got a lot of help and support. The staff really love what they do and will do anything and veery thing to help you. The psychiatrist that work here are also great and also work on the wards on the 3^rd and 4^th floor. EDO programs are based around teenagers and offer a great deal, of support for the patient as well as for family and friends. The adolescent ward is located on the 3^rd floor and has two wings. Been here and while I was here, it was great to say the least, again the staff and doctors worked really well together. EDO patients and regular patients were on the same ward. The adult ward is located on the 4^th floor with two wings also, which had the mental sane patients and EDO patients as well. There is also a second adult ward on the 4^th floor which had the more chronic violent patients.
Parking here can get tricky but usually after 6pm (also visiting hours) metered parking is free and there is also parking at the HERRICK parking lot across the street which is pretty cheap. Overall a great hospital, yes it is older and some parts need to be updated but overall great. Been too many times to count and most of the staff knows me here, sad but true.

This review is only for labor and delivery.
I delivered my baby here back in September of 2013.
They definitely need to update their rooms!!! They are so out of date and cramped. The room I was in was like a tiny jail cell. The paint was cracking and chipping the bed itself was horrendous. The only good thing I have to about the labor and delivery unit were the nurses I had. They were awesome. HOWEVER when we got strolled over to Postpartum holy shit, the nurses we got were horrible. One wreaked of cigarettes, the other nurse didn’t seem like she had a clue or a care in the world. and the people at the front desk were so loud and obnoxious my husband and I could hear their whole conversations so it was difficult to get any rest let alone process the fact that we just had a baby for the first time.
Go somewhere else to have your baby.SERIOUSLY.

If you need Radiation, PLEASE visit the basement where you might see my mom, Beth, if she is there.

Literally from one day to the next with no warning, Alta Bates Comprehensive Cancer Center almost doubled their charges for acupuncture treatment in their Integrative Medicine Clinic, going from $ 85 per treatment to $ 156 per treatment. Since acupuncture is not covered by insurance, all of us patients pay out of pocket for our treatments.
Money, not patient care, is the bottom line for ABCCC and its parent company, Sutter Health. ABCCC and Sutter Health only care about administering chemotherapy and radiation because that is where the huge profit margin lies. This sudden jacking up of the price for acupuncture shows a callous lack of regard for patients in a shameless pursuit of profit.

Unfortunately, I have to come here weekly with my grandmother. She has blood drawn and then based on her labs, the doctors see if she needs a shot or not. The wait time can be anywhere from 30 min to an hour. We’ve waited up to 4 hours before. Depending on the day and time you go, the wait can vary. I even try and take my grandmother early but doesn’t seem to be a factor. I wish they were more speedy with the process. I can’t stand having my grandmother wait there for hours, even when she has an appointment.

I called these people over the phone in October last year and told them that I felt suicidal and wanted to be a part of their outpatient program. They denied me service because I have a rare physical disability that they didn’t know how to «deal» with. Umm… Yeah… Like being DENIED service doesn’t make me even MORE suicidal… I ended up attempting suicide because them! Thank goodness my grandmother is a pyschologist and was able to get me the services I needed in St. Helena’s outpatient program in Vallejo. Those people were SAINTS! I should’ve reported their asses to the ADA! Stupid pieces of BEEEEEP!

It is a luxury to have Dr. Patrick Swift as my oncologist. I have been his patient since 2005 and have nothing but 5 stars for him and his team.
Dan

I received my diagnosis of stage 1c ovarian cancer right after Valentine’s Day of 2011. Since then I have had complete removal of my reproductive system with staging biopsies and 10 rounds of chemotherapy. My surgeons and oncologists did their best for me, but the physician who really seemed to be healing me was Dr. Amy Matecki. Surgery and chemotherapy were necessary evils; each had notable, unpleasant side effects from which I had to recover. Dr. Matecki’s therapies – acupuncture and nutritional support – were in themselves healing, and helped cure the side effects of the conventional therapies.
Surgery and chemotherapy weakened me. I lost about 10 lbs from surgery, over the course of a week. Chemotherapy suppressed my bone marrow and my appetite, further sapping my strength. The drugs also began to damage my peripheral nerves, resulting in numbness and tingling and affecting my balance. One of my oncologists recommended acupuncture for the nerve damage.
I had never had acupuncture, and was a bit skeptical – I am a western-​trained physician, after all. But the nerve damage frightened me, and there didn’t seem to be any serious side effects to acupuncture. I began to see Dr. Matecki twice a week. I realized that I was recovering nerve function between chemotherapy treatments, rather than relentlessly progressing as I had feared. Now, 13 months after my last chemotherapy treatment, I seem to be neurologically intact, and my balance is good enough to do one-​legged yoga poses!
Dr. Matecki’s nutritional supplement and herb prescriptions have been tremendously helpful as well. My strength and stamina, so depleted by surgery and chemotherapy, have been restored. I have returned to running and hiking. A few of my hiking partners, impressed by my energy, have consulted Dr. Matecki as well, even though they are not cancer patients!
While I appreciate the care of my surgeons and oncologists, I believe that Dr. Matecki has done the most to restore my health. Unlike surgery and chemotherapy, her acupuncture and nutritional modalities, as well as the qi gong and meditation practices she encouraged me to try, have offered benefits with no unpleasant side effects. Rather than just waiting for possible future recurrence, I am living a happy, active life in the present.

i just finished watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Oppressive, depressive, threatening, is what it is like.
Fremont i’ve been told by physicians since, is far superior for
depression.
exercise consists of one stationary bicycle.
submission was rewarded with fresh air and a walk.
pills for submission were also given.
patients would be locked up in their room for 3 days.
someone would go with you to the bathroom to anywhere
you had to go. i immediately rescinded on what i had just said
to save myself.
sorry to go on and on about this. but this movie brought
up memories; i wanted to share them in hopes that someone
may be kept away from this place. Fremont is far superior —
human beings looking after human beings. and positive.
Herrick is very! depressive.

The nurses are evil, the doctors are rarely here and it always smells… I know hospitals have an odor, but it’s like somebody is burning soiled underpants All. The. Time.
Did I mention the nurses are evil? Oh okay, just wanted to make sure.

It is important that staff be good and for the most part they are, but the food is a disgrace. On my stay, I had meat loaf that tasted like reconstituted beef, cold mashed potatoes that looked like someone spit on them and a vegetable that look like it was straight from the green can.
What is sad is that Alta Bates used to have very good food. Locals would come and eat in the Cafeteria. I guess the CEO needs a couple of mill more! but one would think that with what they charge, a better meal wouldn’t be impossible.

I had two wildly different experiences at Alta Bates within a two day time period.
The first day I went it was because I had been told by a doctor back home with my parents that it looked like my sore throat was tonsillitis. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics. When the sore throat immediately responded, but then came back a couple days later, he prescribed a stronger antibiotic. I returned to Berkeley, but after three days of these antibiotics not working I had only gotten worse.
I went to the Alta Bates ER at 6:30 am after I woke up in incredible pain. The place was empty, and all the front desk staff were kind and polite. There was no wait, because I was the only one there!
I saw a doctor almost immediately, and I described to him my pain level, as well as the fact that I had been having persistent fatigue for about a month. He bluntly told me I didn’t have mono, because I wasn’t sick enough, and that people with mono are extremely unhappy, sick, exhausted, and that I was none of these, and also that there was no point in doing a mono test because it was a virus and there was no treatment… He then lectured me about not having a primary care doctor to go to for these kinds of illnesses (um…it was 6 am, please tell me one doctor who opens this early…) Then he sent me home with some vicodin and my third antibiotic, and told me my throat culture would be done in a couple days, even though I know a strep test only takes 24 hours…
The next day, after 6 doses of this antibiotic, I woke up with difficulty breathing because one of my tonsils had swollen over my throat, and the pain made it difficult to swallow my own saliva. I felt dehydrated, but couldn’t bring myself to drink very much because of the pain. Not wanting to go back to the ER, I tried calling about 13 ENT doctors in the area, and none of them were ‘free’, even though I explained the seriousness of my condition. Most of their receptionists only asked about my insurance before asking about my symptoms, which I found very rude. My dad is a doctor who treats ‘pro-​bono’ patients all the time, and if someone called him saying that they were having difficulty breathing and had been told to see a specialist, he would see them! Oh, and I DO have insurance, so what does it matter?
Anyway, I called the Alta Bates ER and spoke with a very nice man who told me my test wasn’t done yet but if I was worse, I should definitely come in. So I did, and because it was the afternoon, the place was much more busy. The receptionists were still nice, just a little more pressured, but I swear one of the receptionists must have bumped me ahead of a few people because I was crying from the pain and not being able to breathe properly and from fear that I had some strange disease resistant to antibiotics– even though all I wrote on my official reason was that I had a worsening sore throat.
Inside the ER, the wait was pretty long, but the PA I had talked to on the phone came in and was the opposite of my doctor from the day before. He listened to all my symptoms, never accused me of not deserving to be in the ER, and immediately ordered a series of blood tests, an HIV test, a second opinion to make sure I didn’t have a peritonsillar abscess, and gave me a shot of steroids to reduce the swelling. This isn’t an example of a hospital trying to rob you with expensive tests, this is about being thorough. Within a half hour I could breathe properly again, and although my tests did take a long time to come back, the nurses and my PA routinely checked on me, and were very kind and sweet.
Eventually, it came back that I had mono. It was a bit funny, because they told me like it was bad news, but I was so relieved and happy to finally know what was wrong with me that I didn’t care that there was no treatment. After that first doctor told me I wasn’t sick enough for mono I had considered all sorts of things; that I was depressed, that I was just lazy, that I maybe had a thyroid problem… to finally know was worth something to me, even if for that doctor it was irrelevant because he couldn’t treat it– not to mention the fact that I know to be careful about spreading it now, even when my throat gets better!
My PA then told me about mono, gave me a prescription for Motrin in case any swelling came back after the steroids wore off, told me to keep taking antibiotics until the test came back just in case I had strep as well, and SHOOK MY HAND.
What a doll. I know it’s just mono and strep, not HIV, but I thought was was really very classy and empathetic. I think I’m a little bit in love.
Overall, the kindness and attention to detail of most of Alta Bates’ staff outweighs the arrogance and harshness of a few of their employees. If you happen to have one of these doctors like I did who minimalize your pain, be aggressive about what you want done! If I had the first time, it would have saved me a second expensive trip to the ER.

This is for the infusion/​cancer center. I was going there for non-​chemo infusions in 2009, and I was really impressed with the place. The nurses were attentive (quick with a blanket, or a snack, and many were very good at explaining everything they did before they did it). Minus a star for giving me phlebitis after I asked for the smallest needle they used (I’m a very hard stick), and she completely ignored my request. That particular IV was one of the most painful I’ve ever had, and the pain (and swelling and sclerotic vein) lasted about 6 months. (The site of that IV is still out of commission to this day.) After she stuck me, hooked up the IV, and I was complaining about how uncomfortable it was, she confessed she used the larger catheter because she «thought it’d be fine.» For subsequent infusions, she was fine with me asking for a nurse who had previously been very skilled with my veins. I appreciate a health care provider who doesn’t get offended when I’m just trying to look out for my comfort and safety.
I didn’t really like sharing my room with anyone, because it was so uncomfortable for the nurses to be openly discussing both our histories, but that’s an across-​the-​board complaint with hospitals and the like.

I just spent 1−½ weeks in the Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Program at the Herrick Campus, following a stroke during gall bladder surgery. Everyone in this 5^th floor unit is focussed on you — that includes the doctors, RNs, Patient Care Assts, Occupational, Physical, Speech and Recreational Therapists, Neuropsycholoagists, and Social Workers. There is a team approach to your rehab. and they all communicate with one another (and you). The therapy is intensive — 4 – 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. It can be exhausting but it works. Two weeks after my stroke I am walking with a cane and typing this review. They took care of all paperwork including setting me up with in-​home intensive therapy. I can’t emphaasize enough how wonderful everyone was and I am profoundly grateful to them. If you have the opportunity to have rehab therapy at this facility, take it!

This is a review of their psychiatric ward. I think this is the best psychiatric facility in the East Bay. If you or someone is suffering from a mental illness– whether that be depression, bipolar, or schizophrenia, etc. This is the best place to get treatment. First, one thing I really like about this hospital it has 3 different units. A unit is for more psychotic patients, B unit is for mood related, and then there is a Dual Diagnosis Unit which admits those who have a mental and a alcohol or drug problem. I usually end up on the Dual Dianosis unit but I’ve been on the A unit before when my mania was uncontrollable and I was hallucinating. But the staff realize my needs and when I was not hallucinating anymore they transferred me to the Dual Diagnosis where they have groups on AA, NA… etc, as well as other groups. There are several excellent psychiatrists who work here– just to name a few Robert Dolgoff, Craig Fischer, Rick Trautner, Joel Marcus… and many more. That asshole prick Neril used to work here to but now he is at Concord Pavillion.
This hospital also has an excellent adolescent ward. One of my first hospitalizations I was sent here to their adolescent unit. Staff are very good as are doctors (already mentioned above)
Here is a link I found that some parents have reviewed certain psychiatrist, also if one is looking for a particular psychiatrist for a particular patient one can post here

Got treated here for lymphoma in 2005.
The good:
1. Friendly staff and nurses
2. Bright, clean facilities
The bad:
1. The arrogant asshole oncologist that was my doctor. He’s moved onto UCSF though. Besides him, everyone else was great. I also have to confess the doc did know his stuff. And crap, I’ve been symptom-​free for 3 years now, so I can’t be too critical can I?
2. The lack of attractive nurses. Ok, so i’m totally being superficial here, but hey, it would be nice to have some eye candy while stuck on a hospital bed for several hours. :-)
Not a bad place to get treated for cancer. Plenty of smiles going around, nearly everyone is considerate, and the staff is competent. Hopefully I won’t have to experience any other cancer centers to compare it to.

I gather from the prior two posts, that the Unilocalers weren’t cancer patients. The Alta Bates Comprehensive Cancer Center (at 2001 Dwight) is amazing and something of a dream for those of us who get to endure weekly blood tests, weekly doctor visits, bi-​weekly or tri-​weekly chemotheraphy infusions, daily radiation, CT scans, and a million other procedures, all in one place.
The staff are warm, friendly, and helpful. Given that it’s a medical facility, and things «come up», there is often a wait to get blood work done. But given that all your appointments are in one place and that you don’t need to worry about being late getting to another appointment, this is a small concern.
By now (two surgeries, finished chemo, and halfway through radiation), I’ve experienced plenty of procedures in several facilities, and the Cancer Center at Alta Bates Herrick is fantastic and has helped make the whole process of coping with cancer a bit more bearable.

Thanks to the terrible patient care at this health «care» facility, we were able to have our baby delivered at John Muir (Walnut Creek), where our family was treated like royalty.
My wife had several appointments that were canceled or delayed. Simple requests for medical records were never taken care of. It’s almost as if the life-​force in her body was not enough to elicit some type of sympathy or at the very least respect. If the receptionist can’t even greet you when they answer the phone, it’s safe to assume that the pre-​natal care may not be much better.
My wife was given the run around and she exerted more energy than was necessary. Her fainting/​collapsing at work may have been prevented if we were informed of possible gestational diabetes that showed on her tests. It’s almost like the staff really didn’t care to do the most basic things. We had terrible experiences, and hope people have better luck with their health care provider.