Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

The last time I came here (about two years ago), I had been howling and convulsing in pain from vomiting, and was brought into the ER. When I got into a bed, the first nurse who was assigned to me (a middle-​aged curly blond-​haired white lady) was extremely rude to me and may have even broken the law. She got furious at me for screaming in pain, and very inappropriately shouted at me and asked me if I was on drugs. I told her I obviously had some kind of violent food poisoning, and that I was howling in pain because I was sick (THAT’S WHY I WAS IN THE ER). She then proceeded to say «do you want me to treat you or not? I won’t treat you unless you stop.» THREATENING me, as if I didn’t stop howling in pain and misery, she was NOT going to treat me (doesn’t this go against the hippocratic oath???). Realizing that my life was in the hands of this psychopath, I had to painfully attempt to mute my screams so she could give me treatment. I realize now that I should have filed a formal complaint and perhaps even recorded the incident. It is illegal for a nurse to refuse to treat a patient unless they believe their life is in danger, which in this case, if anyone’s life was in danger, it was definitely mine. I felt manipulated, mistreated, helpless, and afraid for my life.

Please bring cash with you if you plan to park in the garage. They only accept cash or checks. And if you use their ATM, you will be charged $ 4, plus my bank charged me $ 2.50 in extra fees. While I had to run and go to the ATM, my parking fee went up a couple dollars because it took some time to fetch my money. I felt robbed by this institution, after I already spent money on seeing healthcare practitioners here.

Do not give birth here. This hospital does not honor women’s legal right to informed consent.
When you aren’t in a life-​or-​death situation, legally, you can choose whether to consent to an intervention or not. The provider needs to prove that you consented.
Dr. Mele was present at delivery and performed an intervention WITHOUT my consent and WHILE I WAS SAYING NO. He lied, saying, «I’m not [doing that].» He was.
I was lied to coercively half a dozen times while here. The lies included:
— «If you don’t start doing what we tell you to do, we’re going to have to send you home.» (It’s totally illegal to kick out a mom while she is pushing out her baby!)
— «You have to get in bed on your back.» (Again, not true. I asked why and the nurse said it was «not good for her back» for me to be in the position I choose, which was comfortable to me. Who’s comfort is more important — a mom during PUSHING and NATURAL LABOR? Or the nurse’s back? You decide.)
— «If you leave now, insurance may not cover your birth.» (They wanted me to stay longer, after both my baby and I were assessed as healthy, and tried to coerce us to stay by threatening that we might not be covered. This was a total lie. Fully covered, and it’s illegal for insurance not to cover a birth because you leave. You can always leave early, and need to sign a waiver of liability from the hospital called an AMA — Against Medical Advice. We did this and all was well. Much better, in fact, because at home no one was bullying us anymore!)
— A doctor saying he was not doing an intervention to my body (which I COULD FEEL, and he most certainly WAS).
FYI, the birth was fully covered, despite our leaving early, AMA. Whether this was a lie that they told us, in an effort to get us to stay, or a real misunderstanding on their part, I don’t know. Still doesn’t sit well that they said «insurance might not cover the birth if you leave early.»
Here’s part of letter I sent to try to improve their practices for women in the future. Sadly, they haven’t responded/​made any changes.
I am writing to express concern about the way my birth was managed. My pregnancy was healthy and normal. Alta Bates was my backup hospital. When we arrived, my contractions were clearly intense, long (60 to 90 seconds) and happening every one to three minutes, which had been true for more than two hours.
Regardless of this, and disregarding the presence of the companions who had been with me through my labor, the nurse who received us said repeatedly, «We have no idea what is going on.» Yet, at no point did she ask for any background on the labor or pregnancy from my birth team. Given that I was in intense transition without medication, I expected to be received with responsive care.
Instead, the nurse who received us, Patricia Donlin, was demanding, asking me questions in the middle of contractions, grabbing my hand to attempt to forcibly pull me into bed, and refusing to listen when I said no to interventions. I understand that your facility and staff have tremendous legal obligations to prove you did everything you could to prevent negative birth outcomes.
I understand you have a legal obligation to obtain consent for any procedure you do. I explicitly declined the procedures she demanded more than ten times, along with my husband reiterating my declining. This wasn’t acknowledged, and we were never told a medical reason for the demand.
When Patricia refused to listen to our choices, she said, «If you don’t start doing what we tell you to do, we’re going to have to send you home.» Of course, that is absurd and impossible, which I told her right away, stating, «I know you can’t do that.» Recall, again, that this is what I had to do during PUSHING and transition, the very hardest parts of an unmedicated birth.
Her intense threatening, physical force, and coercion left me with very few resources to focus on coping with the more challenging issue at hand: the birth itself. I declined the exam more than ten times without her listening. She simply asserted repeatedly that it needed to be done, and tried everything she could think of to make me do it. She was completely insensitive to my physical and emotional needs, even though the baby’s heartbeat was recovering well between contractions.
At that point, I said, «We need a new nurse. You need to leave.» My husband also requested a new nurse, and I stated my request for her to leave twice. There were at least two other nurses in the room, Amaya Evangelina Fiel and Nenette Villafuerte, at that time. The nurse simply said, «We’re full. There isn’t anyone else.» That is absurd. There were other nurses in the room. If your facility is full, then you have other staff around and one nurse can swap with another, if needed. It’s completely unacceptable that we requested a new nurse and she refused to leave.
The nurse stated that her reason for wanting me in bed was that my being in the position of my choice was «not good for her back…»

I had my baby here on Sunday and the labor and delivery department is beyond awesome and so so nice! From the moment we got there till the moment we left we were taken care of every step of the way. The nurses made sure I stayed out of pain and also made sure my husband was doing okay as well since this was our first baby! All the ladies who took care of us and our baby were so so sweet! Brenda, Cassie, Claire, Bella, Sara (I think), just to name a few whom were such a big help!

Terrible. Nurses were nice and sweet. My prenatal care was in walnut creek. But I live in Berkeley. Had my other kids in walnut creek john Muir cuz of my great experience there. Alta Bates in Berkeley is utterly disappointing. My bf stayed with me there. I had went in labor abruptly and was not gonna have enough time to b driven to walnut creek. So I had my baby here.
1). They poked me so many times with needles tryna find the right vein to put IV in.
2). Offered me a free breast pump… never got it.
3). The post partum room was super tiny and I felt closed in.
4). My bf killed 6 spiders crawling on my bed (not at the same time), two of which were crawling on me.
5). Bed is extremely uncomfortable.
6). Room was super super over heated, I almost had a heat stroke.
7) took an hour and a half to discharge me after I specifically told them I needed to b discharged at a certain time for a reason.
8). Food is disgusting.
9). Only hospital I ever been in that I never chose my own menu.

I didn’t like the way one nurse said «she must open her legs a lot» when after my second c section they were trying to insert a catheter in my urethra and I refused it because my epidural wore off and it was a stupid decision and unnecessary money making scheme and I survived without it, I also didn’t like how another nurse said eat as much as I want immediately after c section it just made me throw up eat slowly after c section and… I didn’t like how my surgeon disappeared after surgery I like Kaiser permanente much more. Better surgeons also. Don’t delete

Whoever that works at the front desk or whoever it is that takes in the calls needs to be fired. I called to get a doctors phone/​fax number to verify a prescription and the response I got was «look it up online and Google it». Seriously? Do you not think that I haven’t done that already? Why would I need to rely on incompetent fools if I didn’t do that worked in the first place.
Other than that, everything else is great!

Place is ok. Pretty nice on the inside compared to many other hospitals. But just like most hospitals the food is disgusting. Many of the nurses that were there while my grandmother was in the hospital didnt know what the hell they were doing.

I went to Alta Bates in Berkeley in March, 2014. Let me say that I have no complaints about the doctors, and especially the nurses, that I worked with after being admitted. Service was excellent.
However, admission was a nightmare. I came in presenting with extreme nausea and pain, barely able to walk. I believe it was food poisoning of some kind (actual malady was never firmly established). Beyond the food poisoning I take opiates for back pain orally, but since I couldn’t keep anything down I was unable to do so, and I told them so.
They made me wait for hours in admitting, where I was agonized. When they finally took me into the back they made me wait for more hours in an examination room where I continued to suffer, dehydrated, nauseated, with gut pain and back pain and now withdrawal as well. They attempted to get me to transfer to the Oakland hospital; I have no idea why. My wife wouldn’t allow it. The emergency room doctor gave me a perfunctory interview but otherwise did nothing.
Many, many hours later they finally admitted me, I was given a room and a bed, and an IV. The nurses were EXTREMELY nice, and three doctors consulted me (but never came up with an actual diagnosis, other than an elevated white count). They moved my roommate out since they couldn’t figure out what I had. A few days later I was strong enough to leave.
I just don’t know why they made it so hard for me to get in to the hospital. It was just awful.

This has got to be the best hospital! Ive had both my kids here and have nothing but the best to say about them. The nurses are so nice and conciderate. They really attend your needs and make you as comfortable as you can be. I love it here!

Hospital is nice. But when you go into the dinning room it doesn’t look like its well taken care of. Some of the disposable machines are empty no forks, no knifes, no spoons and their bending machine I believe they get stuck after so many transactions that when you try to use your card it says to many transactions and nothing can be purchased.

On Sept. 6, I gave birth to my son here. The entire labor and delivery team was fantastic. I seriously couldn’t have asked for better, more caring or more comprehensve care. I need to bring these guys and gals some donuts to thank them!

I have nothing but good things to say about this hospital. I was born here, my siblings where born here, some of my cousins were born here, I’ve been here for the ER services, have gotten 3 surgeries here, got mental health services, volunteered here, attended childbirth/​lactation classes and finally given birth to my own daughter here. All of them have been good experiences and have received the most excellent care here. They recently renovated the hospital lobby and it looks better than ever.
All the staff and security here are really kind and they all seem to enjoy their job very much here. Everything is easy to find and on some levels on the hospital there is extra security for the protection of patients. After I gave birth to my daughter, everyone was really attentive and really kind. After my surgeries, the nurses and doctors where all attentive to my care and were really patient, even to my family and friends who came to see me. I can only say good things about my care here and hope that others get the same care that I received here as well.

This has been a place for family to get services done. My little brother was born here, and my little brother and his wife just had a baby born here.
For my little bro and wife, it was there second baby, but first child born here for them at Alta Bates. The women that was the doctor was our family friends partner here at this hospital.
So, yes, we had a family friend that worked here for many years at this hospital, he was one of the baby doctors.
We also had a family that had a baby delivered at this hospital.
I also had a medical procedure taken care of here. I sure got a whole ton of excellent care and great attention that day. The doctor and his staff took great care of me. Sometimes it just takes a while to heal, and that I did.

Don’t go to this hospital… Please!!!
Here is my detail complaint to them.
Hi,
I am emailing you because I got a response when I posted this in your Facebook wall, «Don’t go to this hospital, they are greedy! They charged me $ 2000 for 45 minutes waiting in the ER room.» And Sutter Health respond and said «
Thank you for reaching out to us. Can you please email us more details at
. Thank you.
So here is the deal, in May 12, 2015, I went to Urgent Care, but because of the lack of equipment they sent me to you. I don’t mind the wait and how rude the staff are because I’m just another patient to them. And even though they care less about me i know am sick and i needed help. I don’t know other hospital around Berkeley. I don’t want to complaint if your are being reasonable with your pricing. But when I got my bill its whooping $ 5,035.91 and this is after my insurance. I really don’t mind paying the other services that has been done but what I can’t understand is my detailed bill that EMERGENCY ROOM $ 2,452.00. So this means waiting in the ER room for 45 minutes costs more than IMAGING SERVICES which is $ 2,029.00 how is that possible? Are you charging $ 3000 per hour in your ER room?

I went to Alta Bates ER when I was having sudden onset abdominal pain. I was triaged an hour after arrival and was taken to a room while we waited for test results. Within three hours of arrival, my CT scan and ultrasounds were complete. I had pain meds within three hours as well.
The staff was awesome – attentive, gentle, and patient with my questions. It took until the following morning to determine it was in fact my appendix that was in trouble, and then I was whisked off to surgery. The anesthesiologist was awesome – I’m sensitive to general anesthesia and he told me what he was going to do to minimize any adverse reactions. I woke up about an hour and a half after surgery with no nausea and no complications.
Folks on the surgery ward were also awesome. Not overly attentive, and were really focused on letting patients recover and rest. They made sure my vitals were good and I was comfortable.
I would definitely go back here for emergency things, but I hope not to. :)
The good: awesome staff, relatively fast admitting.
The bad: they waited until my urinalysis came back before giving me morphine… I was told later that it was unnecessary. –_​_​–

If you are looking to have a child then this is the place to do it. They aren’t dubbed the «baby factory» for no reason. The nurses and the doctors know exactly what they are doing, they are experienced and also very fast to respond. They are respectful of your needs as well.
The facilities are nice. If you end up on the third floor then the rooms and nice and spacious. If you end up on the 4^th then it’s going to be much more cramped. We got a 3^rd floor room this time and there was even a cot on for the dads to sleep on. Nice touch! Better than a chair I say
Only thing is that at night the staff is a bit slower to respond to your needs. I had to call more than once for some formula for the newborn. Bu I highly recommend this place to all expecting parents.

Had to stop in for an emergency visit. Expected to wait 3+ hours to be seen (the usual at an ER), but was actually seen right away. Nurses and doctors were very kind and helpful. Security was all over the place, so I felt safe even at 4am.
Parking is available in a structure which comes with a fee. Some street parking is available that is metered. Meters are free at night.
They accept UC Berkeley SHIP insurance.

This review is regarding my surgical experience at Alta Bates. So a month ago, I was diagnosed with chronic retinal detachments in both eyes. It was a really awful, scary experience, and my doctor scheduled 2 surgeries, a week apart at Alta Bates. Overall I had a positive experience with the high level of medical care at Alta Bates.
PARKING: We arrived at Alta Bates early in the morning and in the late afternoon for each surgery. Both times, the parking structure was ridiculously full, had to circle around all the way to the top floor to find parking. The structure is also ridiculously narrow which makes all of this a harrowing experience. Remember to arrive early otherwise you might be late for your appointment. BUT +1 star for validating ALL parking fees for all people who accompany you to surgery. Very nice and thoughtful.
CHECK-​IN: It was super quick, I headed straight to day surgery, filled out a bunch of paperwork and was moved downstairs to the surgical wards. It was very efficient and there was absolutely no wait.
LEVEL OF CARE: Overall, I was cared for by some really lovely and awesome nurses who were sympathetic sweet, funny and kind, and most of all knowledgeable. I felt absolutely secure in the knowledge they were 100% qualified to treat me and felt reassured before my surgery.
FANTASTIC STAFF:
1. My anesthesiologist sat me down and talked me through the entire operation. He patiently explained how/​when/​what he would use and I felt very reassured after he cleared all my doubts. He was kind and so very patient, and even pushed the surgery back so I would get to see my dad who flew in from Asia to take care of me. My dad arrived in the hospital lobby just as I was about to enter the surgical room and the anesthesiologist graciously gave us time to talk and hug it out before sending me to sleep.
2. IV Nurse #2 for my second surgery I had the sweetest nurse ever. She warmed my arm up with a hot towel so I wouldn’t be cold, gave me a little anesthetic so the IV wouldn’t hurt and went completely out of the way to make me feel totally comfortable. She was amazing! She was kind! She is everything a nurse should be and I was so happy and lucky I got her.
3. The surgeons were all amazing and kind and wonderful.
Overall, I had a painless and smooth operation. I can’t believe the high level of care in this hospital.
1 STAR OFF for 1 incompetent nurse: The first nurse who did my IV for the first op was this mean Asian lady. She was chatting with her friends as she did my IV and did it super carelessly, with no anesthetic. It hurt like a bitch and she clearly had no skill because as she puled the needle out, my blood spurted everywhere. With no regard for my pain or anything, she roughly wiped around the area, sending the IV cord digging deeper and wiggling around my veins. HELLO LADY?! WTF ARE YOU DOING?1 I’m sure it wouldn’t cause me any mortal harm, but seriously, learn to do your job. You’re actually getting paid to do this.
Anyhow, aside from her, I received really excellent care at Alta Bates, everything went very smoothly and everyone was very kind. There was little to no wait time. Surgeries are honestly the worst, but Alta Bates did everything to make sure I was comfortable and that everything went smoothly.

Café review:
Grilled cheese on rye with grilled mushrooms, pickles, tomatoes, red onions and lettuce. Delicious! And $ 3.75.