Fremont Hospital

This place reeks of disorganization and ineptness. caught up in beauracracy and bs. waiting OVER TWO HOURS to APPARENTLY have a dr, ANY DOCTOR sign off on a discharge like WTF?! this is worse than the DMV! The one star is for the young lady at the reception desk, tryna help me out FUCK THIS PLACE

A scary, overcrowded, poorly run facility. Please choose an alternative for your adolescent.

This is probably the most painful review I’m going to write for myself but to share it with the Unilocal community? Yeah, it’s going to hit home.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 1 in early 2013 (end of January), during my second semester of my 2^nd year of college. Not sure what caused it, could be the environmental factors/​societal norms that I felt I couldn’t live up to. My parents wanted me to be a pharmacist like my sister, but I always wanted to pursue a career in teaching. I wanted to commit suicide of a total of 5 times, since my senior year of high school. I graduated in 2011.
Anyway, my first psychiatric hospitalization was in Burlingame/​San Mateo and that was a much better experience. Fremont Hospital is a hell-​hole. I’ve dealt with the most terrifying patients who make me feel like I was normal… when I know I wasn’t well either. There are far more unstable people than me, but damn, it’s scary to be an inpatient. I had to do the outpatient program last year and although it’s much better, it’s still something I never want to return to. Nevertheless, the staff took care of me and kept me out of trouble when patients wanted to physically harm me… I had many male patients try to climb into my bed, let alone just come into my room. Beware, the doors come unlocked for safety measures.
I’ve been admitted to Fremont Hospital 3 times now. My most recent relapse was last year in November. Because of my frequent manic episodes, I pray and hope I never have to return. Currently on medications (abilify, depakote), attending church, have support from my loved ones, in college, in choir, playing tennis/​badminton and Unilocal to help me cope with the hardships of a girl in her 20’s.
If you want to get out as soon as possible, just follow the doctor’s and nurse’s orders and you’ll be out in no time. The longest I’ve been in this institution was 2 weeks. Felt like a year.

The worst medical institution I’ve ever dealt with. Not only is the staff rude, condescending, and careless, they have no control over patients who are the same.
Staff had me writing the wrong date on all the papers I signed because they were so disorganized and backed up.
Doctors at my outpatient stay there were contradicting everything the doctors in my inpatient stay at el Camino told me to do (btw the dr said I was 16 and should be on the children’s side when I was actually 21 then proceeded to call me a liar and never once looked me in the eyes)
NOW THE BEST PART a year and a half later when calling financial office to receive my balance the –FINANCIAL COUNSELOR had the nerve to tell me that she specializes in mental health and by the way I’m angered (because no one would tell me how much I owe) was a sign I needed treatment and something was wrong. Look lady: you work in FINANCES. You are NOT a Dr. Or even a nurse and have NO BUSINESS talking to a patient about anything other than their account. You specialize in the FINANCIAL PORTION OF THE MENTAL HEATH DEPT. NOT IN MENTAL HEALTH.
Most disorganized, unfriendly, frustrating place to deal with and its such a shame because people who suffer from mental illness have enough barriers to get over when trying to treat a disorder.
If you honestly want yourself or a loved one to get better, please, I beg you, stay far, FAR, away from this place.

A loved one was here a couple of years ago. It was a gosh-​awful experience then. So, the first star is because it was better this time.
The second star added is for the pleasantness of the staff at the desk inside the Shasta Unit and for the social worker with whom I dealt.
Now, we have to take away one star from five for the person who is at the front desk.
She seems to have taken a course in how to be a prison matron. Those of us visiting are worried about the patient; we are decent, stressed people. Please be polite. We are friends and family, NOT criminals. Nor are the patients criminals. Why act punitively?
And take away two stars for Dr. Nyack who, despite my requesting FIVE times to speak with her, never honored her oath to heal enough to inform me of what my loved one’s diagnosis, prognosis or treatment plan was. Since the patient couldn’t tell me, it would help the patient heal if their family were allowed to know and help. Keeping the family in the dark (controlling?) is counter to healing. Couldn’t you be bothered?
And, yes, the patient gave Dr. Nyack permission to speak with me. So that is no excuse.
Also, the staff has trouble keeping peace in the unit. By comparison, Herrick Hospital in Berkeley had no such problems.
Start with five, add two, take away three: thus two stars. Hope they can continue to improve.

There was an incident in the swimming pool in which I almost drowned. I was heavily medicated and tried to swim, face down, and got so disoriented that I found myself under water and couldn’t rise to the top. Of course, I panicked and raised my hand as far as I could out of the water so someone would see that I was in distress. No one noticed, so I screamed under water, still no one came to my aid. I eventually was able to grab someone’s legs under the water and, with much difficulty, I made it over to that person and grabbed ahold. I heard someone say «get her out of the water». I kept coughing up food and water. I had to tell my husband about it. No one called him. No checkup or doctor’s exam. My husband called and insisted they take an X-​Ray to make sure there was no water still in my lungs. They did the X-​ray at 10:00PM that night. Never got the results. They told my husband they were checking up on me, but it was the usual opening of the door looking in every so often, that they do for all patients, nothing special. Just routine bed checks.
The only thing that hospital does for you is prescribe your meds. You need to stay out of there; they make you worse. To get better you need nutritional food. The food is atrocious. Grilled cheese made from Velveeta. Food you just can’t get down. I lived on Graham crackers, fruit and fruit juices, water, cereal and soup – which they only made once.
You need to be able to trust the caregivers when you are ill. There they use lies to manage you because it is easier for them. That causes stress. I was just lucky that I had fairly good coping skills. They told me they didn’t have coffee because of potential burns, which made sense to me; that night, however, the nurse lured me out of bed for a dinner I didn’t want by saying she got me some coffee. Of course there wasn’t any. I just got a dinner that literally smelled rotten. I was told by the doctor when I was admitted that she would give me a shot to calm my nerves. Hours later the front desk said she left and there wasn’t anything in my file about a shot. I questioned this and they found it and said they would give it to me shortly. Asked about it later but received the same answer. I never got the shot, but I thought If I really need it they would have given it to me. So gave I up. I presume that she didn’t think the shot was necessary and thought kidding me along would be easier than just explaining it to me. I saw this kind of behavior being done to a young girl and witnessed her getting worse and more frustrated, resulting with her placement in observation screaming her head off. She totally deteriorated from that kind of behavior. There are a lot more problems with that hospital, but I think you get the idea. Please see a Psychiatrist if you are ill, but I beg you do not go to that hospital. With the right meds and a good doctor, and with decent food in a good caring family environment, you will get better; if you do need professional help, look for a more caring environment.

It’s a shame that no stars is not an option. Our daughter was sent to Fremont during a ⁵¹⁄₅₀. If you have a choice (and often the mentally ill do not) choose elsewhere.
My expectations are not high given the attention to mental health issues, even so Fremont is absolutely deplorable! The staff is condescending, inconsiderate and downright rude. Our best guess is that they are undertrained and overworked.
List of unprofessional behavior: (not directed to our daughter)
Calling a patient a «crybaby»
Laughing at a distressed patient
Rolling eyes at a patient’s request to see their doctor
«Losing» a patients personal items (okay-​this was our daughter-​her contact lenses. Costly and how is she expected to see?!)
Staff remarking to another that (she) hopes this patient isn’t hers.
Male patient roaming female rooms, not cool.
Patient told they no longer had phone privileges because they «whine too much «
My complaints have to do with patient dignity. Professionally our daughter’s assigned doctor was exceptional. Dr. Nayak is a contract doctor though and as great as she is (and she is really great) she (unfortunately) does not reflect the care your loved one may or may not receive at Fremont.
The place is seriously huge, and seriously undertrained. The result is that the facility is run like a prison. One night in the cafeteria (if you are lucky enough to have cafeteria privileges) makes this obvious.
Unfortunately, if you have a mentally ill loved one, you are not likely to have a choice. This is SERIOUSLY why things like Sandyhook happen. Help needs to be there for those who need it the most and are the least likely to ask for it.

When I was searching for a place to take a teenager in crisis, I called BHC Fremont Hospital and spoke with the intake nurse on duty in the afternoon of 01/​07/​2015. She didn’t seem to take my case seriously and literally LOL’d when I answered that school was the number one concern of the person in crisis. Like that couldn’t possibly be true. It had to be a girlfriend or something else. She even asked me if I WAS THE PROBLEM. I thought if this is the type of person they put on the phone, I wouldn’t want to subject a teenager to any other staff might be working there.

Called twice about a family member and had 2 people on the phone.
The first was the operator, super rude and not helpful at all. She hung up once I called her out on her B.S. Big note to you people who help people, key word is help people, not be rude and disrespectful.
The next time I tried to call a nurse, I got transferred 4 times. When I finally got through they couldn’t talk because they were changing shifts and too busy. TOO BUSY??? I wish I could use that line at work but I’d get fired. Call back tomorrow they said.
All I wanted is to talk to a family member or a nurse and that was too hard for the staff to accept. If you have family there I’m sorry, I do too and I know it sucks. I have dealt with many hospitals with this family member many times and have NEVER had to deal with such an unprofessional staff. Thanks for not helping.
I wish I could give them zero stars but I can’t. I hope this place closes, it would do everyone a huge favor.
Funny, there are a lot of bad reviews. I guess helping people and changing or listening is not a priority. Managers should get new staff. Someone needs to tell these people that family is important.

***5 STARS for Anne the RN, she answered all my questions with compassion.
***4 stars for Dr. Atwall, he was very informative, answered all my questions, gave suggestions, and asked my consent before starting medication.
***1 STAR for the nasty food that is provided. Burnt sausage pizza was given on first day. I know it’s not the Embassy Suites but come on… give edible food! Even the nurses won’t eat that crap. They were having one of the nurses pick up Chipotle for them. So bring your child some food, or they’ll starve!
***0-​ZERO STAR for not having an «informational» sheet about the facility like visiting hours, what you can and can’t bring, what to expect the first few days, etc. THAT WOULD BE EXTREMELY HELPFUL FOR PARENTS. Anne wrote that info on a sticky note! Really a sticky note? Sooo NOT helpful for a scared and overprotective parent.
***3 STARS for the facility overall. It was clean and a safe place.

«So Aubrey, did you check-​in on Unilocal,» my best friend asked.
«Of course I did. You should know me by now dude. We have been friends for how long already, «I replied.
«NERD…,» she exclaimed.
Fremont Hospital, you have done wonders for my best friend already. She looked pretty miserable when I saw her walking out her unit, but when I tapped her shoulder, her smile was so big that it almost looked like her mouth was about to fall off. Despite all frustration going through security and all the locked doors, it was all worth it in the end!
Be aware that you are entering a psychiatric hospital. Of course the staff are going to be very strict with what you bring inside and there will be plenty of locked doors due to many of the patients at the midst of a flight response to suicide. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you ever visit a loved one in this hospital:
1. Leave your cellphones and purses inside your car. There are lockers inside the lobby, but if you’re feeling a little skeptical about leaving stuff in there, I suggest you leave all your stuff in your car.
2. If you bring outside food, do not bring any pointy types of utensils. Depending on the status of your loved one, they may not let you bring in the food.
3. Always ask around if you need assistance. Of course there were many locked doors around the hospital because a lot of the staff wants to make sure each patient is safe from doing anything destructive. It might be frustrating sitting around waiting for a door to be unlocked, but remember it’s for the safety of the patient.
4. Know the security code and unit of your loved one to makes things a lot easier. If you know those little things, it will make life a little easier.
On the other hand, the staff has been really nice so far. Everyone seems to be pretty friendly yet stern at the same time. Despite the mixed reviews on this page, I saw a lot of positive change that happened to my best friend since she’s been over there the past week or so. Also, I like to make a special thank you to Elvira for being a stand out staff member and great nurse! She was warm, empathetic and compassionate toward my best friend and her mental health.

This place is disgusting. Honestly the staff here is probably more drugged out than the patients are. If I could give it no stars I would but unfortunately i have to give it 1. All the doctors want to do here is make money they pump the patients full of drugs to get paid. Furthermore the staff always seems high on something I wouldn’t be surprised if they get ahold of the patients prescriptions here and take them themselves. Staff doesn’t care about the patients here and don’t expect rehabilitation in the form of any activities all you do is color with some people who clearly hate their jobs and are more zombied out than the patients. What a joke.

When my 25 year old son was sent here in the midst of an acute manic episode I panicked after reading all the negative reviews. They left me with visions of a skid row type facility. I was terrified!
Since there were no beds available at our local hospital in Mountain View the doctors told me it was out of my hands where he was sent since he was put on a hold. This was the first time anything like this had ever happened.
Thank goodness there was another mom who had posted a favorable review on Unilocal… she doesn’t know me but saved my sanity as I sat reading reviews at 3:00 in the morning beside myself with worry.
The staff at BHC Fremont Hospital were amazing. They answered my countless questions and comforted me when I walked into the unit for the first time and started crying. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
The case workers Daniella and Roxana are literally angels. They took time I know they didn’t have to help me feel comfortable with his care, kept me updated on his progress and helped me map out his future care. His nurses Amy and Puja were available to answer questions and let me know how he was doing day to day as well.
Rita in the finance department was great at helping me navigate insurance issues I was having when I got a letter from my insurance saying they weren’t going to pay… yikes!
I just felt I owed it to these great women to write a positive review. I know that the professions they are in are not high paying and glamorous but when I was going through the worst crisis in my life their life work made a huge difference to me. I can’t put into words how grateful I am.

I stayed in this hell hole for two months.
The nurses are fabulously rude. Dr. Kahlon is a joke.
I asked Dr. Kahlon if he could lower the dosages of Lithium, Risperdal, Benadryl, Zyprexa, Cogentin, and Thorazine, because I was completely tweaked out from all the drugs. He said no.
But then, I asked if I could start taking Seroquel in the morning, just for the hell of it, and he immediately said yes. He even asked if I’d like to take it twice a day.
I really don’t know how any decent doctor believes that prescribing FOUR anti-​psychotics simultaneously is a great idea. During my stay, I had at least 4 spells of psychosis (the condition that many school shooting perpetrators often have). If I wasn’t blacked out, I felt like I was living a post-​meth trip; when you can feel every moment of your life spiraling to shit.
I found out months afterward that all I needed was a mood stabilizer, and this alone would have prevented the psychosis. However, Dr. Kahlon, insists the more drugs, the better, just to make his job easier when patients are sedated.
What kind of qualified psychiatrist is so eager to prescribe even more medication than less?
One who «tests» medicine on patients to get money from pharmaceutical companies.
Fremont Hospital, you’re a total nightmare.

This place isn’t worth a single star… They double talk, or let there staff sleek in «whatever language they want»! They don’t show you what you’re supposed to do the first few days, they make you just follow the crowd, the keep getting pulled out of group, interrupting everyone else…
Seems to me that if this is a hospital that’s supposed to help you find your way to being well, why they allow this and so much more go on.
If you’re looking for a good place that’s got doctors on staff who follow ethical guidelines as well as the HIPA laws… Go to Stanford or even Castro Valley.
Stay away from there used car sales tactics @ Fremont Hospital!

I feel funny putting four stars meaning «Yay! I’m a fan» about a psychiatric hospital, but it still seems appropriate since all my interactions with the facility were extremely positive.
A close relative was sent there went coming off a break brought on my misuse of prescribed ADD meds. They provided him a safe and even comforting environment to get better. And that is what it’s all about, isn’t it?
I’ve read some of the negative reviews and maybe the hospital has made some changes recently. For example, I was pretty thoroughly scrutinized before being allowed to visit. I was always connected when I called, and I felt very in touch.
The very best part — and my relative agrees — was the staff. The staff running the show every day were, without fault, warm, respectful, compassionate, and helpful. There’s a female nurse named LT who is obviously a favorite. And I was very impressed with the two case workers we had, especially Dr. Fay who was sharp as a tack and didn’t miss a thing in her interviews. And Dr. Joanne was *very* helpful explaining the decisions behind release days.
I took one star off because the facility itself is very sterile. I know for safety and sensory reasons they need to keep it simple, but it could really use an update.

You want to know how broken our mental health «mentality» is in America? Send your child here.
I’ve just finished the biggest nightmare of my life, watching my innocent 12 year old daughter go through hell because of this facility.
She was brave, came to me, and admitted to feelings if wanting to hurt herself. Being the concerned mother I am, I took her in to our local ER. She was actually relieved, she finally felt she was going to get HELP.
Help wasn’t what she received. After being forced to wait for hours where no doctor took the time to explain what was going on or give us choices of facilities she was transferred to Fremont hospital. There she was forced to put on an orange jumpsuit, and placed in a co-​Ed floor with teens up to 17. Do I need to repeat, SHE’S TWELVE?!
Besides, co-​Ed? You have to be out of your ever living heads!!!
She was put in a room covered in graffiti with F bombs galore, and notches in the wall of the previous patients counting out their stay. She tells me a very creepy MALE employee kept lingering in her room. Her roommate, a 17 year old girl. Again, remember she’s TWELVE!!! She explains how a 17 year old male scared her senseless, and how she was surrounded by gang members. Really? For a 12 year old GIRL??? An innocent girl who came to you from CHURCH earlier that day???
She was so terrified she didn’t eat or sleep. Instead of helping my daughter, and giving her the care she NEEDED and deserved, you further traumatized her. How in the hell do you expect our kids to trust us with their inner demons if when they do, we treat them like criminals?
I yanked her out as soon as humanly possible. We’ll be getting outpatient care somewhere else.
Shame, shame shame on you!!!

my issue is now with the doctors. Dr. Kahlon (BOTH OF THEM — husband and wife working at the same facility seeing the same patients? I dont know if thats cute or a conflict of interest)
my family member received a bill Dr. Kahlon’s office, 150/​hr each day of the hospitalization to have my family member be «seen» by Dr. Kalon on some days for less than 5 minutes, and on some days not at all
Dr. Kahlon also prescribed medication that was not needed for the condition my family member has, and caused my family members stay in the hospital to be 3 days longer than necessary due to «testing» required by the medication — which means more $$ for the hospital and both Dr. Kahlons.
Female Dr. Kahlon got very defensive when i inquired about how a hearing works, only because i was unfamiliar with the term at the time. she got upset with me for even asking.
male Dr. Kahlon, as a psychiatrist you would think would be able to speak to people in a calm manner, and when i was inquiring why he was keeping my family member longer than necessary, every time i opened my mouth to ask a question Dr. Kahlon would start yelling over me. i eventually had to shriek «CAN I FINISH MY SENTENCE FIRST PLEASE?»
both of them have poor rapport, poor judgement, and seem to enjoy practicing over medicating to get patients to shut up. I have filed a complaint with member services at Kaiser against both Fremont BHC and Dr. Kahlon
I urge you to do the same if your experience was anything less than «just OK»

If ZERO stars was an option… It still would not suffice!!!
I write this review as an outsider, never having been admitted here. My partner was sent here for observation. The staff at this «Hospital» are what make it the most vile place on earth!!! The staff working here barely speak English and the ones that do make you wonder what uneducated part of the country they hired them from!!!
There is NOOOO bed side manner… no humility when dealing with patients families or friends. YOU WILL NOT get a Doctor to call you back and if you try to ask a nure anything they look at you like YOU need to be admitted!!!
This is a shit hole of a place… thanks to the people working here! Take my advise… if you have someone you love in need of help… do ALL YOU CAN from admitting them here! I say that for their sake and yours as well!!!

Read the first review from a nurse, then read mine from a patient
Here’s my rating of this mental facility 1 star for absolutely horrible staff, doctors, nurses, and mental health workers. I have been hospitalized in this unit several times in my life due to having bipolar and drug/​chemical abuse.
This is one of the most understaffed hospital that I know of, and I’ve been hospitalized not under my will several times during my life. Here is a glimpse of a day in the locked unit of Fremont mental ward
knocks every 15 minutes, wake up (if you are able to wake up) eat breakfast which is stale and not warm, community group led by one of 2 mental health staff «uh oh there is a CODE GREEN!!!» Patient is being uncontrollable– all the patients are locked in the day room or in their rooms. All the goons come from other floors and inject the patient who is screaming and battling for life, dragged to the seclusion room… Clear. med time (Med nurse says «Oh if you refuse your medications then you will never get out of here») FUCK THAT– I don’t need no damn meds that make me like a zombie! Group time!!! Ok what the fuck? A coloring group? skip out on that go to bedroom and sleep
wake up lunch time… CODE GREEN!!! another patient going bezerk, time for injection, time for the goons… night time. Where the fuck is my doctor? Staff nurse rudely says «Oh you were sleeping so she/​he didn’t see you?» What??? Fuck that I sleep again… Dinner time, Visiting hours for 1 hour– staff take out chairs and put them in hallway– crowded as heck, you can hear other people’s conversations and I want PRIVACY…
Community meeting… boring shit, FUCK I want to get the heck out of here, med time (med nurse says «Ok you refuse again the doctor won’t let you go»…
Take the damn meds after 3 days, on another hold for 14 weeks, go to trial before a judge, they let me go back to my place.
All the doctors here are Indians and they are two couples married to each other. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT??? It’s prejudice, I am caucasian, they hardly speak anything in my time with them. They INTENTIONALLY hold people here long to get paid…
This place will make SANE people go crazy! And make even more UNSANE people go crazy!