Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Category: Medical Centers [Edit]
350 Hawthorne Ave(between Elm St & Webster St)
Oakland, CA 94609 (510) 869-6777
46 reviews
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
"I had knee surgery at St. Mary's a week ago and I was very impressed with the staff here. Everyone that I encountered was extremely…" read more »
13 Reviews for Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
I've had two minor surgeries at AB over the years, and one ER visit. On all three times I have received excellent service. The staff is compassionate and kind, and they respond quickly to any question or need.
On one of my surgery visits, I needed some help to figure out how to walk on crutches (yeah, I'm kind of a dope). A physical therapist showed up in less than 15 minutes, adjusted my crutches, and gave me some tips and pointers on how to walk with them. His lessons came in very handy, especially when I had to maneuver down a flight of 15 stairs to get into my house!
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I posted a review of the CET Cancer Center which is located in the
AB Summit Medical Center complex in Oakland. However, a major part of the care I received during my HDR Brachytherapy treatments for prostate cancer occurred at Summit. The HDR treatment involves
surgery and an overnight stay and I must say the nurses, anesthesiologists ,Dr's and surgical staff at Summit during my two stays there were fantastic. As I stated in the CET review, and as with most things involving hospital stays, it was not fun but they made it bearable and at least somewhat comfortable. Each of my two stays
began with early morning surgical procedure to install the implants
for radiation dosage delivery. I spent the rest of my time lying on my
back pretty much in one position the whole time so as not to disturb
the implants. Eating, reading and watching TV this way was not the
most comfortable but the nurses in the short stay unit and the main
hospital took great care of me. The food was even decent although
having to shovel it in my mouth while on my back wasn't the best delivery option. Oh, and let me give props to the transportation folks
and the ambulance crews that moved me around. I suppose I should
explain the ambulance. The second week dosage session they
kept me overnight in the main Summit building which was a block away from the CET building. They had to take me by ambulance. I thought that was pretty funny but it worked out well and it was my first time in an ambulance. Hopefully my last too. Thanks again Summit.
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Checking into the ER in the middle of the night is never high on anyone's priority list. And yet, there I was, huddled up in sweats and a blanket, waiting for the triage nurse to call on me. The ER was virtually empty, except for a few people watching an old "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode.
I've only been to an emergency room once before, so admittedly, I can't compare my experience. That being said, I did get studied and treated and all sorts of things like that. I enjoyed my 4 mg of morphine and the delicious salinity drip they gave me (I had been unable to keep anything in my stomach for more than a day so I was both thirsty and hungry).
HOWEVER,
1) The ER is fairly hard to find at night. There are signs around the hospital's campus, but they are not lit so if you don't know exactly where you are going, you may get lost.
2) The waiting was TERRIBLE. I checked in at 2:20 AM. I wasn't released until a little after 9. SEVEN HOURS. I truly appreciate all of the tests and the care of the doctors and nurses that helped me, but the old "I need to go study the test results so I'll be back in 10 minutes" turned into multiple hour waits.
3) I had two nurses administer an EKG on me. One was chewing gum and the other was sucking a lollipop. I'm all for snacking to keep yourself awake in the middle of the night, but it just seemed rather unhygienic. Gross.
4) One of my doctors had a "holier than thou" attitude. Dude, I get it, I know I have a heart murmur. It's not a big deal. And no, I am not pregnant, stop asking.
5) They seemed a little unclear as to how to handle visitors. My roommate brought me in but traded off with my mom - they couldn't tell her where I was or how to get to me. Eventually she figured it out, but only after badgering a few people to give her the correct directions.
The good news it that it probably isn't appendicitis (hopefully!). In the future, however, I'd much rather go to a more organized and efficient hospital.
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Unlucky me, I came down with a wicked case of tonsillitis on a Saturday morning when none of the urgent care clinics that accepted my insurance were open and going to the Emergency Room was my only choice.
As a walk-in patient I was asked immediately what was wrong and what my comfort level was, and then asked to wait in surprisingly clean waiting room until I could be seen.
The initial waiting took a little longer than I thought it would considering how empty the ER was, but once I got seen by a nurse things sped up considerably. They had me in and out within an hour and a half, including seeing a nurse, registering as a patient and filling out all the forms, and chatting with a very friendly and knowledgeable doctor about my condition.
Bonus points for their conveniently located parking lot (though at $2 every 20 minutes it's a little expensive) and the flatscreen TV in the waiting room tuned to PBS.
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As much as it sucks to be hospitalized, you've gotta appreciate the experience when the outcome is good, and when the staff who attend to your care ensure that you're unfortunate and inconvenient stay is as comfortable and conducive to healing as possible. And that's exactly what I got from here when I was recovering from a torn kidney and a bad case of internal bleeding -- 4 days in the hospital bunk in all, luckily in a private room. The ER staff, the general practice docs, the urologist's clinic staff, and -- most of all -- the 8 different nurses who provided my daily care were simply outstanding.
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Saved my life, not once but twice. Well, I am being a little dramatic. But i did have the worst case of pneumonia, one which required a few x-rays and a couple doctors sayiong "Gee, i didnt know you could get pneumonia in THAT part of the lung".
They really do tend to you well at this particular Alta Bates. I had three doctors at me at once. I dont remember this ever happening to me at UCSF.
Good stories too. Excellent emergency room people watching.
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NEVER before have I been a hospital patient in my life. Let's make it cut and dry here, my lovelies- I'm going to ensure I'll never stay in a hospital for any amount of time unless it's very severe.
Nevertheless, I fully appreciate Summit's CS (Customer Service) and their phone answerers. They sound nice and invested in your health... like just an hour ago I called to cancel a surgical appt. for my gramps and they didn't even charge us the $50 cancellation fee. He was feeling too sick to go.
Kay
I've been a patient at ABSMC in Oakland through the decades and have always been treated caringly and professionally and speak highly of the staff.
I've been here more times than I care to think about, and I've never been anything but thrilled with this place and its people. I was most recently there with my sweetheart who I feared might be having a stroke, and they were kind to both of us, thorough, professional, and no slower than they had to be. (She wasn't dying, other people were. I've no problem with their priorities.)
I've been there with young sons with young-son sorts of injuries, I've been there when I had chest pains and scary high blood pressure, I've been there with a very painful twisted knee, and it's always been good.
Five stars are not enough.
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It took me awhile to figure out the nearby parking garage instead of scrambling for street parking, but it' is CASH ONLY.
Easy to find and get around and fully pro service. They call you back, the waiting is not unbearable and there is online conversing with your own doctor.
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I sliced my finger opening a can of food for lunch, and after watching it bleed for 10 minutes I got myself to the ER. I received three stitches 3 hours later after waiting in three different lines (even though they weren't shaped like lines). First you wait for the triage nurse, then you wait to get registered/admitted (those two took processes took about an hour). Then you wait for a nurse to call your name, take you through some doors where you get to wait AGAIN but this time, at least, there's a bed. I was discharged about 3 1/2 hours after being admitted (they lied on my sheet and cut about 30 minutes off my discharge time.. how strange), which, now that I think about it, isn't so bad considering how busy they were. I'm not supposed to bend my finger so I wish they had put in a splint with my bandages so I could more easily prevent such a natural inclination of one's index finger of the dominant hand, but alas...
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i have to say that after being a member of kaiser for 11 years, i was ready for the same old soviet style health care. i had a persistant cough for 3 months so i decided after a week of no sleep to go to the emergency room on a sunday morning around 7am.youknow,to beat the costco crowd. i was the third person in the er. the staff was nice and courteous.i had a little wait but the waiting room was CLEAN and relaxing.it didnt feel like a triage room in baghdad (see highland hospital) the doctor on duty was super nice as was the nurses who took care of me.my only complaint was that it took a LONG time for them to bring one of those plastic inhalers down from a different floor. but other than that,im ready to be sick!!!
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I am writing a review about the emergency room here at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. I have to say that this is the best ER that I have ever visited. My first visit to Alta Bates was on a Saturday night last March. I have a 105 fever and was was really surprised how quickly they saw saw me. However, before I was seen there was a bit of excitement in the waiting room. Some lady freaked out and had to be arrested. Really crazy.
The best part about Alta Bates Summit? I had an entire nurse and doctor tending to only me the whole time! I have never had this kind of personal attention at an ER before. They were very cautious and took a chest x-ray. Thank goodness. I didn't just have the flu, it was pneumonia! The doctor was great and explained everything to me and my husband, even what kind of antibiotic he was prescribing. My husband is a biologist studying bacteria, so he actually understood all of that stuff. Also, the nurse that tended to me was the sweetest lady and really made sure that I was as comfortable as possible. They also made sure to be very clear and explained everything I needed to do as far as following up with my regular doctor and typed up all of my instructions.
Not that I would recommend getting really really sick, but if you are, this ER will take good care of you.
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