ABOUT KAISER PERMANENTE SANTA ROSA PSYCHIATRY AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY OFFICES
One of more than 600 Kaiser Permanente medical facilities around the country, Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Psychiatry and Chemical Dependency is a general medical hospital with a psychiatry and chemical dependency department, which offers outpatient treatment services for adults, adolescents, and their families. It’s located in Northern California, 55 miles north of San Francisco. An aftercare support group is available for clients that complete the program. The center does not offer medical detox on-site at the chemical dependency office, but medical detox can be arranged within the Kaiser network.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Psychiatry and Chemical Dependency sees addiction as a chronic disease, and encourages clients to participate in the 12-step program. The other components of treatment include individual, group, and family therapy, psychoeducation, and case management services.
Treatment begins with a thorough assessment by a psychologist or social worker, which is used to assign clients to the most appropriate level of care. Programming is available at varying intensities, beginning with a partial hospitalization program (PHP) that involves eight hours of treatment, seven days per week, for two weeks. The PHP is affiliated with the Santa Rosa facility, but is offered only at the nearby Vallejo and San Francisco Kaiser locations.
There is also an Intensive Recovery Program that meets five evenings per week for eight weeks. It provides many of the same treatment options as the PHP. However, clients are exposed to a less intensive level of treatment. This helps clients transition out of treatment to a sober lifestyle. This leads clients to the aftercare group that meets weekly for up to 16 months after the client has completed treatment. Family support and education classes are also made available to promote family involvement in recovery.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
According to the Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Psychiatry and Chemical Dependency’s website, the team includes clinical social workers, physicians, and psychologists. The two individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center a four out of five star rating and a five out of five star rating for its staff’s level of training and experience.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
Though the center offers outpatient care only, there are transitional living facilities available to PHP participants who require them. Out of five stars, the two individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center a four- and a five-star rating for its accommodations and its cleanliness.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
At the time of this writing, two alumni have submitted feedback to Best-rehabs.com about the facility. Their feedback was positive.
Both alumni polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would strongly recommend treatment at this center, and gave the center high four- and five-star ratings in almost all evaluated treatment metrics, including its overall effectiveness, its family participation, its counseling options, and its treatment for co-occurring disorders.
The lowest rating — a respectable three out of five stars from one alum — went to the center’s holistic treatment options. Though one anonymous reviewer complained that there were “lots of patients” and “mental healthy is not the specialty,” they added: “I liked the staff and the treatment options.”
On Yelp, the facility earned a single review, which was five out of five stars. [1] Alum Shanika wrote: “Seriously though, their psych and chemical dependency team are great. I’d recommend them.”
FINANCING
Services are available as a basic benefit to all Kaiser members. Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa location also accepts Medi-Cal, Medicaid, and Medicare. The two individuals polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the center a four out of five star rating and a five out of five star rating for its affordability.
CONCLUSION
In September 2015, the LA Times reported on an 83-year-old patient of the Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Psychiatry department who committed suicide at the facility in despair over the lack of success treating her depression. The reporter wrote: “The Oakland-based health maintenance organization has battled accusations for more than two years that its mental health services put patients at risk. Now Ragan’s suicide has increased scrutiny of the giant healthcare provider, which last year paid a $4-million fine to resolve allegations by the state Department of Managed Health Care that it inadequately treated mental health patients, including some who waited weeks to see therapists. A follow-up report by the agency in February found that some patients were still waiting too long.”
The piece also quoted Kaiser spokesman John Nelson, who said that “the HMO should not be faulted for Ragan’s suicide. He noted that she received frequent psychiatric counseling and had spoken to a psychiatrist by telephone in the days before her death. An earlier in-person appointment, he said, was available if she had asked.”
[1]