ABOUT PALOMAR CENTER FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Palomar Health operates three hospitals in North San Diego County as well as several clinics in the region. The Center for Behavioral Health is located at the organization’s downtown Escondido hospital. The medical center provides crisis stabilization and inpatient care for adults who are struggling with psychiatric disorders. Palomar’s behavioral health unit treats substance use disorders only in the context of dually diagnosed mental health conditions. Intensive outpatient treatment is provided through the center in San Marcos and geriatric care at a special unit in Poway. Palomar is a Kaiser Permanente facility.
TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT
The inpatient unit at Palomar Center for Behavioral Health is designed to provide acute care and stabilization services. The facility’s website emphasizes a structured environment and multidisciplinary programming. Clients receiving treatment for such mental illnesses as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and PTSD typically attend several group therapy sessions as well as individual counseling.
Among the center’s recreational therapy offerings are art, music, and pet therapy. Palomar behavioral health staff also provide comprehensive planning for discharge and aftercare, along with family educational sessions.
STAFF CREDENTIALS
The treatment team listed on Palomar Center for Behavioral Health’s website includes a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist, nurses, and social workers. This facility also provides on-site training for student nurses and psychology interns.
ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES
The behavioral health inpatient unit at Escondido’s Palomar Medical Center Downtown serves to 25 patients, each in a private room. Kaiser Permanente’s website highlights the facility’s outdoor garden space and access to natural light indoors. The single individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date gave the facility four out of five stars for its meals and its cleanliness, and three stars for its general accommodations and exercise/leisure provisions.
WHAT ALUMNI SAY
Best-rehabs.com has not yet received any feedback directly from alumni for Palomar Center for Behavioral Health. Likewise, at the time of this writing, secondary review sites yielded little coverage of the behavioral health unit. Secondary sites did, however, present mixed feedback for the general hospital, skewing favorable but revealing strong critical trends. The medical center received an average rating of 3.3 out of five stars, based on 204 reviews on Google, and three out of five stars from 269 feedback contributors on Yelp.
In a representative Google review, alum Christina wrote: “This hospital looks great … however the service was not.”
Reviewers repeatedly described the attractive, relatively new facility, and some praised the center’s staff for their care. However, reviewers — mostly of the emergency room — also frequently complained about unprofessional staff behavior and long wait times for service. Several reported understaffing and insufficient equipment.
One client complained on Google about unhelpful, rushed responses to a phone call seeking mental health care.
WHAT FRIENDS & FAMILY SAY
The single loved one polled by Best-rehabs.com to date would strongly recommend Palomar Center for Behavioral Health. The reviewer awarded a maximum five stars for the staff’s level of training and experience and identified support for families as a facility strength, noting room for improvement in the balance of individual to group therapy opportunities.
Friends and family reviews on secondary sites matched alumni trends. Five reported observing or experiencing prejudiced behavior in the ER toward individuals with drug addictions. Another reviewer on Yelp wrote that the “ER doctors are obviously not trained or schooled about mental disorders at all and don’t even understand the suffering and pain that PTSD brings.”
WHAT STAFF SAY
Glassdoor reviews for Palomar Medical Center reflected some of the same trends as feedback from alumni and loved ones, averaging a rating of 2.9 out of five stars from 95 individuals. Complaints referenced problems with communication and professionalism, countered by positive individual situations. The three reviewers to mention behavioral health services were split between two positive and one critical.
FINANCING
Palomar Health accepts accept most insurance plans, according to the facility’s website. Financial assistance is available in some cases, based on income. The sole individual polled by Best-rehabs.com to date awarded four out of five stars for affordability.