Kindred Hospital San Diego

My uncle is here with health issues, and I am very pleased with the staff. His primary nurse during the day is Bethany, and she is exceptional. She has a great attitude, plenty of patience, and she has been very responsive and courteous to my sometimes pushy concerns. The staff overall has been incredibly responsive to the health needs of my uncle as well as family concerns. Communication is very important, and I found this easy with the staff here. Food is excellent as well.

My husband was admitted to Kindred Hospital after minor but traumic brain surgery. He mainly needed assistance in learning how to swallow, as well as continued physical and occupational therapies. During his two and a half week stay, he excelled in both physical and occupational therapy sessions. But, more importantly, he learned to swallow again and left the hospital eating «soft» foods. The doctors, nurses (specially Bethany) and therapists care was first rate. Front desk and administrative staff were friendly and celebrated with us when my husband improved and was then discharged.
The hospital facility is older which has some advantages and disadvantages. We loved the four outdoor areas where he could get some fresh air and sunshine, which in a hospital is rare. For my husband outdoor time help raise his spirit and I think helped him excell in meeting his recovery goals.
The only disadvantages were minor in nature, the facility still needs to be updated, but to be fair, mostly cosmetic issues and on some rare occasions we had a 10 – 15 minute wait when he called for the nurse. BUT, we could tell they were making efforts to shorten the wait and once the RN or CNA arrived they would provide their complete attention to my husband.
The first morning at home, my husband safely got out of bed, got his clothes from the closet, dressed, brushed his teeth, shaved and ate breakfast. Our thanks to therapists Tara and Sara — he did it all by himself and continues to get better each day.

I never take time to write a review but felt it necessary in this case. I noticed that there are some less than favorable reviews on here and I can only speak for my family’s experience at this Kindred. We were so skeptical going in, having heard horror stories about different places like this but so happy to say we were extremely happy with every aspect of our care here. My dad has advanced Parkinson’s, pneumonia, a trach and can not speak. He was treated with dignity and received top notch care. We were shocked at how often the nursing and respiratory nurses came in to see him. Better than the ICU at the hospital even! They were meticulous and very responsive to his care. Every request we had was handled in a timely manner. This place may look old but it is clean, smells clean and sanitary. Without hesitation I would recommend this place!

My wife underwent major abdominal surgery that landed her in the ICU for almost two months. By the time we transferred to Kindred Hospital, she was terribly weak. She had difficulty even raising her head from the pillow and required the ventilator (breathing machine) most of the time. Needless to say, we were very concerned about her recovery.
Our initial point of contact at Kindred was Gene in the admitting department. He provided all the information we needed, pointing out specific factors that would benefit my wife’s recovery. One key factor was the availability of outdoor patios. As it turned out, once she was in the wheelchair, she loved feeling the cool breezes on these patios.
The people of Kindred, doctors, nurses, therapists, as well as the support staff were wonderful. We had considered other facilities but selected Kindred because it felt more home-​like and the people were friendly. As it turned out, it was the people who made all the difference in a successful treatment program.
Our doctors were amazing. Dr. Krevitz was our primary doctor. She not only took a strong professional interest in my wife’s case, she always took time to personalize her time with us. Each day, she was the «cheer leader» who encouraged us to succeed. Our pulmonologist, Dr. Clark, was similarly engaged. He knew how hard to push to get results and not risk set-​backs that might discourage us.
The nursing staff was always there, even for the most disagreeable tasks. While the nursing staff included RNs, LVNs, and CNAs, it never seemed like people were «too good» to do any task. We even got to know the CEO, who would stop and ask how things were going when we saw her in the halls.
I can’t say enough great things about the therapy teams. Because of the length of time my wife was in the ICU, her muscles were almost useless. Compounding the problem is the fact that she is a Parkinson’s patient. Once my wife was no longer using the ventilator, the therapy teams got her up and moving, even getting her to the exercise room where she took those critical first steps with the help of parallel bars.
While I would not want to go into any hospital, should medical necessity dictate the need for a long term acute hospital for me or a family member, I would immediately think of Kindred Hospital of San Diego.

I’m not usually one who writes reviews like this, but if it prevents one person from subjecting their loved one to this horrible place, its worth doing. My mom was transferred to Kindred from Sharp with a trachea collar. She had four strokes after major heart surgery and was sent there to wean her off the trachea and get her stronger so she could move to a rehab center. She was struggling to speak due to the strokes, so she was having trouble expressing to us what was going on when we weren’t there. I walked into her room one afternoon and was shocked. She had been left alone for 2 hours sitting in a cardiac chair. She had no access to her call button, which i often found placed out of her reach. There was dried food on her face, and her mouth was so dry she couldn’t speak at all. I asked the nurse for the special thickened water she had to drink and they said they were out. An hour later they still had no liquids available and several patients were complaining. By this time, my sister had arrived. She demanded to see the supervisor but she refused to come, so we called 911 and had her transported back to Sharp. She was so dehydrated they had to give her iv fluids on the highest setting for over 24 hours. While there were a few compassionate people there, most were very insensitive to my mothers needs. I wouldn’t send my worst enemy to Kindred. Unfortunately, my mom has since passed away.

My visit to Kindred hospital was absolutely amazing. No one likes being in a hospital but, the staff at Kindred was very attentive and helped make my stay more comfortable.

I really wish Unilocal would allow for zero stars. This place isn’t deserving of anything. Please do not send your relatives here unless they have a death wish. My father was transferred here from UCSD in hopes of getting him healthier for a surgery. When he was at UCSD he was walking with physical therapy over 120 feet a day, using the commode, and feeling okay. He is now knocking at death’s door thanks to hellhole that is Kindred Hospital. The care is terrible. My father is aware enough to be able to ask to use a bedpan or commode but the nurses, lvns and cnas can’t seem to find enough time to help him so he ends up having an accident and then they leave him lying in his waste for hours. He has contracted a bacteria, either from the staff’s unhygienic methods or the mold growing in the rundown hospital’s walls. My father’s heartbeat was uncharacteristically high one day and my sister expressed her concern to the nurse, the nurse responded by telling my sister it was her fault because she was stressing my father out. I beg of anyone looking into this place for a loved one to stay far away. I wish I would have known because now it’s probably too late for my father.

Every time I have been to this hospital I have had a wonderful experience. The front desk and admission staff is the most friendly people I’ve ever met in a hospital. The food is great. The place is very clean and smells amazing from the moment you walk in the door (how many hospitals can you say that about??).
If I ever have to go back to any hospital it will be kindred.
Thank you!

Do not take anyone you care about here! I couldn’t figure out how to not give them any stars.
My wife was a patient at Scripps Green Hospital. While there I was approached by the Kindred representative, Kathryn. She told me that Dr. Krevitz at Scripps is on staff at Kindred and since she is familiar with my wife’s case, it would be an easy transition for my wife. I was invited to take a tour of the facility on El Cajon.
I went to the facility and met with Gene who showed me around. I made the decision to send my wife there when she was able to be discharged from Scripps. That was a big mistake!
It turns out that while it was represented to me that Dr. Krevitz would look after my wife, she didn’t. My guess is that Dr. Krevitz is just shilling for Kindred while on staff at Scripps. We were assigned a Dr. Hom, who turned out to be the most incompetent doctor that I have ever met.
The physical therapy staff at Kindred gave up on my wife after a few visits and I did not find out about it until almost a month later. My wife had major brain surgery and was declared incompetent and I told the Kindred staff to let me or my kids know if there was a problem. That was never done so my languished and did not progress.
Also, when Gene was showing me around, he showed me a room where the doctor on call slept in case there was a problem. What a lie! One Sunday my wife started having convulsions, I demanded that the doctor that was there come see her. I was told that there was no doctor in the hospital even though Gene said that there was always a doctor in the building. Of course, Dr. Hom was at home and had to give instructions over the phone to the nurses.
At one point we were told by Dr. Hom that my wife should be sent to hospice since she would not progress. When we explained to Dr. Hom that the surgeon who did my wife’s brain surgeon (who happens to be one of the best in the country) said that due to my wife’s condition, it would take about 6 months for us to see much progress, he said that he didn’t believe it and we should consider hospice. Let’s see, who do I believe, one of the best brain surgeons in the country or a hack working in an LTAC.
With very little help from the staff at Kindred, I managed to move my wife to a skilled nursing facility (Pt. Loma Convalescent Hospital) where she made huge progress in her recovery.
To finish this story, a month after she was taken out of Kindred and sent to Pt. Loma Convalescent, my wife got to come home and is doing remarkably well. The prediction by the brain surgeon is coming true and my wife’s brain is healing well. This is the same woman who Dr. Hom said should be in hospice. My wife is doing her Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy and is showing amazing progress. This is the same woman who Dr. Hom said should be in hospice to die. This is the same woman who the incompetent therapists at Kindred did not have the patience to work with.
Do not send anyone that you care about to Kindred Long Term Acute Care Hospital! Don’t believe the lies that you will be told by Kathryn or Gene! Do not believe them when they tell you that there is always a doctor in the building. Do not believe when they tell you that their physical therapists are great and will help your loved one! If you are a Scripps Green patient, do not believe that Dr. Krevitz will look after you loved one, she may be on staff at Kindred, but she is also a shill for them.

I rarely write bad reviews. It has taken me a while to write this I have had time to re-​think & consider my thoughts about my father’s short stay here. First of all, we transferred him to Kindred in hopes of bringing him home with a BIPAP Machine — which never happened. I work in the healthcare field as well I asked around, asked people from the Imperial Valley as well. This place was highly recommended & has been given awards in Respiratory Care. Truthfully if I could turn back time I would not have transferred him there.
They managed to lose his blanket from home off the bat. Not one documented in his belongings — so it never existed. They took two days to change the gown he was transferred in from El Centro. I know it was the same one as I had changed it before I left to go work in SD, waiting for him to transfer out to Kindred. He got a decubitus as well from the beginning night he stayed which progressed worse throughout his stay. If I wasn’t there everyday to check on him, I’m sure they would of left him filthy.
My father was alert & orientated, simply couldn’t breathe & was weak. He needed constant assistance to turn. They had an improperly working oxygen regulator, that when I came in one day was blasted to 10L then would go down to 3L — with the pulse oximeter machine alarms set with a low of 88% (people on Oxygen should be at least 92%). The BIPAP MACHINE, one day got unplugged, it alarmed something I had never seen before. I place my dad on the cannula, since no one came to the room for at least 15 mins while the alarms are blasting from the machine I went to the nurses station. I tapped the nurse standing at the station on the back, asked her to come to the room and get a Respiratory Therapist to Room 5 — before I could get out that my dad can’t breathe well she gets on her cell phone & puts her back to me and leaves. Finally, a respiratory therapist came to the room, since she heard it alarming. Could you imagine it took 30 or mins more. Luckily I am knowledgeable in what to do, but what if I was someone wasn’t — that means their family member could of coded from Respiratory Distress. Anyhow, it turned out the nurse who ignored me in the nurse’s station was Dantea — the charge nurse!?!
They stopped his much needed dialysis, because his access clotted & were not aggressive in continuing it despite me telling them he needed it regardless of his urine output. It really sucks because there were some excellent nurses & CNA’s that work hard & actually care. My father’s health deteriorated back to square on with in 14 days of stay, they intubated him ¹¹⁄₂₉. They began sedating him and did not check his neuro status accordingly & thought I was an asshole for asking to. They finally did dialysis after he became encephalopathic. The ending of his stay was him coding & dying infront of me. They worked on him for an hour doing several rounds of CPR which is why I give them at least two stars. I am not ignorant to think his health was not poor, I just think if they would of continued the dialysis he would of been able to come home with us. Don’t bring your loved ones here if you are planning to bring them home.

If you care about your loved ones I urge you to stay away from Kindred Hospital. Bottom line, they nearly killed my husband and I have renamed the facility to Deathtrap Hospital.
My husband spent 3 ½ months at Kindred Hospital. It was a battle for decent care from admission to the very end when he was sent to UCSD in near septic shock. When I toured the facility I was told call button response was a 2 minute average. Our experience was 20 to 30 minutes or more. I was assured he would receive a private room and that his special bed would be available upon admission. All lies. At all times I thanked every employee for their care, and in most cases I physically assisted them when they were short staffed. It took me getting upset in order for them to take action on anything. At one point pain medication was administered an hour and 40 minutes late. I found out later, from very qualified nurse, that nurses were taken off shift to reduce costs. This resulted in my husband suffering excruciating pain and I had to stay with him well into the night to expedite a doctor to examine him. The majority of the nursing staff is either incompetent or just plain cold. Many times I had to contact supervisors, managers, Chief Clinical officer and the CEO in order to have basic care corrected. Every time I told them I was only asking for the nurses to do their jobs. At no time did I ever ask them to go beyond that. Doctors are not readily available and in fact my husband’s doctor couldn’t get out of his room fast enough after a brief examination. No patience for questions regarding care. I caught many of the personnel including the Chief Clinical Officer in lies regarding care. The final straw was a doctor, covering for the primary care physician on vacation, that waited 7 days to have my husband transferred to UCSD Hillcrest. He over medicated my husband with pain medication and nearly cost him his life. The staff at UCSD was stunned at his condition and that it took so long for the Kindred doctor to act on his life threatening condition. When I mentioned Kindred Hospital to any nurse, doctor or technician at UCSD I was always given a look that expressed how poorly they are respected in the medical community. While there were a handful of quality nurses that cared for my husband, the majorities of the nursing staff and nursing assistants have no compassion for patients and in some cases were downright rude. Just asking one nurse to help me sit my husband up so he could breathe better was greeted with a refusal to do so. I had to call the Chief Clinical Officer on the weekend to make it happen. My husband has since been transferred to Vibre Hospital where he is receiving great care by all staff members and doctors.
On a final note, at no time has anyone from Kindred Hospital contacted me to check on my husband since he left 3 months ago in a life threatening condition. That tells it all.

I want to Thank Kindred staff for the excellent care that they gave to my Mom during her stay in your ICU, You treated her with gentle care, talking to her and calling her by name. Your Staff kept my Family well informed on her daily condition. Her Family deeply miss’s her, but we know that she was comfortable and well taken care of her last few weeks here with us. Thank you Kindred ICU for all that you had done for my Mom.

My grandma was sent here after being at Sharp Memorial. I work in the healthcare field so I immediately looked up this place because the name was familiar to me. I was shocked to see it receives only one star here but the wheels were already set into motion so off my Grandma went to this facility. I decided to go in with no preconceived notions about the place, just to give them the benefit of the doubt, but things quickly went downhill from my first couple of greetings onward.
First, let me say that the greeting I received when I entered was very nice and welcoming. The lady at the front directed me to my grandma’s room and I headed that direction. I found her door closed (as were most, if not all) and went inside. It was very dark and cold. My grandma was sitting up in bed with her breakfast tray right in front of her, but the plate was still covered and none of the items were opened. My grandma has dementia so sometimes she needs some help/​encouragement to get started, but I can still understand why she may have not been assisted, so I just went ahead and helped her get everything opened up and started.
There was no chair by my grandma’s bedside, so since I was planning to spend the entire day there, I went out to the front desk to ask them if they could send up a chair. The lady at the front was again very kind and called maintenance to send one up. Unfortunately it never came.
All morning my grandma lay in bed with an RN coming in just before noon to finally check vitals. She also was very nice and told me that there were no CNA’s and that she and another nurse were doing CNA duty AND RN duty for six patients each. I thought this was weird but she said it like it wasn’t unusual or extraordinary so I didn’t think too much about it at this point.
Around lunch time I start wondering why she hasn’t been taken to the bathroom yet. I assumed that perhaps she had just been changed before I got there and that maybe she would be checked again soon. She was sleeping so I went out for an hour to have lunch. When I came back her tray was still situated over her and her lunch was on it but she was not eating. Again, I helped her open items and eat. When she was done I thought, «All of this stuff looks like it hasn’t moved all day. I’m going to check her diaper.» Well let me tell you, when I moved the tray from over her (where it had been for hours) I discovered that several layers of blankets and ALL 5 pillows that were used to support here were SOAKED THROUGH and that she isn’t wearing a diaper, or pants even, of any sort. Immediately I pushed her call light to have assistance changing her as the room was VERY COLD and she was soaking wet. 10 minutes go by. 15 minutes go by. 20 minutes go by. Yes, 30 minutes go by. Finally an administrator steps in and says, «You pushed your call button?» (Uh, yes, over a half hour ago, you incompetent fool!!) He assures me that he will send someone in. Of course no one ever came so I start to change her myself. She is wet up to her neck (the pillow is even wet!) and down her legs and is soiled as well. I go to help myself to the «EMPLOYEES ONLY» linen closet and there are NO blankets, not a single one. An entire hour plus some has gone by since I first pushed the call light and no one has come to help. I start piling the dirty linens on the ground because there is nowhere else to put them. At this point a person comes in to empty my grandma’s trash and just looks at me. No offer of help (I suppose he thought I worked there). He turns and leaves the room without a word.
Throughout this whole cleaning up ordeal my grandma becomes confused and combative. Her IV monitor has been alarming/​beeping for some time at this point, so frustrated that no one is responding, I wheeled it out to the hallway and shut her door. It beeped for 40 minutes or longer out in the hallway. By the time I get her cleaned up she is wet again because there are no diapers or other linens to use as one. I finally just put her back to bed wet and cover her with a sheet since there are no blankets either. A few minutes after I’m done the nurse waltzs into the room with the IV pole in tow and says, «I just came to check if she is dry.» I just about lost it. I was near tears the entire time I was trying to change my grandma. Imagine your loved one covered in feces and urine head to toe from being neglected all day, and as you are trying to change them they become confused and upset and start yelling and hitting at you. I was beside myself with sadness and anger. At that point I just had to walk out so I wouldn’t cry or lose my cool.
Please, please do not allow anyone to send your love one here unless you can stay with them AT ALL TIMES!!! I should have officially reported this place, but this review will have to do.

There were only a couple of acute care hospitals to choose from in San Diego, and Kindred (unfortunately) is one of them. The problem is they are WAY understaffed. My father was there after a car accident. They started out on a bad foot by leaving him, sitting in his feces for hours with nobody even knowing that he had arrived. Once he was settled in, it stayed about as bad. When you visit a patient, the beeping sound that calls the nurses NEVER stops. They are just so overwhelmed with work that they don’t even notice that it’s constantly on. They gave the nurse to patient ratios when we were doing our preliminary shopping for an acute care place, but the numbers they gave us were certainly not reflected in the slow service that the patients receive. People are on ventilators here. It’s dangerous to leave people unattended. We unfortunately experienced an event that could have been prevented with a better-​staffed hospital.

My grandmother was at kindred for over a month. Do not believe the hype about patient care being number one. She did not receive proper equipment, was denied access to specialists (they will keep putting you off when you ask), when these things were promised by the hospital liasion before admittance.
There are a few great nurses and RTs, but 90% are so overworked by management that they are burnt out. RN to patient ratio is 10:1 and RNs complain that they have told management that ratios are life threatening, but nothing is done.
Medicare/​Medical needs to stop by unannounced and document the many safety violations that occur everyday. Call buttons not plugged in, call buttons not answered for over ten minutes, respect for patient privacy violations, and denied access to proper medical equipment and specialists due to cost issues. Expect your loved one to sit in excrement for over 1 hour, or longer unless you complain. Only CNAs do clean up and there are only so many to go around.
Patients are basically dumped off, medicated and the minimum done for them. Nurse supervisors don’t care, Doctors don’t care, nurses might care but due to staffing issues cannot do their job effectively. Walk the halls and see it empty, where is the staff??? Spread thin, I suppose.
If you care about your loved one, do not send them to Kindred.