UC San Diego Thornton Hospital

I’ve been an inpatient at Thornton twice and have had multiple outpatient procedures done here. I cannot say enough good things about the staff here. Perhaps I was lucky but my experience with the Emergency Dept twice has been phenomenal. Quick attention, compassion, high technology and well trained staff was always my experience. Even the hospital food was delicious. the nursing staff on 2 West were exceptional. The UCSD doctors are best I’ve ever used. Having been at 2 other local hospitals, Thornton was by far better. I would only Use UCSD Health because of their medical reputation and latest treatments but their facilities and staff outshine them all.

My friend has been treated so badly in the ER in this hospital I wouldn’t know where to begin. She has stage 4 breast cancer and is treated with no dignity or privacy.

As a first time patient, I was blown away by the facility and staff. The facility was extremely clean! A man at the front desk mentioned that the hospital was extremely busy so I had intention on waiting for a few hours before being seen. Less than 10 minutes later, a nurse called me into a room to get a quick overlook of what was going on with me. I was then sent to the waiting room again, but was called 5 minutes later to find that they already had a bed for me. I was greeted by Dr. Popa, who communicated with me very well and made sure I was informed on all procedures. Nurse Valenzuela drew my blood and she made it quick and easy. I have a fear of needles, but she was able to keep me calm. I was then greeted by Dr. Tolia who was very kind and gave me undivided attention when asking me about my symptoms. He thoroughly explained what was going on and what still needed to be done. Later on, dermatologists Dr. Schneider and Dr. Admani examined me. I can tell just by the way they were working me that they knew exactly what the were doing and were experts in their field. All staff members were extremely personable and kind. I highly recommend this hospital to anyone that wants to be treated with respect in a fast and efficient matter!

Came into the ER with my sister, who happened to be crying from the amount of pain she was it.
Cried even more for the amount of time it took to get help, nurses and doctors definitely not on the same page.
Stayed here over 5hrs and counting.
I wounded if they charge by the hour, or if the staff gets a cut of the paid parking fees

So my dad just had spinal surgery with Dr. Z on Thursday. He was thorough and great. The post-​op recovery staff was great as well. After he was released from post-​op, Thornton’s hospital rooms were full so he was sent to Sulpezio (sp?). The nursing staff there was top notch. 5 stars all the way! After a major back surgery, you’re bound to experience pain and they were on top of responding to his needs and providing excellent care. Then at 9:15pm he got moved over to Thornton Hospital. There the nurses responses were slow and unprofessional. His experience on this side would be a 2.5. For instance, somehow he was lying on something uneven and it was causing extreme pain and pinching. After all, the man had just had MAJOR spinal surgery. It took the nurses over 45 minutes to respond and when they did they were rude and gruff. These are supposed to be the caregivers to your loved ones and you would expect them to treat them with kindly and HELP them when they are in PAIN, not prolong an steady painful experience. Overall, my father said that he would give Thornton ³⁄₅. If you’re going there for surgery, ask questions and be vigilant of your loved one’s needs, bc the nurses can’t always be reliable to do so.

The fact that you are FORCED TO pay for parking is a joke. Like they don’t make enough already, what a money grab. Traffic is horrid to 5 and 805, but the doctors are on point, what are ya gonna do?

The only thing I can say about this place that is not 100% is the parking situation. It is difficult to say the least, but worth it for the excellent care and personal attention.

Beautiful facility (minus the construction going on) but really… super inconvenient place for the ER. I came here on 1/3…(great start to the New Year, right?) and the process took way too long.
Staff here is super nice and amazing but I don’t understand why it takes 20 minutes to sign discharge papers, and how it takes another 25 – 30 just to clear a bed.
4 stars because I pride myself in being a UCSD student, but lacking a star because I can’t believe how incredibly slow everyone is moving… in the ER.

I recently had total hip replacement at UCSD Thornton. I cannot say enough how greatful I am to the surgical team there but my overall experience at Thornton was really exceptional. From the food service to the staff on the floor my stay there was of complete satisfaction. If I am ever on need of hpspital services UCSD Thornton is my choice hands down.

The place looks very nice and new. Very clean and elegant. The staff is nice. My question is this place does not really take care of the patient. My husband suddenly eye swollen and mouth numb. He never has these thing before and don’t know what is. We went to UCSD emergency room at Sunday. The doctor just look at him and say he is allergy. We ask what allergy for and he said no way to test it. No testing, no checkup. Give some over counter medicine. We ask if symptom getting worse, who will go. He said Dermatologist. We ask him if he can refer to any doctor to following up but he say don’t know any doctor to following. After we search internet, this thing should see an allergy specialist. UCSD has such a big allergy department, he is not refer to. After two days his medicine, the symptom getting worse, we call UCSD allergy department, they said they need referrals to see their specialist. I state that he went to UCSD emergency room one day ago and has a record there. The UCSD Allergy staff say she have to have a referrals to fax to her to schedule an appointment. I call his primary doctor out of UCSD system but he is not available. I call UCSD Emergency room, they said the doctor see him Sunday is out of office and can’t give a referral. I ask if she can call the doctor and she said no. She said if it worse, we have to go to their emergency room again to get a referral. Their emergency room doctor is not treat him right at first visit, and we need second visit to spend money and time on it.
What kind of UCSD health system are? How many circle we need to go through to get the right treatment? The time is critical for treat the patient. We pay big money for emergency room but get nothing done.

The very absolute best hospital in San Diego! The hospital staff was so kind, compassionate, understanding, and informative. I do not enjoy being in the hospital at all; but the nurses made this experience amazing! I ended up being admitted and stayed in here during my birthday. The staff wrote out a very lovely note full of birthday wishes and gave me a candle which cheered me up and made me feel better. This is the only hospital that I ever see myself choosing to go to in San Diego!

I researched and picked this hospital becuase they were supposedly the best. This has been the worst experience. I came here because I did not have a good first experience in a hospital 3 hours away. The doctor is pedigreed, and the hospital is supposed to be a Magnet hospital. I think JAHCO needs to step in and question the practices and procedures in this place. I had a Total Hip replacement yesterday. It wasn’t until noon that there was any semblance of pain control. I may have slept a total of 3 hours since my surgery yesterday morning. Not to mention that I had to argue with the anesthesiologist about what type of anesthesia I wanted to chose. This started out in Pre-​OP as an anxious mess, and hasn’t gotten better. Housekeeping doesn’t really do anything. I finally got a box of tissues, and the nurse kept saying that I was getting a box a tissue and I’m ready to be discharged. To be honest I feel as though the nurses in the facility are ready for me to leave and do not really care about my health, This is extremely distressing. Why am I being treated like a number, or an insurance carrier rather than a patient with needs. I have actually been checked on by my nurse twice today. An actual hey are you ok type check. That is ALL. I wish that I had seen Unilocal before I made this decision. This as such a life decision for me and I regret making this choice here.

This is place is Great. Their facility is amazingly parallel to the service that is carry onto their patients. I happen to catch the name of two nurses (I hope I didn’t offend them for not mentioning the right title for the field they’re in) that stood out in assisting my love ones. Thank you Patrick and Jamie. Not only are you guys professional but you also take the intuitive to go above and beyond by showing that you care in you work. Being in retail, I know how much greater the experience to a customer than the product. You guys are a product of great assets to the company. Thanks again! If I don’t return it’s a good sign that I was well treated!
p. s. for other reviewers who complain over the price or service of this place must mean you haven’t gone to less nicer facility or location.

Seriously one of the best hospitals in San Diego to work for! I have been a registered nurse here for over 2 years and it’s really a phenomenal, healthy work environment! I love my job here and I love the benefits I have. Furthermore, I’m proud of UCSD and I feel safe and confident being not only a nurse here but a patient here.

I have been a long time patient with UCSD and have always been pleased with the medical care provided by both the physicians and medical staff. HOWEVER, this review is specifically for the physician and hospital billing facilities for UCSD Health Center.
I am becoming very reluctant in continuing my care with UCSD Health because of both billing departments. There always seem to be some «issue with the system,» clerical errors on my insurance registration affecting billing, or shifting of money already paid to somewhere else in my record-​affecting the date of service it was actually meant for. (The last part has happened more than once. I’ve been billed for the same date of service before, paid the corresponding fees for the specific work done… only to get billed AGAIN for the exact same thing. It took a lot of nagging on my part for them to see where the payment went and it was posted somewhere else!) There seems to be no sense of administrative order in either billing department. Customer service for both billing departments are very mediocre at best. UC San Diego provides excellent medical care but the entire billing system needs a lot of changes. Basic customer service training should also be considered for the billing staff.

After updating my last review my mother called up to the hospital. She spoke with a nurse manager who came in and talked to me in person. She was very sweet and understanding. She found a nurse who could get an IV in and helped with my pain. I ended up getting moved into a private room and the remainder of my stay went way better.
I hope that my situation helps them realize what patients are going through. There are some great doctors, nurses and other health care professionals working there but the level of care had been lacking way too often.

This review is specifically for the billing department/​billing practices at the UCSD Medical Center in La Jolla. I’d like to start by saying that I’ve always received great care from the doctors and nurses at UCSD and they are almost always friendly, warm and competent. I appreciate them.
However, the billing department at this facility is in need of serious improvement. I was scheduled for an MRI two months ago and, upon checking in, was required to pay my deductible even though I had already met my deductible with my insurance provider. The receptionist would not believe this fact, so I was charged an additional $ 300. I called the billing department the next day and, though they confirmed that I should not have been charged this additional amount, they said I would have to wait 6 – 8 weeks for a reimbursement. They would not issue a refund onto my credit card, which have been simple and immediate.
It has now been over 8 weeks, and I have still not received my reimbursement. After speaking to the billing department again this morning, they said that their reimbursement department is running behind and I should receive my reimbursement at some point. Apparently many people are calling asking about their overdue reimbursements. When asking to speak to a manager, I was connected to a voicemail but they would not provide me with a direct number.
I value the medical care provided by this hospital. However, the way in which it is being run makes me very reluctant to use their services. With many wonderful medical facilities in San Diego, I hope the financial side of UCSD will make a concerted effort to improve so that patients continue to seek out their qualified physicians. As it stands, the poor billing practices are cheating both patients and physicians of this hospital. I’ve noticed that the ONLY Unilocal responses that receive a comment from UCSD are the positive reviews. I would hope that someone at UCSD would start addressing the issues that people are posting so that they can improve their facilities as a whole.

BY FAR THE WORST POSSIBLE HOSPITAL IN ALL OF CALIFORNIA!!! READ BEFORE EVEN HEADING TO THIS DUMP!!!
I went to sdsu hospital because they have a burn ward and I am a burn victim. First off EVERY PATIENT HAS TO PAY FOR PARKING $ 8-​$ 15 A DAY!!! SO IF U R VISIT REQUIRES YOU TO STAY MAKE SURE U BRING EXACT CHANGE!!!
The food was worst than prisoner food… they served me powdered eggs and 3 day expired milk. mmmmm!!!Every single Filipino nurse just says «let me call your doctor» as a way of avoiding to do any work whatsoever… Only took me a few hours to say adiós and find another burn ward. And as I left it was almost as if they chuckled and said oh well that’s how it goes… I wouldn’t take my enemies to this slum. Stay trashy, San Diego university hospital…

Disgusting waiting room. Plus, the front desk was rude. I have volunteered in different ED’s and there is always someone sanitizing and picking up trash. I’ve been in the waiting room 3+ hours (this is another story), not a single person has came around. I would think further measures would be taken at this time due to flu season etc.
Given we are in the emergency department, multiple people are frantic, grumpy, not feeling well and etc, it’s a must to make patients feel at ease and welcomed. My father and I did not have that experience what so ever. Except from the two nurses, who offered help when we were not seen yet.

Wow, so many negative reviews. People must forget that doctors are human too. If they need to check off all of the bases to make sure you are healthy, then let them. That is their job!
Anyways, this review is for the Perlman woman’s health center. I am currently pregnant seeking care and I’ve had exceptional experience. Dr. Gross is a saint. I transferred care from Kaiser and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Kaiser basically stole all of my money. Bills after bills after bills. I do have better insurance with my husbands plan, but I have not had to pay a single dime since being here.
We are excited to have our baby with UCSD as our guidance. Thank you to all!!!