Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center

been going to Kaiser for over 20 years for my parents and now my son, sadly I am very unsatisfied, after taking my dad constantly for his diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and taking constant blood work sometimes even up to 15 tubes, I asked his Dr if there was any type of test that could be done on him just because his 8 brothers and sisters all died of different types of cancer, one test was done a few years ago and Dec 29 he was diagnosed with cancer and passed less then a month later, how is that when he went to the doctor sometimes even 3 times a week. Then the Dr was so rude when she told him and the entire family he had cancer, cold hearted. Will definitely consider another hospital/​dr office for my family.

This place is ok if your looking for toxic and dangerous cancer treatments.
Before getting cancer treatment please watch these 11 cancer documentaries. It could save your life!
Wellness for life:

What happened to Kaiser??? It’s quality has gone way down. Very dissatisfied with the service here from the ER. No communication between staff/​departments. They had us wait for the results of my wife’s blood work, only to realize an hour later that they couldn’t find it, so they had to draw blood again. Awful!

After 3 ½ years I am seriously aggravated with this PLAN.
I STILL have not been provided with a licensed Psychologist… they simply are not going to pay those salaries… WRONG!
My primary care physician has NEVER used his stethoscope, so last week I asked him about it so he listened to my heart and breathing… AS IF HE CARED!
Plenty of other problems.
I needed to see a podiatrist and I got sent to Bum F… Egypt, doc was short and threw prescriptions at me that I had to buy expensive shoes and inserts for arthritis in my toes. I had a follow up scheduled to see if the shoes were working out, but his nurse called and cancelled, doc on vacation, and didn’t even schedule another appt.
Also I had a serious kidney stone surgery… 4 diff bacterial infections and a 2 ½ inch stone. NO FOLLOW UP? WOW
The latest… they want me to pay for an ambulance because they said I didn’t need it because I was sitting up and talking. I couldn’t move my fingers or hands, had excruciating pain for 3 days and 2 nights and when 2 fingers swelled up, I called 911. I’ve had to write letters, be on the phone for hours, blah blah… STILL NOT SETTLED? So they are actually calling me a liar. I’ll spare you the details, but the paramedics did not write what I said was wrong, they wrote something completely different, I told them to change it, as it turns out, they did not. Then it said after the doctor examined me, he didn’t find any problem. He NEVER examined me, He came in and said ‘howdy’, how do you feel… no tests or exams… gone! Had to beg for transportation home and they made me wait for 2 hours.
Now they think I’m going to pay $ 1125 for the ambulance ride.
OTHER health plans actually provide transportation, so IF Kaiser did the same, I could have found a way to Urgent Care instead of Emergency, but I couldn’t drive and couldn’t find a ride.
I’m pretty much on my last nerve with them.
I was approved by Medi-​Cal for that stomach sleeve procedure 3 ½ years ago. I’ve been denied 3 times to even visit bariatrics at Kaiser, each time they had different excuses.
My doctor IS trying to help me get it, he’s sending me to see if I have ‘sleep apnea’ (?).
If I have that, I will be eligible for the sleeve. How does that make sense?
If you have Medi/​Medi and have L.A. Care, you can have Cedars instead of Kaiser.
They do all of the things Kaiser is denying me AND MORE!
It’s a phone call away as soon as I clear up this ambulance thing. NO WAY am I
paying for it. If they are like that, I’ll be reluctant to ever call 911 again because this might happen again. I don’t trust them at all now.
CHOOSE WISELY
Just because THEY claim to have one of the best staffs, and you see it in other reviews,
remember it IS A BUSINESS and hands get greased for these thing. wink wink

Nurse Tamarin Bastian made our whole Urgent Care experience so wonderful because she was very knowledgable and patient. Our Doctor that took care of me wasn’t as clear and I felt very upset. She noticed that I was worried and unsatisfied with my doctor visit but she saved the day and took the time to hear my concerns and explain what I was unclear about. She made me feel good and that they really care about my satisfaction .
We all hate going to Urgent Care because it’s a hassle and it’s always crowded. I am glad I was taken care by Nurse Bastian.
We need more Nurses and Doctors with the same attitude and empathy like hers!

I have an issue with paying for parking at this facility. I feel that as members we have already paid for our services. We already have to pay co pay’s in addition to membership dues (based on the type of insurance that you have).
Although I tip my hat at the level of preventative maintenance that Kaiser exhibits, I feel that as a member when we take heed to the preventative maintenance reminders (excessive calls/​letters) and go to a Kaiser facility we are then gouged at this location for parking. I will NEVER go to this location again. I went in yesterday for my routine pap smear and upon leaving I went to pay for my parking. The total was $ 4.00. I paid the $ 4.00 and began walking to my car. While walking to my car I saw an old friend who had recently had an aneurysm and a stroke. I stopped to speak with him about his well being. I guess that we must have stood there talking to each other for about 15 minutes. We said our goodbyes and I went to my car. I programmed my GPS system and exited the facility. When I placed my parking ticket into the machine it showed that I owed $ 4.00. I pressed the help button and a representative came on to help. I told her that I had paid the $ 4.00 at the machine upstairs. She asked me how I paid and I told her I paid in cash and received change from the machine. She must have looked up my ticket and said that it had been 15 minutes since I paid for the parking so additional time was added for my parking. So at the end of the day I ended up paying double the parking ($ 8.00 in total) because I stopped to check on a friend’s well being. Is that what this world has come to? Kaiser promotes preventative maintenance and member well being yet I am penalized and charged additional funds for doing something very similar. This is ridiculous Kaiser. If your membership fees do not cover your facility parking you need to increase your membership fees. Do not nickel and dime your loyal members for a trivial thing like parking.

This Kaiser location exceeded my expectations. I was prepared to be there for 3 hours for a physical exam/​blood test because that’s how long it took my roommate. However, she went during Veteran’s day which was probably not a smart idea. The check-​in line was quite long, but fast (~5 mins). Right when I walked into the family medicine department, the nurse literally came out and called my name right away! I was seen at 8:50am (my appt was at 9am). After the exam (~20 or so minutes total) I went straight to the basement for my blood test. I didn’t even have to wait one minute after checking in to see the phlebotomist!
From walking in to leaving, I was there for only 45 minutes. WOW. lucky.
Only con: no free parking. My boyfriend ended up dropping me off so I didn’t have to pay.lol.
Tip: Try to find street parking along Venice to avoid paying the hefty parking fee $ ²⁄₃₀ mins which is probably not enough time.

Let’s see if I can cover all of the awfulness that is Kaiser Cadillac…
1) Lack of communication between offices means you get to make 5 phone calls to find out what you need to pick up a prescription.
2) Lack of knowledge means the first person you talked to got it wrong, so now you get to double check everyone’s work.
3) Doctors who have forgotten their anatomy (or never learned it) and don’t know of basic medical concepts known for decades.
4) Doctors with no bedside manner.
5) Get charged for every visit that you have to make, even when they screwed up.
6) Get charged for everything, even when the doctor makes a mistake.
7) Get charged $ 8 to park every single time.
8) Wait an hour to find out just how incompetent the last two people you talked to were, so you get to walk out and pay for parking again even though YOU DIDN’T EVEN RECEIVE MEDICAL SERVICES DUE TO PURE INCOMPETENCE.
If I can encourage just one person to file a lawsuit against this disaster of a medical facility, then I’ll at least have gotten some satisfaction out of the multiple painful visits here.

The best hospital with efficient doctors and excellent service!
The ICU nurses rock!!!

My father is a doctor at Kaiser redwood city up north. I’ve never ever had a problem with the Kaiser in SF but the Kaiser in Los Angeles sucks balls. do not ever expect them to come on time at your scheduled appointment. They will be anywhere from 20 – 45 min late. The doctors are nice here but lack of time management doesn’t help this hospital especially when people are on a time crunch and have places to be! People do not want to spend half their day at a hospital because doctors are late ok.

Absolutely EXCELLENT service, care, and compassion. I went here to the Emergency Care and explained my head was in massive pain and the receptionist was very wonderful, told me that the doctor would examine me and get me x-​rayed and they will check to see what is causing my pain.
They also let me know that I would be referred to Neurologist and they actually called me back immediately and I was able to get an appointment very fast.
I LOVE my Kaiser insurance and I have been a long time member and know that if I ever get seriously sick, they will always treat me with care, compassion, and care.
When it comes to being well, I am happy that Kaiser is always there for me.
My wait was not long and I was seen within a reasonable time. Everyone here is exceptional and it makes me respect those within the medical profession who truly do care.
Cadillac Kaiser is exceptional.

Kaiser has become so much more efficient in how they go about health care. They gave me an action plan where all my information is in one place. Whenever I have to do lab work, my results are often ready the same day online. They have changes their lab hours btw. I have posted them here

Great doctors awful receptionists. They are rude, seem annoyed by any question you ask, and generally disinterested in anything except going home. If I’m paying to park I expect to be treated with kindness and respect.
On a side note my actual doctor is the best. Friendly efficient and amazing.

Really, I’ve had issues with both West LA and South Bay Harbor City Kaiser medical facilities, but West LA is by far the most incompetent of them all. I’ve been a member of Kaiser since I was a kid and I’m 26 now, so I know what kind of service I should be receiving. I’m a stickler for time, so when I have an appointment I expect to be seen on time and not 15 minutes later. At that point you’re being rude and disrespectful of my time. West LA Kaiser wants you to be there 15 minutes prior to your appointment and they won’t even call you until 30 – 45 minutes AFTER the appointment time. This has happened to me twice in the last 2 months. Please get it together. I’d hate to inconvenience myself and have to drive all the way back out to the South Bay to get quality customer service and medical care.
Another issue is that my primary care physician has her appointments booked 3 months in advanced. What part of the game is that? *side eye* She cannot take care of any of my primary needs if I have to wait 3 months to see her.
Don’t come to Kaiser West LA if you want to be seen on time or if you want to have a solid relationship with your «primary care physician».

Don’t be put off by the negative reviews… after being a Kaiser member now for almost a year, I can gladly say I haven’t had a bad experience here.
Actually, because of the negative reviews, at first I tried to find pediatricians for my kids at other Kaiser locations (like at the two Culver City offices not too far from this one). But at those locations, they were family practice doctors who didn’t routinely see kids younger than 5 yo. After some research, I realized that the big Kaiser pediatrician groups are either based here in West LA or at the Sunset Blvd location.
Both locations are super busy and are in traffic-​laden areas of LA, but after some thought, it made sense to me that the majority of Kaiser pediatricians had their practices adjacent to its major medical centers. Now I have peace of mind knowing that if anything went wrong during an appointment, acute care is very nearby and readily available for the young ones.
We see Dr. Francis Chu and she’s great with all of my three children. I love the LVNs she works with too. I’m a nurse myself and am picky about doctors, competency, and bedside manner. So far, Kaiser has been great all-​around. We’ve come for well visits, sick visits, an ENT consult, an ophthalmology consult, lab work, and the pharmacy… No complaints. I do love that Kaiser has all these services on-​site too. No driving all around town for referral appts, meds, labs, etc…
One cool thing if you take your kids here… They give your child a free age-​appropriate book at every physical until they are 5 years old :)
Parking isn’t free, but it’s not bad considering the area. I’ve never spent more than $ 4 (for about 2 hours or so) and even during peak times, it wasn’t too hard finding a spot. (I always park in the structure with its entrance off of Venice Blvd.)

I had to visit Urgent Care this afternoon for a severe ear infection. The check in Receptionist, Julio Rivera, was cold and rude! I told him several times I couldn’t hear his instructions of where to go due to my ear infection (ears clogged up!), he never once raise his voice to make sure I heard/​understood his instructions and not once asked someone to guide me to my destination.
I had to ask one of the maintenance men I ran across (Jose) who was sweet & kind enough to walk me to where I needed to go. The nursing staff at Family Medicine #150 weren’t friendly at all, thank goodness the MD was! The Pharmacy personnel on the 1^st floor were very friendly and prompt.
On a side note… I had to pay $ 8 for parking for 1.5 hours (from 2:18p to 3:51p, I have the receipt)??? That is ridiculous and a rip off. I hope I do not get sick again that I need Urgent Care, the rude Receptionist and high parking costs made me feel worse. SMH
I’m going to switch to a Kaiser where I’m treated with respect and do not have to pay ridiculous parking fees.

To have to come from UCLA to Kaiser is just the absolute worst. My husband was involved in a motorcycle accident and can’t move his entire right side of his body, therefore, I have been spending day and night with him to help him recover. He was first brought to UCLA which was absolutely great! They immediately notified me of the situation and what paperwork needed to be done and constantly checked up on me all while caring for my husband. Also UCLA was immaculate and had everything you could ever want.
Kaiser sucks in comparison. No one has even talked to me about what I can do about disability or payments or even just how I’m emotianally doing! Also, whenever my husband try to call a nurse for help it takes them about 20+ minutes to answer his call. I talked to one social worker about disability and she had no clue about anything. I knew more than her. This hospital should be paying me for the amount of information I’ve had to learn myself as well as the amount of effort I have put in helping these nurses take care of my husband. And to top it off, I just want a simple coke a cola and from the limited amount of vending machines they have here, everything is diet! (Yuck).
Take me back to UCLA where both my husband and I were taken care of like kings and queens. Everything from his medical issues, to simple in and out valet parking (for $ 2 cheaper than kaiser which does not allow me the ability to go in and out) to food service and quality of food, to the helpfulness or every employee. Ugh I will never use Kaiser insurance again after this ordeal!

This hospital is very clean and the service is great! The vibe is so much more calm than the Kaiser on Sunset in east Hollywood. Notably, the staff on the 5^th floor was very attentive, caring, and understanding with my 84 year old grandma. Her primary nurse’s name was Alex and another nurse I got to meets name was Tone. Both so sweet, considerate, and genuine. I wish I would have taken note of the names of the nurse that came to her room and admitted her, the nurse at the front desk, and the guy who drew my grandma’s blood because they were all so great! If it helps, and if they could get any sort of acknowledgment, especially the nurses I mentioned and who’s names I didn’t catch, my grandma was in room 5609 on the evening of September 9, 2015

When I lived on the Westside, this was the closest 24 hour Kaiser hospital and I did not like my experience here at all.
The departments and clinics were all over the place and not clearly marked.
The pharmacy was ok. It’s usually very busy and you have to wait at least 30 min for your medications.
And the worst part is you have to pay for parking! :(
Parking Rates:
15 – 30 min — $ 1
$ 1 per additional 30 min
$ 8 max per day

I have had a lot of trouble with this specific Kaiser (you can read about it in my previous review), so I contacted them about the issues I’ve been having, and they were so kind and friendly. They made sure that I was able to get an appointment I needed booked later that week right away, and they were very apologetic about everything that I have had to deal with at this Kaiser.
I believe that Kaiser West LA has a lot to improve on when it comes to getting quick service for their customers and I do not think that they should charge for parking. However, although I think that there is plenty of room for improvement, I believe that Kaiser West LA will eventually get there.
I give this place 3 stars because of the outstanding service I just had recently. If this review was based solely on the nurses and doctors, I would give them 10 stars if I could because they are amazing.