John Muir Health Behavioral Health Center, Inpatient Services - Concord, California

Cassandra R.

I was here from the end of May 2024 to June 2024 for SI at the blossom unit. I don't remember much, but I had an allergic reaction to the food that gave me rashes. They didn't do anything. They just had me wait there while not giving me any medicine or helping me. The food was like a 4 or 5 out of 10. We went outside a couple of times, and they had a big space to just chill. The psychiatrist seemed like he didn't care about the patients. Personally, this place did not help. Many other places are better than this.

Cedar

hiya, i’m cedar. was here from feb 8-11 2025. i was in the blossom unit. to those who knew me from then, my ig is @mossbrained.

this facility was better than the one i was transferred from, especially the food. but it still wasn’t the best.

there were several good nurses. i wish i could remember their names. one of them helped me a lot when i was having a bad anxiety attack. the attending, dr. smirnoff, was quite flat in his manners of speech and hard to communicate with—i believe others might find him triggering, with how he would talk to you. talking to other patients helped me more than talking to dr. smirnoff, honestly. most of the nurses were indifferent or somewhat rude. i didn’t like misty very much.

(an interesting anecdote about dr. smirnoff: he seemed slightly off-put by my vaguely gory plan to commit. i would have thought he’d seen everything there was to see, since he looked like he was in his 60s.)

we had scheduled outside time, which was highly appreciated. however, if anybody broke even a smaller rule (eg making an inappropriate joke) we would all have to go back inside, though.

the other patients during my stay were quite friendly. i was lucky to get a good roommate. when going here, ensure to make friends with the other patients. it makes it easier.

the groups were honestly a hit-or-miss. at least to me. i’ve only just begun treatment (going here was the catalyst for finally receiving the help i need), so maybe that’s why.

we had to get up very early in the morning (at least according to my roommate), at about 7am, to have our vitals taken.

we were only allowed two phone calls with ten minutes each per shift. they allowed me to get my friends’ phone numbers off of my phone, while someone was watching me.

to add more detail about the food—it was better than the place i was transferred from, where all they had was microwaved meals. but it was often still tasteless. they managed allergies a bit weirdly. i’m allergic to salmon and they acted odd about some of the food that they had, despite it obviously containing no salmon.

every room has its own bathroom. the automatic sinks were hard to use, and the showers were also confusing. the toilets are extremely loud and somewhat triggering for me.

the sheets of the beds are rough and like rags. i only slept under the sheets once during my stay. they didn’t really keep the cold out, regardless.

since i can’t think of anything else to write, i’ll now give some overall rating. this facility was helpful to me in some ways, and their overall quality wasn’t too bad. but most of the nurses weren’t very helpful, and neither was the psychiatrist. better than the other place, but still only a 3/5.

Adam M.

John Muir Hospital is truly exceptional! The staff here are amazing—compassionate, attentive, and dedicated to providing the best care possible. The hospital goes above and beyond to accommodate various dietary needs, offering delicious meals that make a real difference during recovery. What stands out most is the way they care for kids with so much love and attention, making them feel comfortable and supported throughout their stay. It's a great place that combines professionalism with genuine kindness. Highly recommend!

cash M.

Food is fire. Thats the only reason they get three stars, otherwise it’s a business like any other business and anything but perfect behavior gets you an extended stay ($$$), including not making your bed in the morning. The staff is constantly agitated which makes sense cause they work with mentally ill children but at the end of the day thats what they signed up for. It’s hard work but it doesn’t warrant the pure anger that almost all of them have at any given moment. Once me and a roommate walked out to the day room because we didn't know we weren't supposed to and the receptionist said she’d fight us if we had a problem (?). Same receptionist got on the phone with my dad, who I didn’t feel like talking to, and she talked to him for a good 20 minutes about how I was a bad kid for not wanting to talk and she was even giggling with the old man. Insanely unprofessional woman. Counselor physically held me back when I tried to leave a VOLUNTARY meeting (that behavior would've gotten a patient booty juiced). Gave me mood stabilizers that made me go crazy, had a laughing fit during school hour and had to leave the day room. One of the counselors nearly knocked down my (already open) door for that and yelled at me at the top of his lungs for a good 15 minutes even though i couldnt help my laughs. He seems to have chilled out since then though. Theres a bathroom in every room which makes it worth it honestly.

bailey B.

I was here in january and this was a last resort since i’ve been hospitalized before for suicidal ideation. The staff were very rude in the children’s unit and it honestly seemed like some of them liked triggering the patients there. I was also threatened with being sedated because I was crying (I was not being unsafe or doing anything bad) They also didn’t inform my mom until after I took the drug. On my first day there another girl was getting discharged and she wasn’t making it very hard to tell that she needed more help. The girl was saying she was gonna hurt herself when she got home at group and talking about it openly. The staff didn’t care at all and she was still discharged. I was also roommates with a girl that I believe was going through psychosis and she was probably sedated at least once everyday I asked for a room change because I legit had no privacy since she was on a 1-1, but apparently I was to "high risk" for a room change. The social worker that was working on my case also told my dad that I was faking it and “liked" going to hospitals so I don’t understand how I could’ve been high risk if I was faking it. There was also a 8 year old girl in my unit I don’t know why she was there, but she was playing around in the hallways and she went into another persons room, you know a normal 8 year old thing to do. Well the staff that was watching her put on one of his gloves and started threatening her "don’t make me put on my other glove" basically threatening to either restrain her or sedate her. The food was also not much of a choice, so if you didn’t like something or were allergic you just wouldn’t eat that meal. I don’t recommend this place at all, honestly this place just made me scared to ask for help and I had nightmares about it for months afterwards. They also would heavily medicate you if you were being "annoying" or crying, if you didn’t take the meds willingly they would threaten to sedate you even if you haven’t tried to hurt yourself or others. don’t ever send a loved one here please, this is just from the children’s unit I can’t imagine the other ones.

Syn H.

Don't send your child here. There's a staff member, Mr. Dewey who is cruel towards kids. Intentionally triggers them. My kid left there feeling worse due to that man's behavior.
He shouldn't even be around kids.

cc

the food was good, they have a personal chef, the rooms were nice although some are colder than others. the staff in the day as well as the midnight shift are really nice. the evening shift can be kind of strict but are still very nice in my opinion. some social workers don’t understand, and will try to convince you that you have no reason to be in the mental hospital. it has its pros and cons but i’d say my experiences were really lucky.

Josh F.

Not ideal atmosphere for healing. They do not let patients go outside for fresh air and sunshine.
They did not create a safe discharge plan. They sent my daughter out to find a shelter on her own because she no longer met criteria to stay. She is fairly functional but has Autism with some executive functioning challenges. She was discharged late in the day which will prevent her from securing a shelter bed because it is first come first serve. This may leave her on the street tonight.
No compassion or individualized care received.