Crestwood Behavioral Health, Bakersfield: Has Your Family Member Been Harmed While Admitted to Crestwood?

January 26, 2026

December 1, 2019: The Los Angeles Times’ investigative report on deaths and abuses in California psychiatric facilities showed that a patient who had been admitted to Crestwood’s psychiatric facility in Bakersfield, CA died after being transported to a nearby hospital. State investigators found Crestwood partially responsible. 

The Times also reported the following abuses: 

In 2017, a female patient had a sexual interaction with a male staff member, according to a state health department report. Any sexual contact between staff and patients is considered abuse. IN

2018: The facility had cameras in rooms where patients disrobe, which is against policy. There was also no way to track which staff had access to those videos, according to state records. 

In 2019, when a patient said a staff member broke her arm, the hospital did not investigate the abuse allegation, according to a state investigation.

In 2019 and again in 2020, patients escapted the facility due to staff failures to adequately monitor them. 

Though not reported by the Times, in 2024, a patient committed suicide at the facility and was not found by staff until it was too late.

If you have a family member who was abused or who died at Crestwood's Bakersfield psychiatric facility, please report it to Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) here. Your report is 100% confidential and CCHR will respond.