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Joseph M Smith Community Health Center
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- Yes
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5 reviews for Joseph M Smith Community Health Center
If this place is close to you, it's really not a bad place to go for your basic healthcare needs.
There's a new doctor there, Dr. Forth, who is really good and seems to know her stuff.
It has a reputation for being the clinic of undocumented immigrants, which it may be, but it really does an above adequate job at providing basic health care.
The front staff are mostly Hispanic women, but they do speak fluent English. Clientele is very diverse- actually very few Americans, or anyone for that matter, did I see checking in with insurance other than myself. The nurse techs are incredibly nice and skilled.
Anyway, they treat everyone the same, and if you value diversity, and want good, quality, healthcare by a friendly staff, check this place out.
I have been going to Joseph M. Smith Community Health Center for about five years. I've had a couple of PCPs there, but my current one (and one I've had for about two to three years) is Christine Nelson.
This review is going to have a few parts, going from front desk, back office administration, to the actual providers.
The administrative staff leaves much to be desired. Getting a referral, unless gotten directly from the doctor, is a very lengthy, and sometimes nightmare-ish process. I now only work directly with my PCP regarding this, because she knows how much of a pain it is. The referrals take weeks to get, and they sometimes write referrals for the wrong people (like out of network doctors).
The call reminders are irregular at best, and the system they use to route their calls will direct you to a phone line that will put you on hold for several minutes (before you just hang up). I just press zero, and the call is directed to the same line of the people that actual make the appointments, which is the front desk.
The front desk doesn't really know what is urgent. Triage would cry if they knew what types of calls the front desk doesn't send to them. "I have a seizure disorder that is triggered by lack of sleep, and I haven't slept for four days" sits the same way as "I have the sniffles. OMG. SWINE FLU?!?!?!". The more urgent things (the first scenario is not something I made up), I just ask for triage. I usually get appointments within 24 hours, or 72 hours at worst. Just to note, triage will call BS if you have the sniffles, so don't try it.
The nurses that take you in to take your blood pressure are hit or miss. There is one lady who you will notice right off the bat she is not very compassionate. She is not mean, she just doesn't really know what bed side manner is, like the type you know was never really hugged as a child.
There is a woman's health center, and they are generally A-OK. I've never had an issue with them. They seem pretty aware of trauma issues, too, which I know is important to a lot of women (like me).
Now on to the Primary Care Physicians:
I've had Dr. Caruth as a PCP before, and it just wasn't working for me. I don't remember precisely what it was, but I think it was the lack of knowledge regarding the "out of the ordinary" stuff, or lacking the explanations behind things.
And now the only reason I'm giving this place any stars...
My current PCP is Dr. Christine Nelson. She is a kind, compassionate, and very knowledgeable person. I will say she knows where her priorities are as a health care professional. She may not know right off the top of her head the name of every medication in the book - at least a couple of times she and I were stuck because we totally knew the name of it, but it was right on the tip of our tongue - but she knows her stuff regarding the actual ailment. From my perspective, she knows that medications can be researched very easily, but thorough knowledge of any ailment in relation to the person's lifestyle, medical history, and other miscellaneous factors is intrinsic knowledge to being a provider who is helping someone get healthy, not just on whatever new medication there is.
She is very up-do-date with health information (I will say she is cautiously "cutting edge") and will give you a reasonable and logical explanation of anything you bring up to her. Her first words to you will be, "So how may I be of help to you today?", making it very obvious that she is listening. She and I will spend most of the appointment discussing options and what's best, not just what's new.
All in all, I would recommend Joseph Smith only if having an amazing PCP like Christine Nelson is important to you. It is also handy if think you may lapse in health insurance, because they are the only clinic in these parts that accepts Health Safety Net.
I absolutely hate the Joseph Smith Community Health Center, and strongly advise others to stay away. There are other, better options in Boston! I've had so many awful, demeaning experiences at JSCHC that I am no longer a patient. Too often, I was not given adequate care, or even treated with an iota of understanding or respect. Considering the seriousness of the matter--it's my health we're talking about, after all--I just refuse to frequent an unprofessional, rigid, clinic where the nurses and doctors fundamentally lack compassion and do not care about your well being.
Many years ago, when I was first a patient here, I found this facility to be truly excellent, and would have recommended their services to anyone. At the time, I did not have health insurance, and had a problem that needed immediate medical attention. Joseph Smith came through for me by way of the Women's Health Network, and a wonderful doctor, Marianna Helen, who has since moved on to practice another field of medicine. She was unbelievably compassionate, understanding, reasonable, humorous, incredibly knowledgeable, and passionate about her work. The staff I have dealt with ever since has been the exact opposite. That is, on the rare occasions I could even get an appointment, which was a trial, every time, in and of itself.
Christine Helen and Stephenson Tobierre are two of the least understanding health care providers I have had the misfortune of knowing. I won't go into personal, medical details, but suffice to say these people do not truly understand the depths of anxiety or insomnia--nor do they care to. I am actually shocked and appalled by their attitudes, which are very out-dated and outrageously conservative. (I mean, my pharmacist even acknowledged that their practices are ridiculous!) The health care providers here are simply too busy and too uninterested to really get involved with you, and it's just terrible.
I could go on forever about this place, but instead, I'll say this: go somewhere else. You're worth it.
I hate this place. While Dr. Eastman is GREAT, getting an appointment is AWFUL. Everything about this place is awful, starting with the terribly tiny parking lot, basically all full of staff cars. They always take you late. Their referral process is RIDICULOUS. I called in to get a referral, left a msg., never heard anything back about whether my referral was submitted...in turn, it wasn't. So I went in to discuss it. WAITED ONE HOUR for the referrals woman, who said I had to make an appointment with my PCP first to get a referral, and that she was doing me a favor by squeezing me in within 2 weeks. Why couldn't someone call me back to explain this process?!?!? I was absolutely outraged, missed my specialist appointment, and frankly can't wait to find myself a new doctor's office.
I had the opposite experience from Adrienne. Well, the desk staff was very nice and bilingual, but they were an hour late taking me back for my appointment, then I had to wait another 20 min for the nurse practitioner once in the exam room. Their appointments are strictly limited to 15 minutes and on the first appointment they only do a history and discuss one health issue!!! In fact, they did not even do a thorough history on me. They were unwilling to discuss natural alternatives (to feaking Metamucil- it's not like I wanted all-natural cholesterol meds or something). Basically I lost two hours of my life and obtained no medical help for the one issue I was allowed to discuss. And the appointment was made 2 months in advance because it was the "first available," but there were walk-ins being seen that same day- pisses me the fuck off! I am lucky enough to have good insurance, so I will never set foot in there again. I feel bad for people whose only medical option is that crappy standard of care.
