Central Health Center

Jan 2024

I had to get the COVID vaccine for my kids last month, and let me tell you: if vaccinating children under five is at all a public health priority, not a soul in Los Angeles is acting like it. A year ago, I was able to vaccinate my now three-year-old at a Kaiser clinic where you could basically walk in, but boy have things changed. I was on a short deadline (older kid needed the vaccine to go back to school after winter break) and it was a struggle finding a place that would take us. We're all Cedars patients, and our pediatrician doesn't carry the vaccine, and I spent hours on the phone and the Cedars website following poorly demarcated trails leading to a) a Cedars injection center with no availability for a month and b) the California government website. That website listed outdated information from when more people must have cared about COVID because I called several pharmacies and health centers that supposedly provided the vaccine for young kids, and none of them would actually do it until--cue the fucking trumpets--I got to the Los Angeles County Central Health Center. They picked up right away, and I talked to a human, who let me book an appointment for my two boys the following morning. I promised them a zoo day after a quick, no-biggie trip to get shots, accompanied by our nanny and her very patient eight-year-old niece. We found easy metered parking off Figueroa and headed into the Central Health Center. It felt like an orderly government office. We checked in and I filled out some paperwork, then we sat in the waiting room until the nurse was ready to see us. This took longer than anticipated--the place was somewhat busy when we arrived--but the people working there were nice, and we didn't feel forgotten. When it was our turn, the nurse led us into her office and quickly, compassionately administered the shots. My kids both cried, but they received lots of praise and also several stickers, which have ended up on my laptop. The nurse was a really kind Korean woman who thought my boys were super handsome and gave out endless fruit snacks (which my three-year-old calls "sweet gums" for some reason). We had to wait around for twenty minutes so she could monitor the kids for negative reactions, and this was a long time, but the waiting room had emptied out and the nurse hung out with us and played with the children. My meter ran out, but no ticket, no foul. The appointment took longer than anticipated, but it was a pretty painless experience that helped me solve a pain-in-the-ass problem. The baby still needs his booster, so we'll probably be back to the Central Health Center soon. I hope he gets more play time with that nice nurse.

Feb 2023

Great staff, front desk, and very helpful nurses!Unfortunately, it was Dr. Hong that was NOT great. I was very sick and feared I had Monkeypox. I had chills, fatigue, fever, migraines, body aches and very swollen lymph nodes.He didn't believe me and said it was skin infection and rushed me out. I wasn't even in the exam room for more than two minutes!!!I then went to the other health clinic near Leimert Park and described my symptoms and they immediately put on hazmat gear, isolated me and swabbed my blisters for (Orthopoxvirus) and told me to isolate for a week. A few days later they confirmed I had monkeypox and followed up with me too see If I was okay.Had I not...read full review