Watts Health Center

Watts Health Care also have a clinic called Crenshaw Community. The doctors are great. They just take to long to see you. Having an appointment at this place doesn’t seem to mean anything.

I would give this place a 0 it’s ghetto theirs lots of ghetto people and some are rude bring breakfast and lunch cause your gunna seat down for hours in order for them to see you! Avoid this place don’t come here!!! It’s a waste of day save you precious time and don’t come here you will thank me later !!!

I went to the Watts Health Foundation 9÷3÷2013 due to a really bad toothache. I was seen by a dentist within 30 mins. Which I thought was great service. The staff was very friendly except for the 2 receptionist at the front desk but anyway I thought that the dentist would remove the tooth and relive me of this terrible pain instead I was given a prescription for 30 antibiotics and 20 pain killers and thought that the tooth would be extracted within a week but instead I was given an appointment for 11÷6÷2013 for the extraction. So I had to search all over again for a dentist that was not trying to cheat me by telling me that I only need a ROOT CANAL that would cost $ 1000.00 /​plus to save the tooth and they haven’t even seen my mouth. So I went to another dentist and was given a immediate referral for a tooth extraction. Now lets see how this office handles toothaches. Sorry Watts Health Foundation you dropped the ball with me.

This is a cool little clinic that have everything here. From. physical therapy, dental, pediatric, adult care, urgent care, etc. Everyone who works there is nice and down to earth. They also offer free rapid HIV rapid testing. 20 minutes top before results.

I can understand why this place only has four reviews (as of now) considering it’s been around for a long #$% time.
1) People don’t want to admit they were in Watts.
2) They don’t want to admit they went to a free clinic — let alone one in Watts.
3) They want to keep what a gem this place is to themselves.
I am none of the above and just want to rave about what a great community health center this place is. I truly felt the «community» when I was here.
How does this place work? As I learned (forgive me if I’m wrong with anything), the first thing you do if you’ve never been or do not have health insurance, is to register (at the first door marked «REGISTRATION»). There is an income requirement (there’s a max). However, they do not turn people away. When I went, I was between insurance and jobs. If I was going to get the insurance they offer, they would have to verify my income (recent pay stub, etc.) or employment/​unemployment status. I explained I was going to get insurance soon. They gave me a temp insurance card for their services for one week.
I also inquire if they would be willing to cover me up until I get my health insurance. They were so helpful and obliging. The person who helped me was so sweet.
With their temp insurance card, I just paid a $ 30 visitation fee to use their Urgent Care. Paid it with a credit card and went to Urgent Care. The waiting process was two hours. I highly recommend going early when the place opens, registering quickly, and going to Urgent Care or whatever ASAP. Because I didn’t know to go to Registration, I wasn’t there first. And yes, the wait was very long if you’re not there first and their needs aren’t pressing. But I’ve racked up $ 1200 for a short visit to the ER once, so I’m not going to complain.
I will also warn it’s not about order as much as urgency. The fewer the people in front of you in general, the better things are. Just get there at opening and you should be fine.

I woke up yesterday with a strange, full-​body, crazy scary raised, itchy rash. It was definitely an allergic reaction to something and definitely NOT cute.
Completely freaked out, I Unilocaled allergists and doctors and called each one. Nobody was open yet, so I found Watts Health Center and drove from Venice Beach to Compton hoping that my throat wouldn’t close up along the way.
Parking was plentiful and free. I ran into the Urgent Care unit where the receptionist took one look at my swollen, red, lumpy, itchy face and immediately called over a nurse to take my vitals.
The nurse, Elaine, was the sweetest, kindest, friendliest darling and she helped me feel calmer about the whole situation. She had me relax in a room while she ran off to get a doctor and the nicest, most wonderful doctor I’ve ever come across in my life came in within 30 minutes.
«Oh honey, we can’t have you looking all lumpy for Thanksgiving!» Dr. Morrison was funny and professional, warm and caring. I’d never experienced healthcare like this ever, IN MY LIFE (and –unfortunately– I’ve been to a couple hospitals in my day, including Cedars SInai).
Roberto administered my shots and he was quick and efficient. Dr. Morrison gave me some ice packs to bring down the itching and swelling and she came back to check on me several times before calling in a prescription to the CVS across the street and discharging me.
I do NOT have health insurance at the moment and was worried about what the total cost would be. Normally with insurance, the bill would be $ 895… But the total cost, out the door for me? $ 30. OMG.
Yep. A «3» with one «0» after it. Seriously.
Feeling less itchy, less lumpy, and much happier, I started wandering around the hospital looking for the cashier. One of the hospital employees noticed where I was going and here is how the exchange went:
Nice staff worker: «Hi, you look lost. Can I help you find something?»
Me: «Yes, please… I’m looking for the cashier so I can pay for my services today.»
Nice staff worker: «Sure, no problem! Follow me, I’ll walk you there.»
Me: «Wow, thank you! This is seriously the hospital with the nicest staff that I’ve ever been to in my entire life. Everyone here is so friendly!!»
Nice staff worker (chuckling): «Well, it takes a lot more energy to be mean than it does to be nice. In fact, when you’re nice, that gives you more energy!»
I nodded and decided to carry that with me the rest of the day/​week/​month/​year/​my life. Words of wisdom.
I paid my $ 30 and left completely healed and nourished… Not just my body, but also my heart.
Thank you, Watts Health Center in Compton. Your service and staff are unmatched and truly care… I’m a fan for life.

As someone who’s pretty much always had health insurance, I take for granted my access to medical care. I had no idea how difficult it is for a person without coverage to find affordable care when they need it most, even for the simplest thing. My boyfriend who just got hired as a substitute teacher (BTW, subs don’t get health benefits) needed to get the usual TB test his employer asked for. We visited 2 county clinics in the South LA area where we live, but they both turned him away! There is so much bureaucracy here, it sucks. Both clinics told him there are hours of operation for TB testing, and unfortunately, he was late coming to see them so they couldn’t help him. One of the clinics gave him a list of other free clinics to call and we thought this would help, but it didn’t. As he was driving, I was calling and I was shocked to find out that many low-​income/​free county clinics no longer do TB testing for employment purposes on a walk-​in basis. They only offer this service for children that need it for school and for adults that need it for their public housing application purposes. WTF! So I did the next best thing I could think of and I started calling local clinics, you know the ones named after Catholic saints in Spanish, that not surprisingly service Latinos mostly. One clinic told me that without insurance my boyfriend would have to pay $ 85 for his TB test. That’s outrageous! This clinic takes advantage of people without medical coverage. We both said the hell with that and drove straight to Watts headed for the King/​Drew Medical Center. We were desperate. This test was the last item on his list to get cleared and activated for work. So on our way there we drove by the Watts Health Center. For a Friday afternoon the parking lot seemed halfway full. At that point we felt we had nothing to lose so we stopped in and gave it a try. To our surprise, the staff was very nice and helpful, and the facility was not rundown. Because it was late in the afternoon, we were told my boyfriend would have to be registered as an urgent care patient. Within 15 minutes he was registered because there wasn’t a waiting room full of sick people like I had assumed, it was just us. After that we were told to walk over to urgent care which is on the backside of the center. We did wait a while here, but it wasn’t anything like I assumed it would be. It wasn’t super busy nor crowded. The nurses were helpful and friendly, as well as the doctor. In total, we were there 2 hours and the TB test cost only $ 15. In the future, we will be coming back here if either of us ever needs affordable medical care without insurance.

Community Health Center offering Free and Low Cost Quality Health Services to the entire family. If you or someone you know needs to see a doctor, medicine, or a simple checkup. Don’t let lack of insurance or money keep you from seeing someone.
I highly recommend this location. It’s great. It’s in Watts, yes but don’t let that be a stigma. The facility is great, it’s better than standing at the county hospital for hours. Trust me, you won’t be here waiting for hours. Of course if you can come with an appointment, more power to you
Hours: Clinic Hours 8:00am– 5:30pm Monday-​Friday
Urgent Care 8:00am-7:00pm Monday-​Saturday
Accessible to persons with disabilities.