Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center PS

Since the Office opened, the Richland, WA Office has provided me excellent service, timely return of phone calls and works to accommodate my schedule. Because I had recurrent sinusitis, Dr. J. Walker referred me to an ENT surgeon who discovered (via MRI) that I had a serious issue with internal sinus passage blockage. Surgery corrected the problem and I am again seeing Dr Walker and his staff at NW Allergy & Asthma. I highly recommend them.

This place is quite unreasonable. Show up 60 seconds late (they end their shot hours at 11am on Saturdays), at 11:01 and they will refuse you, no ‘late’ shots. I understand you have to draw the line in the sand somewhere, but I’m sure the people at the clinic would be upset too if they got a parking ticket issued 1 minute after their parking expired. Seems that the word grace period or for this place ‘grace seconds’, is not part of their dictionary.

Seriously awful. Years ago, we had an amazing allergist here for my teeny anaphylactic kiddo-​DX before 2 years of age. Everything was great, and we always felt like she had enough time, could answer any questions, etc. Then, Dr. Shapiro died, and the clinic chose not to inform her patients. They also NEVER helped us to establish with a new Doc, so we were sort of left wandering aimlessly, which is not a good feeling when you have a vulnerable kid. We never felt like more than a number. Thankfully, a few years back we found a great new allergist at another clinic and we feel like someone cares again.

If I could possibly give 0 stars, I would. I have been attempting to make an appointment with this clinic for 6 solid weeks. At first I callled (after my doctor referred me to NW Allergy), and was told they had not received the referral. (my doctor assured me they had). And this was for a fairly severe allergic reaction, requring an epi pen. So, I call my regular doctor back and request that they send a 2^nd referral in (another week passes). I call to schedule again and they say, they have the referral but cannot schedule me because the Dr.‘s name on my insurance card (assigned by insurance) did not match the name of my actual doctor and that they required me to call the insurance company to issue new cards with my doctor’s name on them (and refused to make the appointment in the meantime). Of course I’m flabbergasted at this, but I call the insurance company and 3 weeks later I receive the cards. I’m finally able to call back to schedule the appointment! (not to mention I’ve called several times in the meantime and haven’t been able to get through after 15 and 20 minute wait times and not receiving calls back after leaving a voicemail). So, I call to schedule (and wait 17 minutes to get through), and they inform me that they do not accept United Healthcare Apple Health (State-​provided insurance) and that I’ll need to find another clnic which accepts this. So, now it has moved well beyond incompetence when it comes to scheduling and into full-​on illegal discrimination. You cannot discriminate against people based on having state-​insurance and decide that they do not have access to the same healthcare choices as everyone else. Shame on this place. Will be looking into a formal legal complaint for this center.

I’d give the place one star but I’m trying to balance out my review.
The doctors are extremely courteous and friendly — I’ve always been treated with respect. They’re also generous with their samples, which is amazing.
Here is the reason for the bad review… I went to this Center for approx 1 – 2 years and saw about 2 – 3 different allergists during this time. My allergic asthma never really improved and, if anything, got worse. For about a year, whenever I visited the Center, I wrote on my intake sheet *and* also complained directly to the allergist that I suffered from a loss of smell. They *never* ran tests or scans on me — just kept prescribing nasal spray and inhalers.
I finally got sick and tired of the worsening asthma and lack of smell, so I went to a pulmonologist at Virginia Mason. They were shocked that the doctors at Northwest didn’t schedule a CT scan once my loss of smell became an ongoing, consistent issue. The pulmonologist referred me to an ENT at Virginia Mason, who expressed the same shock.
They did a CT scan and found that my sinuses were severely impacted — basically, the reason why I lost my sense of smell was because my sinuses were filled with nastiness… which was exacerbated due to lack of proper treatment. I was then referred me to another ENT specialist at Polyclinic, who ALSO expressed shock that that the Northwest allergists never ordered a CT scan on me…
I went to 2 – 3 of them, and not a single one ordered a scan?! WTF.
I ended up having to get surgery to clear my sinus.
I am now much improved and my sense of smell came back full force. I am now a faithful patient of the ENT at the Polyclinic and will, if necessary, go to the allergist there as well.
I feel bad not recommending Northwest since the allergists were all so nice and friendly, but… they really messed up with not ordering a scan and allowing me to suffer that long.
If you run into the same problem as I did, go to the Polyclinic. They did so much to improve the quality of my life!

I couldn’t take the year-​round nasal drip and allergies anymore so I decided to look into immunotherapy. Thankfully my allergies are not life threatening, but who doesn’t want to increase their quality of life if they can help it?
I’ve been coming here for about a year, and I’ve had great interactions with the nurses and Dr. Virant. They have gotten to know me pretty well being a ‘problem child’ with the allergy shots.
Sure, there are odd nuances in that the nurse hotline is a voicemail system, but you figure they call back when your chart is in front of them to discuss your concerns or questions. I’ve had run-​ins with my pharmacy/​insurance not covering name brand meds, but it was resolved between the office and the pharmacy, and not a big deal for me.
I’ve only dealt with courteous and friendly staff, and this allergy season I have been able to go on walks around Green Lake and not have to hide in the house from pollen!!! Thank you NW Allergy & Asthma!

Love Dr. Altman, great office staff, great shot staff. Been coming for severe allergies for a couple years & have never had a bad experience.
They are open for shots 6 days a week & offer free wi-​fi in the lobby. Ample parking & quick office staff. I have never waited longer than 15 min to be seen.

The Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center doesn’t understand that you’re not interested in dealing with their voice mail or having them call you back. If all your representatives really are busy, which I seriously doubt, put me on hold and I’ll wait until they’re not «busy.»

I went there in 2010 after visiting the ER. I visited the ER at two local hospitals after having gotten not one, not two, but three staph infections in just a few short months. The ER doctors couldn’t tell me why it was occurring, saying «we all have bacteria on our skin». I was not happy and satisfied with that response. (I still have a scar to this day from one of the infections, that’s how bad one was, and the other was MRSA). I got tested for skin allergies and wallah what do you know but I was severely allergic to nickel and worked with it on a daily basis. I started taking Zyrtec, avoided working with nickel as much, and haven’t had an infection since. Fast forward to this month, and I have a sinus infection I am put on antibiotics for and on top of that, atleast 5 doctors I’ve seen all say I have horrible allergies/​asthma that symptoms do not get alleviated or go away with allergy medicine. I go back to NW Asthma and Allergy Center, not satisfied with being told there’s nothing that can be done. The doctor takes a nose swab (the first that’s been done on me) and tells me my symptoms do not mimic those of allergies and furthermore, he doesn’t believe I have asthma. I demand a blood test just to be sure, and sure enough, they politely give me one with no fight… turns out they were right, I have absolutely no allergies!!! The doctor believes I have chronic sinus infection that won’t go away due to possible anatomy and tells me I should probably have a CT Scan. I go back to my original kook of a doctor and they give me a referral to an ENT doctor, agreeing with Doctor Virant. Now, I just have to play the waiting game until I go to the ENT Doctor and pray the doctor I see is just as good as they are at NW Asthma and Allergy Center. It’s amazing an allergy and asthma doctor is a better doctor than my PCP but I really want to thank the doctors and staff at the clinic for helping me and wish they could be my PCP lol. I think my original doctor for my skin was Farakawa or however you spell it (I saw someone else namedropped him in another review). Somehow, NW Asthma and Allergy Center has treated me better than Swedish, Harborview, and Community Health Center, and possibly better than Everett Clinic. Seriously! Only reason I didn’t give the extra star for a 5 star rating is because my symptoms haven’t 100% disappeared and I’m waiting to see if the doctor was actually right about chronic sinus infection– I’m pretty sure he will be!

I came to see Dr. Altman desperate for relief. I had seen two other allergists for my mysterious condition called Delayed Pressure Urticaria and the other two gave me weak meds and said that the condition mysteriously shows up and mysteriously goes away. But, the problem was, my condition was not going away. It was getting worse and it was debilitating. I was to the point where I was so flared up with hives (think huge itchy welts all over), my lips swollen, my throat swollen, that I took my sorry-​looking self to my GP in hopes she could give me a shot to make it all go away. Instead, she gave me Dr. Altman.
Dr. Altman is the only person I know who knows about my condition and how to treat it. In fact, he knows how to make it go into remission. He is so smart, so thorough, and has the best bedside manner of any specialist I have ever seen. The med assistants there are also incredible. Two different folks managed to draw blood without it hurting, even a little bit. They are also mindful of my sensitive skin and don’t use medical tape to attach the cotton ball to absorb bleeding. Instead, I just hold it until I clot. No biggie.
Seriously, I always leave wanting to hug Dr. Altman. May he live a really freaking long time in excellent health because I need him.

So there I was, the last man standing in a battle between good and evil. I tightened my grip and dug my heels into the war soaked earth beneath me as the enemy swarmed around me like a cloud of black locusts. I fought, I sweat, I cursed the world as my devilish opponent chopped me to the ground like a dying willow in the field behind the abandoned farm house off of highway 16. Alone and defeated I closed my eyes. I accepted my fate, my end, my everything. As I opened my arms to let the dark cloud take me, something happened… A flash came spiking down from the heavens like a fate driven Tetris block. It hit the ground with such great force that a shock wave rippled through the ground that would send shivers up Mt Everest’s spine. That was the day things changed.
I stumbled to my feet like a child taking his first steps as a man rose from smokey crater created from the powerful blast. Blurry from afar, I shorten the distance between myself and this man till I’m able to see my reflection in the shimmer of his armor. Who was this man? Can I trust him?
Body chiseled from the finest granite. teeth as shiny as pearls but as sharp as a barracudas. Hair blowing in the wind with a red tail hawk perched upon his shoulder like a navigator in a crows nest, he reached out his hand. we walked around my fallen foes like cracks on a sidewalk as He explained to me the universe and all of its infinite glory. As the dust slowly crept out of my lungs and back into the rugged soil we stood upon I felt like for once, I could truly breathe. He saved me, and I didn’t even know his name.
We spent the rest of the evening watching our future selves dance in the flames of yesterday’s fire before he told me he must go. I begged him not to, but he told me to be strong and follow my heart. He began walking into the sunrise as I called out to him «but I don’t even know your name». Laughing slowly he said «I am Dr Altman, God of Air and Earth». The sun met the horizon and in the blink of an eye, he was gone, like popping a bubble.
All hail Dr Altman!

Dr. Leonard Altman & Nurse Tiffany are THE BEST!!! I recommend you go see them if you’re having allergy issues.

My recent visit to NW Asthma & Allergy was a terrible experience. I’m a new patient to the practice and will not be returning anytime in the future. My initial visit began with an all too brief dialogue with the Doctor. I was not given enough time with him to discuss my concerns in their entirety, nor did he seem to care about anything I had to say. 2 rounds of allergy tests were administered after the first round showed negative results on all fronts. Neither the nurse nor the doctor took the time to speak with me about the allergies I have spent my life dealing with. The doctor merely wrote me a couple of prescriptions and left the room. I was left alone in the room, uninformed that my visit was over. I had to leave the patient room, and ask if I was done. My nurse didn’t even acknowledge me. It was Dr. Altman who just said… yeah we’re done.

Agree with others that this is not the place for allergy shots. It’s also obvious (as others have said) that they see you as a wallet, not a patient.
The nurses are quite rude and they seem genuinely mad when you ask questions or in any way interfere with their day. If they want you to do the shots, they want you to pay for everything up front, so you’ll be stuck there for a while. I suggest if you’re already involved finish your term and leave for someplace better. I would never recommend a friend or family member for this place.

I am so glad to finally know what I’m allergic to. After a series of many many pokes from the nurse, my arms and back were aflame with red welts (as it turns out, I’m so allergic to most everything that if you threw a chair in the air I’d probably be allergic to it).
Everyone I talked to (receptionist, nurse, and doctor) were all very friendly and helpful, and were happy to answer any questions I had.
I will definitely be coming back here to get my allergy shots when I start the series in July.

Okay, okay. I was wrong about this clinic. When I called back to say that I needed to have some allergy testing done, the receptionist located a doctor who okay-​ed blood tests. No need to stay off of the meds! [taps arm vein]
My blood was taken by a very chatty nurse, who was delightful and funny, which is good because it kept me from fainting dead away at the sight of two huge vials of my own blood.
Then, they called with the results and mailed me a copy within a week’s time.
Still only four stars because I hate being wrong.

My experience in NWAA was a disaster. I feel cheated by them.
I visited NW Asthma and Allergy Center on Dec 1^st 2009 due to rashes that I had on my head, neck, arms, legs and ear canal (yupe. I have rash in my ear canal).
I was treated by Dr. Michael S Kennedy and I explained to him about my condition. He then decided to runs a test on me even though I had it done before and know that I have no allergy. By the end of the examination, I asked him what’s the cause of my rashes and he said he doesn’t know what’s the cause and told me I might just have live with it. I tried to make him check the rashes in my ear canal but he just kinda avoid it. His solution is keep continue using Hydrocortisone and prescribe me a Triamcinolone which said to be applied to non face areas which confuse me because I do not have rashes in my face so I use it for my ear canal and it make things worse to the stage I felt I lost my hearing for a while. For all other areas it also doesn’t help and my rashes spread even more to my tummy and all over my back and became very active.
All his «expert opinion» on that I have a sensitive skin are based on our Q&A session when he asked me what other dermatologist been telling me (I went to dermatologist in Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan) and he just go with it. What he did not realized is that my rashes this time are different with the previous one because I have try to treat it with the ointment I already have.
His final advised is that I have sensitive skin, and recommended avoidance of fabric softeners, detergents, soaps and lotions with fragrance and recommended a trial of Zyrtec (please. I do not need to see specialist for that) plus I’ve been using those soap, lotion and detergents for years.
I will never ever go back to this place again and I suggest everyone to do the same.

All three of my children have been seen many many times at NWAA and we have been very happy with them.
The nurses are always nice and accommodating for us, as they do not normally schedule three patients in at the same time. Especially three adhd patients at once. Dr Furakawa has been wonderful about seeing all three of them in the same appointment.
Our last appointment was the best yet, as I called at about 8 in the morning, because my son had been having some problems with his asthma, and the appointment desk and I both mis-​judged how long it would take us to get to the clinic, and when I realized I was going to be about 15 minutes or more late, she moved me into a later appointment just like that, very accommodating, very sweet, very helpful. Dr. Furakawa was great, very nice as always. Provided us with samples of the higher dose of the medication he was on for his asthma.
Oh, and another perk? NWAA has FREE wireless in the waiting room.

Somehow I’ve managed to have a completely different experience from the other reviewer here. I hope my experience was a fluke, for the sake of asthma and allergy sufferers, but either way an experience like mine just shouldn’t happen at a respectable establishment.
I saw Dr. Michael Kennedy, who was, let’s just say, less that helpful. He had no problem brushing off my questions, avoiding real answers, and in some instances completely ignoring me. I felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously at all with my concerns. The doctor actually walked out of the room (more than a few times) for several minutes at a time without saying where he was going, when he’d be back, and occasionally in the middle of me speaking to him! Once, he left for about 20 minutes and I had to ask a nurse if he was even coming back. When he did come back, he complained, in an irritated tone, about the mother in the next room that «wouldn’t let him leave without asking every single question she could think of.» That’s when I realized I would have to do the same thing in order to get any information out of him. Even after all my questions he did not help me at all. Everything he said to me was in response to my increasingly specific questions. In other words, he didn’t volunteer any information. I asked his «expert» opinion on specific air filters that I had researched, which he had never heard of and he could only point to the ones in the brochure (for a company selling this stuff– fishy, anyone?) he had placed in front of me. His solution was to give me more drugs for my asthma, when that was the last thing I wanted. I thought that an Asthma and Allergy specialist at an Asthma and Allergy Clinic would be able to help me learn about prevention and control of allergies. I guess I was wrong.
As I said, I was hoping this was a fluke, but I have to say, I was not even impressed with the nurses. Usually a nurse will at least give you the time of day. I felt the same attitude of carelessness and avoidance with them. I tend to think that the nurses at a clinic really reflect the overall atmosphere.
I’m disappointed, Asthma and Allergy Clinic! I was really counting on you to help me. I’m sorry, but I will not be making a follow-​up appointment.

Everyone at NW Allergy is so accommodating which is extremely helpful when you are walking in there feeling extremely miserable. I went there last year and had to do the ‘prick test’ where they stick you with every pollen/​dander/​tree sample known to man to find out what you’re allergic to which was one of the most uncomfortable experiences ever but needed in order to manage my out of control seasonal allergies.
One thing I like about this place is that they are quick and seem to always load you up with various samples. I went back there last week for my yearly visit and got the pleasure of being seen by the physician assistant Dwayne, who was the nicest coolest doctor I’ve dealt with in a while. He answered all my questions and then some and sent me home with more samples than I knew what to do with.
I’d encourage anyone with allergies to def. take this place into consideration.