Venice Family Clinic

Physician I have is good.
This review is for the bad hours (9 – 5) the scheduler gave me for X-​ray at Westchester Advanced Imaging. I wasted 75 minutes to/​from on 2−1−16 4:05pm
It should be 8 – 4:30pm.

Terrible. When you call no one picks up. I was 1 hour on hold NO ONE PICKED UP. I think this is very rude since I don’t have time to sit on the phone all day long. I tried it later again. 30 minutes on hold .and again no one picked up. Then when i finally reached someone she said she can’t hear me and just hung up. To me it seems they are not very customer friendly and don’t like their jobs. I would give a — 1 if i could.
Horrible. last time I sat there for 45 minutes then asked when they are going to call me since it was 45 minutes after my appointment time. They said «oh the security guard downstairs forgot to check me in. Seriously? 4 hours waiting time is nothing. Most likely you get out there after more than 4 hours. Just horrible.

Choosing a doctor and facility can be tricky and nerve wrecking… But I know I picked the right one after coming here! My first visit was on 10÷6÷15. This place has the best staff… Hands down. Every person was personable, professional, and extremely productive! It started with the receptionist who started my visit with great conversation and very quick and thorough in getting my paperwork completed. The nurse who checked me in was also very sweet and explained everything I asked. My doctor, Dr. Stroik, was AMAZING! She sat there with me, answering EVERY question I had, drew pictures for me to understand better (that was pretty funny), and made great suggestions for me. The 2 ladies that took my blood were extremely friendly and professional. The last nurse who gave me my injection was also very accommodating! Every single person I encountered at this clinic was prompt and excited to do their job. I recommend this clinic to anyone who wants to feel comfortable and confident while at their doctors office! You go Venice Family Clinic!

Everyone here has been exceptionally nice and courteous. The whole process was long but expected for a free clinic. I was here for 3 hours in all but was taken care of by some very kind people. The only issue I had was that I was told by the Pico Blvd location that I must be present at this location for the walk-​ins at a mandatory 8am-​9am. I was. But then the doctors don’t come in until later so I was told to come back at 2pm. That seems silly to me. But still I am appreciative. Thanks.

TERRIBLE! I’ve been a «patient» of theirs for a year, yet I’ve never even met my primary physician!
I’ve made appointments for basic things, and have had to sit in the waiting room for 4 hours… only to have them come out, and actually tell me, «oh, sorry, we forgot about you. Everybody went to lunch– can you wait?»
And now, every time I try to make an appointment, they tell me that my MediCal status is no longer active. I’ll then spend three hours trying to get through to MediCal, only to find out that there is no problem with my MediCal, and that the problem is VFC’s. I’ll call back, and by golly, «Whoops! I didn’t see _​_​_​_​_​»
This is hands down the most absurd, unprofessional medical outfit you can deal with. If you have a dude in an alley providing medical treatment for anything– from a headache to cancer– you’re probably better off going through him, than using Venice Family Clinic.

Receptionist was very rude on 7÷7÷15. She stated she was too busy to book an appointment for me over the phone and should call back at a later time. Too busy to do your job? Ok? I hope the doctors don’t use that excuse when needing to treat their patients. This clinic needs a front staff that is willing to work… Busy or slow… Not when it’s convenient.

Six years ago, I had a stroke symptoms. I had no insurance so I went to Yosan University acupuncture clinic.
They gave me a letter so I could check myself. I was recommended to call this clinic since it was free or cheap.
In fact, the receptionist was so rude and I was told that they did not receive any new patients or members, and no future appointment would be possible.
The person talking on the phone did not care at all. She had Spanish accent and I had Asian accent. Was this clinic only for illegal or what?
For that, I had no clue where to go. I continued acupuncture treatments and just recently got Medi-​Cal and will get treatment from much better places.

Wish I could put a negative star. Will be looking for another clinic. The doctors are great but the rediculous wait time just to be seen to have vitals taken 1 hour+, then sent back out to waiting room for anther hour+ just to get a room. Was told they didn’t have my file then told they have it. Staff is incompatent and rude. Rediculous!!! What a disappointment.

Did I take my son to a different clinic? Almost all of my Unilocal reviews run pretty lock step with the majority but after reading several of the negative responses about the Venice Family Clinic I felt like I just had to share my own experience mainly because it runs 180° counter to what so many people have written here.
Yesterday I recieved a call from my 12 year old son’s school that he had several red spots running up and down his arms, legs, and chest. Even though he’s fully vaccinated, I panicked, knowing full well about the measles epidemic running through SoCal. I called my provider around 11:30 and they hooked me up with a 1:30 appointment for an urgent care visit. We drove down, avoided the parking lot, and found plenty of parking on Rose. By that I mean that we found three street spots literally in front of the joint.
Okay, admittedly a lot of the clientele are people you usually see by the side of a freeway off ramp but if you keep your chin up you’ll be fine. I saw plenty of completely respectable blue collar folk and caring moms with their kids as well. Is it the Venice of the Intelligentsia and the Otherroom? No, but a dose of reality can cure what ails ya sometimes. The floors were clean, the walls freshly painted, and the waiting room has a big panoramic window that gives a swell view into Santa Monica.
We checked in at 1:15 and a nurse Judy was called down to give my son a preliminary looksee within five minutes. Judy, a very nice lady, checked out my son, deduced that it probably wasn’t measles or chicken pox, and called down a doctor whose name escapes me. The doctor also gave my son a quick once over to confirm that he didn’t have measles. It turns out they have thorough procedures in place for dealing with patients with measles.
After determining that my son wasn’t contagious we were taken upstairs to the waiting room and our name was called within two minutes to fill out entry forms. I handed over all the appropriate insurance cards with no hassle at all. The lady handling this part was nice and professional. Again, there were a few characters in the waiting room, including a self described transient in crutches whom I later saw behind the wheel of a Prius and another guy in the hall screaming at his provider through his cell phone but it wasn’t anything like Oz or Orange is the New Black.
After about twenty minutes we were called in to be looked at by a nurse, whose name also escapes me. She was very very nice. She checked my son’s blood pressure, took his vitals, and then led us to be treated by Dr. Barbara Tcheng who is very warm and professional. At this point I should also mention that the clinic’s interior is spotless. No Third World stuff here.
After patiently taking down all my anecdotal information about my son and giving him a thorough examination she determined that my son had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic amoxicillin, which he had been taking for a sore tooth. She also found that my son was behind on three vaccinations as well as needing a flu shot. Throughout the entire exam Dr. Tcheng was patient, caring, thorough, and she totally put my son at ease.
After the exam the nurse from before administered the four shots to my son. She did them all in less than a minute all the while reassuring my son how brave he was being.
Upon leaving, we were given the opportunity to make another appointment for a physical for my son, as well as additional vaccinations later on. This was all conducted by a Ms. Javier with consideration and a smile. At no point were we ever hustled for donations nor sneered at nor condescended to. By the time we left it was 3:05.
In and out in less than two hours on a same day appointment treated by a staff of caring professionals and a doctor that provided the correct diagnosis for my son? Five stars.

Definitely will be looking for another clinic to take my daughter! Its insane how long we wait till we are seen by our Dr. I usually take their first appointment thinking I’ll be seen faster but actually I still have to wait like 2 hrs the most to be seen! Not to mention that they are very unorganized! In two occasions I had to get up and ask the receptionist at what time will we be called in since I’ve been waiting for more than an hr in the waiting room and in both occasions I was told that they had forgotten to put my file out for the nurse to see so that they could call me in.
Also, just to make an appt over the phone I have to wait for almost 30 min. until I can actually talk to someone.

I’m a little surprised by all the negative reviews. I called to make an appointment for my mother here and was given one within the same week. Since then I have come with my mother twice and have had positive experiences both times. Everyone– from the ladies I spoke to on the phone to the check-​in staff, nurses, volunteers, pharmacists, and doctors– have been friendly and welcoming. Yes, the wait can be long (we typically wait at least an hour in the exam room for the doctor) but the care my mother has received has been above average. All of her needs have been met each time– check-​ups, labs, medication refills, referrals– what more can you ask for from a free/​low-​cost clinic?! Dr. Andres is awesome! The facility is clean and so far we have not had a problem with parking (we always come Thursday mornings and park on the street). Overall, I feel safe sending my mother here and would recommend to anyone without insurance in need of quality health care! Thank you venice family clinic! :)

I’ve been waiting so long to make this review and now I finally have time. My grandmother and great grandfather come here. The parking is horrid! Mondays and Tuesdays are a pain in the behind to find due to street cleaning. I have driven around for 40 minutes trying to find parking. Now you’re asking yourself «well how is this the clinic’s fault?» I’ll tell you how, their parking structure is FOR EMPLOYES ONLY. It’s not like the one on pico where the parking is for everyone. The doctors are fine but I find myself waiting there for hours just to get weighted, consulted and to get medicine and set another appointment. The bathrooms aren’t clean at all, the other Monday I went in there and the men’s bathroom stank of marijuana. This place is just too bad. I would recommend the one on pico if you need to park, otherwise come here but be willing to wait minimum 2 hours.

Venice Family Clinic is one of those things you curse for its crassitude but thank God it’s there when you need it. It’s a cozy little clinic at the intersection of homelessville and hipsterville in the heart of Venice.
First, please take the 4-​star rating with a grain of salt. With social service institutions, you gotta look at the company they keep, not compare them to your previous PPO provider, where everybody knows your name and they actually care about not offending you.
While this clinic uses public funds, it runs on private donations, as well. It’s smaller and a bit nicer than the skanky norm of County institutions. Don’t get me wrong, the facilities look c.1982, and the waiting room seats may be carriers of infectious disease. But at County it seems worse by sheer numbers and the wait times, are proof.
This clinic serves the insured, the uninsured, the housed and the homeless. Income determines whether, and how much, you pay. Admission for new patients may be limited.
As with all social welfare outlets, if you’re homeless and want to get into this clinic, you gotta show up at O’dark-thirty in the freezing-​ass cold. I recommend wearing layers, and bringing a tote with a thermos of hot coffee, water, a cushion to sit on, and something to read.
If you’re housed but have no insurance, it’s harder to get in. That’s not to say impossible – i can’t really say. Obamacare (The affordable Care Act) is taking root, so policies are changing everyday. Destitute clinic patients, like me (homeless, receiving benefits and unable to work), have been transitioned to Medi-​Cal as of January 2014 by the clinic. If you need to get on Medi-​Cal, this clinic may be able to process you.
Once you’re registered, allow at least two to three hours for each doctor visit, taking into account wait time both before and after your appointment. Government moves slowly, but I rarely spend more than half a day here, like I did at Harbor UCLA.
If you’re late up to 20 minutes, security can take you without calling upstairs for permission. There’s this new «contract» they have you sign, saying they’ll drop you from the clinic if you NO-​SHOW a certain number of times and that you must call 2 hours in advance to cancel. Never mind that you can be on hold for an hour sometimes, just trying to speak to someone.
You can be seen by the doctor a little earlier if you show up early. But before you go showing up at noon for your 3 pm appointment, there is a limit as to how early you can be. 15 minutes sounds familiar, but don’t quote me. Security and admin can be abrasive at times but are somewhat human on the whole. Never mind that no one here has noticed the lifesaver painting in the downstairs spandrel is hanging upside-​down.
The doctors are somewhat jaded and perhaps stuck in a rut of old school thinking. The social graces escape some. Power and hubris can be a dangerous mix, especially with passive or inarticulate patients. But still, most docs seem to make a decent effort to get you what you need.
They all could stand to attend some life-​affirming team-​building retreat to a tiny village in the Congo. Maybe, while jamming on the zipline, their narrow-​mindedness would fall out into the jungle, never to be seen again.
But I know it’s gotta be tough, treating us down-​trodden masses, day in and day out. Can’t say I wouldn’t be exactly the same. All things considered, it’s a good clinic with good doctors. Get in if you can.
See my profile for Low-​end Lifestyle Tips and Information. Thanks for sending me your tips, as well.
LoLo

I wish there were a rating for zero stars. 1 star is too generous for this horrible place. I brought my child there yesterday for an appt. For 3 hours we were told that we were next. They lied. Our doctor wasn’t even in because she was treating OPCC and an emergency. I have no problem with that. However I do have a problem with being lied to and told that I’m next when I’m not. I kept telling them that I could take her to urgent care and pay $ 200 if they can’t see her, but no, I’m «next». Of course you know the end to this story; the wait was all for nothing because the doctor decided that having an infection was better than developing antibiotic resistance. I took my child to urgent care and paid for real medical treatment. Too bad I wasted my entire day on this place. It won’t happen again.

The regular doctors are fine, for the most part. Every now and then there’s an idiot resident or two, however.
The specialists that work with the clinic (I dealt with orthopedics and endocrinology) are downright awful, too. I was misdiagnosed by both of the specialists I saw here, and they didn’t run the right tests or do appropriate monitoring with prescribed medication. If you need a specialist ask for a referral to an outside doctor if you can and don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion. As other clinics, if you need anything more than an X-​Ray or bloodwork, good luck.
The nurses and PAs are very nice, and are probably going to be your best allies at this clinic.
Cons:
1. The dispensary is staffed with nasty, vindictive people. They will call you to the pharmacy window — which ostensibly means that your prescription is ready, and when you get there, they will see you waiting at the window, shrug, and ignore you for several minutes until they deign to help you (or even speak to you). They don’t know insurance protocol, they will only allow you to pick up meds in the middle of the day and they will make you wait an hour to do that. I’ve started asking for paper prescriptions to take to Target… I’d rather pay out of pocket than deal with these jerks.
2. The desk staff and dispensary will hit you up for donations, even if you have insurance or assistance that is covering your visit and meds. Not cool. I get that they want people to contribute to their cost of care, but in my case they’re getting paid (and well) for my care already by my low-​income insurance. If I had money to spare to donate to them at every visit, do they think I’d be at their clinic or have low-​income insurance in the first place?!
3. The waits are horrendous. Seeing a doctor isn’t too bad — you will usually do that in about an hour — but then it’s usually another hour for meds, and a third hour to see a «coordinator» to set up your follow-​up visits. I’ve spent up to four hours here.
4. Optometry appointments are seriously like unicorns. I don’t know who you have to bribe or flatter to get one. When I asked, I was told to «go to Costco» for eye care.
5. If you need to call them to make an appointment, make sure you have a lot of time to kill. You’ll be on hold, listening to truly horrible elevator music, for quite some time.
6. If you complain to the higher-​ups, they WILL listen.
As far as clinics go, this one isn’t the worst. Still, I’m counting down the days until my Obamacare insurance kicks in and I don’t have to go here anymore. The clinic doctors are fine; their staff and the waits suck so much that it’s unpleasant to come here.

If I could give this place zero stars I would. The service sucks, the ladies at the front desk need to take a course in customer service and respect. Wait is too long. I will never go here agian.

I been volunteering here for a while now in the Optometry dpt. and I noticed a couple of things. The doctors here are very nice and usually will explain in details about your conditions and what you should do/​not do. However, the wait can be very long depending on the amount of people coming in. I learned quite a good deal here and got first-​hands experiences on the field, which is great! The volunteer coordinator is also extremely friendly and helpful. If you’re looking for a place to volunteer in the eye field, this is a great place to try. Only bad thing for me is it is a 2 hrs drive away every morning, and heavy traffic, and I also only get to volunteer for about 2 hrs each time =(.

I’d like to proceed with a formal complaint against Edna with patient referrals.
I am a patient who has been going to the Venice Family Clinic for over a year now. Although, I understand that the clinic is a low-​cost facility and is VERY busy, it is my honest opinion that this employee is a huge disservice to the clinic. Her approach is almost always very disorganized and careless.

I dont know why so many people are giving this clinic a bad review. ITS A CLINIC!!! Its like people expect the red carpet for free health care.
Keeping in mind that it IS a clinic, they do a very good job here and treat almost every kind of aliment. The wait is long even with an appointment but that is to be expected. The worst part of this place is the amount of homeless or borderline homeless people but again, its a free clinic so i just make sure to sanitize my hands and not touch too many things. The Doctors are mostly volunteers or residents so i get a new one almost every time which i like coz they always have something different and new to tell me or help me with.
I always get an appointment within a week of when i call and most of the time the same day. This is a very nice place for what it is and i go here all the time as an 8+ year Venice Resident with no health care. This clinic has helped me out on SEVERAL occasions.

People that work there are nice but the wait is way too long and theyre limited in their resources. How is it that the ratings dont filter out people that work there though? Unilocal