Charles B. Wang Community Health Center — Local services in New York

Dr. Judy Lo and her assistant, Shin, were incredible from beginning to end. During the short walk from the train station to the office, there was a sudden rainstorm that left me carrying a drenched umbrella into the building. When Shin took me in to the exam room, he immediately noticed it and gave me paper towels and even wiped the hallways, mentioning he didn't want anyone to slip; I was really touched by how considerate he was. From there, he was kind, attentive, answered all of my questions, and extremely personable.

With Dr. Lo, the care and professionalism only continued. She was thorough with my exam, explaining everything she was doing, which as someone who has worn glasses since elementary school, I deeply appreciate. Like Shin, she was personable as we talked about our shared interests in books and writing. Even though during my appointment, the office was closing, she never once made me feel rushed. Despite this being our first meeting, I felt cared for by both Dr. Lo and Shin with an ease and familiarity from both providers that often feels...

My 75-year-old mom has bad teeth due to long-time Sjogren's syndrome. She has been seeing various general dentists and has been referred to a range of specialists in New York. None of them had a good solution for her. The process sounded to take years, and the out-of-pocket fees would be five figures. None of them appeared to be confident about fixing all her teeth.

My mom finally found Dr. Gain Lu at CBWCHC's Chinatown location. Dr. Lu was like an angel to her. Dr. Gain conducted a thorough evaluation and quickly developed a treatment plan for each tooth. A couple of the problems had to be resolved by specialists, but Dr. Lu had reduced such referrals to a minimum. As a result, my mom managed to fix all her teeth within three months. Dr. Lu is a highly professional and skillful dentist who truly cares about patients' needs and can solve the most challenging issues for high-risk patients. She and overall dental services at CBWCHC's Manhattan location have our strongest...

This office lacks basic compassion. The staff was extremely rude and dismissive. I had a dental infection requiring an urgent root canal and was left without any anti-inflammatory medication for four days leading up to the procedure. Despite calling multiple times to explain the severity of the pain, I was told—after already being seen by the dentist and scheduled for treatment—to go to CityMD. Why would I need to visit an ER or urgent care after being diagnosed and scheduled by a licensed dental professional?

I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable—just ibuprofen 800 or a similar non-opioid anti-inflammatory to manage the infection-related pain. Being told to “deal with it” while in obvious discomfort is not only unprofessional, it’s unethical. No patient should be dismissed like this, especially when there’s a clear and treatable...