APICHA Community Health Center

I was performing at the LGBT Expo at the Javits Center and I was given some information about APICHA Community Health Center. Disappointed and not super satisfied with the health care professionals I see for yearly check-​ups and more regularly to monitor my diabetes and cholesterol, I decided to check out this facility.
From the moment I made my appointment, I knew I would be more than happy with the change. The staff, behind the desk and in the examining rooms, is friendly, welcoming, and professional. The NP I was assigned to, Emmett, is amazing to say the very least.
There is no judgment, no awkward questions, no sense of condescension; it’s exactly what patients, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, should experience.

a friend had recommended APICHA and so when I got my Inssurance I went there.
like all the rest of those kinds of establishments at first one enters a room with unknown people behind a counter, asked to fill the pile of documents, people coming and going, the television is on, it’s intimidating, frustrating, you need to get back to work or you have a lunch date and you already know you are going to run late, maybe very late…
you get over it because you want to see a doctor.
APICHA is a cool place, I feel very comfortable there, surrounded by what feels like a super friendly none judgmental staff, I feel good in my skin.
whatever preferences and choices I have made seem to be ok there.
I’ll get my tests, my consultations, advice, and weather I’m smiled at, and how I’m treated as a person depends on how I treat the person in front of me as anywhere else in life.
yes, it’s a work place for the people that work there, yes they get stressed, yes they have a lot of work, true not always every one is having a good day, we should all remember everyone is doing their best and we should do the the same.
I like APICHA, can you tell?
hope this is helpful.

I just want to say that everyone at the front desk treats me with a respectful matter and well especially Frederick v Taylor. Now on the other hand Ms. Lee is very disrespectful and her customer service is horrible she should know how to treat people and needs training with customer service being that she is from desk supervisor. I’m shock that she got that position and not Frederick, please correct this issue because if it continues I would be forced to find another clinic as my doctor, and I love APICHA it would hurt me if I was to make that decision if it’s not corrected. I love APICHA center please hear my complaint and address it.
Thank you very much
Norberto Rivera

I had a terrible overall experience with APICHA!!! I would really steer clear of this place. So many things were sketchy and unprofessional. First of all, I signed up as a new patient and made an appointment with a doctor, the doctor I listed as my PCP with my insurance. However, they gave me a NURSE as my PCP and they are basically committing insurance fraud by making me see this nurse now as my PCP. So I was very surprised when I never saw this doctor I made an appointment with and my insurance thinks I’m seeing. That was the first red flag. The visit itself was bad! My nurse, Sara Ponce, didn’t even examine me like look and touch me! It was all about asking me questions and filling that out in the computer. Second red flag. Sara also wanted to see me again in a few weeks, saying it was a follow up. So I made that appointment, but had to reschedule. So I called them a few days before and did that. However, on the day I showed up, they didn’t have me scheduled for my new appointment day/​time! They wouldn’t even allow me to see the nurse! I made a trip there from where I live (Queens) and they wouldn’t even make up for their mistake so I had to make ANOTHER appointment. Third red flag. I asked them to have my nurse Sara Ponce to at least call me with the STD and HIV results for the testing I got on my first visit since I never heard back. I had to keep calling and requesting this and it was ridiculous I had to beg them for this information. In the end, I still don’t know! They said Sara Ponce did not give that information over the phone if you had an appointment scheduled. Well I would have found out earlier if the office staff didn’t mess up and told them this and Sara still wouldn’t tell me. I also kept calling them and asking Sara to call me because she was going on a 2 week vacation, however, Sara still didn’t call me and went on her vacation. Horrible patient care! This is incredibly unprofessional. What if I have something and I’m passing it along? It’s not good for my health and public health. Fourth red flag. Also, they ended up wanting to see me for a physical as the follow-​up. Why didn’t they just do that on my first visit? They took blood and vitals the first visit and could have easily done that the first time and now they want another co-​pay/​insurance pay. Fifth red flag. I strongly urge anybody thinking of using this place to think again!

I can see others writing good reviews on this place, and I have to say that I have not had a good experience here over the half year or so that I’ve been trying to use their services.
It’s great for quick std tests, and the people at the front desk are like absolute wonderful and lovely superstars. They are all very very nice, personable, and helpful as well as sweet and funny.
The people that actually help you on the other hand, leave much to be desired. I don’t know, maybe you have to be Asian to be treated kindly here — but I doubt it. I don’t think it’s a cultural thing either, because I’ve had medical services in hospitals in Asia and the doctors were very nice, professional, and thorough.
Apicha wasted my time, and treated me like garbage. Like I said, the only good thing was the people at the desk — but even they kinda turned on me after a while.
After switching to Callen Lorde — I have been treated so much better… never the things like I experienced at APICHA — which included:
A therapist yelling at me while I was in tears in the WAITING ROOM and yelling out all my personal information, after yelling at me to GET OUT of her office… simply for asking calm questions about the process and trying to understand why it was taking me months upon months to get some kind of help while I was in the middle of a breakdown.
A psychiatrist prescribing me medication that I was afraid to take due to the side effects. When I expressed my concern — he became angry, challenging, snobby, and mean and took it as I do not respect his decision as a doctor, and I was being difficult.
At Callen Lorde this never happens — my psychiatrist there is Asian as well, and she always checks in with me to see if I’m ok with what I’m being prescribed, and if I’m not, then she sees what would be a better fit.
Making me take repeated stupid tests that I did not need. Which would delay my being able to see the therapist and psychiatrist for some reason. (because of their «process»)
My therapist cancelling an appointment with my «psychiatrist» in order to punish me for something that I can’t remember. Which made me have to go through their whole stupid «process» again.
I was just under 5 minutes late to my first appointment with my Psychiatrist, who knew I was severely suicidal and depressed at this point, — and he angrily and snobbily refused to see me, waving his hand toward me like «no, get her out of here» basically. And then he started like walking around all angrily and swiftly and eventually disappeared.
The level of concern for their patients here is just sick and bizarre.
There was almost not a single time that I did not leave here in tears. I seriously HATE this place, and tell everyone I know not to go here.

This place is great. Switched to them for my primary care and it is so nice to receive care from people who do not judge based on sexual orientation. They’re always able to fit me in and Frederick at the front desk is a GEM — so busy but so good at what he does, friendly, funny, and attentive. Dr. Tang is fantastic. His bedside manner is laid back and affable, knowledgeable and confident. I feel very comfortable and in good hands at APICHA.

I was going to Apicha for my first visit. I was not seen and I will not be rescheduling. Considering this is a place of health care it feels more cold like a bank. You feel like a number. It feels like a business. And, shockingly, they do not have any female MDs on staff! How is that even possible for an LGBT oriented provider? To be transparent, I was 15 minutes late (it’s was a rainy, December Friday) and they absolutely would not see me. I am in my 40’s and I have never been turned away by a health care provider for being late. Further to my point, their operating hours are just like business hours, in fact, banks have more accommodating hours, so it accentuates this business-​like feeling. what I saw when I walked in was that the staff was harried and when I asked to be given consideration to be seen; I saw the manager speak to the PA behind the desk and the PA shook her head no energetically and without any thought about patient care. It felt like she was not going to let anything get in the way of her clock out. I do not recommend this place to someone that still demands a high level of medical care and will not allow their provider to treat them like they are a number. Call me old fashioned, but the business of medicine does not interest me. I want to see someone who cares.

As a transwoman who is newly transitioning and intimidated by it all, I cannot recommend APICHA’s transcare program highly enough. Everyone — from receptionists to counselors to doctors to coordinators — is caring, thorough and really attentive to client needs. I’ve gone for years without a primary care physician I really liked, and now I have Dr. Tang, who is amazing. APICHA has helped me with everything — medical and preventive care, signing up for insurance under the ACA, finding a full-​time therapist, managing my hormone replacement therapy, and finding outside services. Everyone is so sweet and friendly and pleasant, I actually look forward to my visits there. Cecilia, the trans-​program coordinator, is amazing. All-​around a wonderful organization, highly recommended if you are transgender.

We were looking for free or inexpensive STD testing and counseling for a new relationship, and Planned Parenthood was booked solid. The various free clinics were poorly reviewed in terms of quality of interaction and experience, as well as lack of organization, and this was important to us. So after reading a few reviews here and talking on the phone with them, we decided to give APICHA a try. We were, unfortunately, given several key pieces of misinformation over the phone about both costs and types of testing available. So be very very clear with your questions over the phone, and ask that responses be double checked before assuming you know what to expect. However, despite these initial mixups, this place gets our full recommendation — clean, courteous, well organized, excellent nurse practitioner, all things one can’t expect from the free clinics. The tests themselves are extensively discounted and affordable, the sliding scale for the visit reasonable. We would come back here, though hopefully we won’t need to !

With the plethora of information available these days, finding the best healthcare provider can be frustrating and confusing. Who accepts my Insurance? Is there a co-​pay? Who will provide the best care and options available? If I don’t have insurance where can I go? Will my PCP/​MD understand and address my healthcare needs and that of my community? As a former Peer Educator for APICHA I’ve been blessed with access to information and resources that cater my healthcare needs.
APICHA has serviced both Asian and Non Asian clients at their new location and Primary Care Clinic for quite some time. Although the Clinic is brand new (Yay!) the mission to provide quality services remains the same. They offer free HIV testing and with the recent outbreak of Meningitis in NY also offer free Meningococcal vaccinations for the LGBT community. Free care can also be provided for those that qualify– inquire within.
Not only are the staff courteous, attentive they also have late hours Weds and Thursday till 7 pm — perfect for all those working Boys and Girls. This means the world to people like me that can’t always make morning or noon appointments due to crazy work schedules earning APICHA a 5 star rating and my loyalty.

Taking into consideration that HIV testing should not be a «branded,» commodified type of experience the way most other things on Unilocal are…
APICHA is really fabulous. I used to be involved in its youth outreach project (I’m no longer considered a youth! YIKES WHAT HAPPENED THERE), and saw firsthand how passionately everyone worked to create an open atmosphere, and to stay conscious of the meanings of cultural taboos and the contexts in which many people seek HIV testing.
The letters USED to stand for: Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on H.I.V./AIDS — but they’re moving away from the «Asian» angle. APICHA’s HIV and STD testing have always been open to people of all genders, races, ages, etc. The Asian part was specifically with regard to providing language services and medical/​diet consultation to accommodate Asian cultures and beliefs.
I did get tested when I worked there. Treating me as an anonymous stranger, they were so accommodating and so careful. Beyond the simple needle stick, they really care about what your cultural and emotional needs are. That can be really important in a world where it seems like social acceptance for queers feels limited to Young White Males.
Regular HIV testing is a must for anyone who is sexually active or has come into contact with needles, no judgements. And here, it’s free, the office is centrally located, and it’ll take 30 mins of your time. Just give them a call and they will walk you through the whole thing with nothing but class.

This is my go-​to place for quick same day appointments for rapid HIV testing and risk reduction counseling in Tribeca, NYC. For general medical, then I check out Callen Lorde for LGBT friendly community health center (in Chelsea).
APICHA also offers primary care physician service but I think they are still waiting for approval to accept HealthFirst medicaid so I have not checked them out yet for that.
However, I have been coming here for 1 – 2 years now and the peer counselors are great! Highly recommended.