Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Center

I am seriously so thankful for this place. Over the past two months, I have been having consistent stomach pain and due to unforseen circumstances I no longer had insurance. Knowing that my insurance was running out, I was trying to find a specialist that would have an immediate opening to take me in but unfortunately, I couldn’t find a single doctor in the area. I was at my wits end desperate to find a doctor to see me — it is a terrible feeling to feel like you have no access to healthcare.
The staff here was friendly and I felt like the doctor I saw was genuinely concerned. It look me about an hour after my appointment time to see the doctor but to be honest, I am just so thankful just to be seen even and helped.

I have a medical insurance, but I couldn’t book any same day appointment with any other local physicians office on the day when I’m feeling really sick, and somehow found this place. I’m so glad I did because I’m pleasantly surprised how nice, caring, and professional the staffs and doctors are! It’s so easy to schedule an appointment! The exam rooms are also pretty new and clean! Moreover, their rate is really affordable! However it seems like the majority of the patients are Asian, just a FYI :)

I was waiting for Doctor almost 2 hours They chatted they didnt care about patient. Very terrible is nurse dare yelled patient and gossip in front of patient. They think patient are stupid who Don’t understand English and Chinese.

i quit smoking wirh the patch it was free with a clinical trial. i have 2 cronic conditions that neec medication theefication costs as much as the visit if i go to cosco but the doctor is really rushed now and the cost is 60 every visit getting a refill is a month long wait and thebact like they dont know u when u call its to getbthe, 60 $ really stressfull if yourvon medical and this isbthe doctor i want to go to but now i feel taken advantage of the blood work was way more than 50 $ and the visit is 60 $ when they helpbwith the perscription it was helpful but now they basically dont then the visit is 2 min and you wait a long time. i would have giben 4 stars but now its gone downhill and i qualify for the low incme fee wave but thet pretend i owe 60 every time now so i guess i would ntbbe paying if instop going there its just im comfortable with the same dr my dr was dr dent and he doesnt call in the refills and knows i can barly afford it but thebperscription hebgave me cost 200 for 4 pills i cant afford it so inhavevto go back amd pay 60 $ they ignore the reflls my car was broken into and they took mynmefication its been two weeks waiting for refill
so $$$$$$expensive and i feel unimportant as a patient so id you work there keep writing reviewz

Professional, affordable dental work
My Medi-​Cal /​Denti-​Cal coverage does not cover root canals or crowns on molars, and that’s exactly what I needed.
Denti-​Cal forwarded me a list of affordable dental clinics in the L.A. area, and of 60– or 70-​odd clinics, only two offered these services. One was USC Dental school, the other was
Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Center.
While USC student work is affordable, my past experiences with them were not good — they’re much more local, but student work can be slow and shoddy and somewhat traumatic, and I had a bad experience with a student who started doing unauthorized work on the wrong tooth, and faculty stood by the student’s mistake. I had to complain to the Dean and invoke the clinic’s own ethical standards to get them to finish the job! Furthermore, student work requires way more visits than professional clinics, and parking in that area is a nightmare. They do offer professional services with faculty, but at twice the price.
Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Center is several miles out, in Alhambra, but they offer professional work at prices in the same range as USC’s student work, without the trauma or sleaze. The staff is friendly and punctual, parking is not an issue, and I can grab lunch beforehand at The Hat (best pastrami in the L.A. area).
Dr. Cheng performed the root canal, buildup and crown work. He is friendly and casual. but gets down to business and gets as much work done in as few visits as patients’ tolerances and his schedule allows.
The closest thing to a complaint I might have is that when they quoted me the price for root canal and crown (a little under $ 1200), they neglected to mention that was for the lowest-​grade porcelain-​on-​metal crown. They waited till end of my second visit to discuss other (better but somewhat more expensive) options, apparently because most patients want the cheapest crown available. While this is understandable, it can give the initial impression of ‘upsetting’, and I recommended they be upfront about the different options.
I opted for the ‘upgrade’ to zirconia crown for a couple of hundred dollars more — still competitive with USC’s inferior student work.

Here is a good choice to get acupuncture treatment and dental care that i experienced. They are nice, honorable, considerate and professional. There is no complicated process, but only serious work.

i’ve been battling an unknown health issue for the past 2 months and it won’t go away even after going to 3 different doctors. finally came back here and had a great experience. I always hated when I pay $$$ to see a doctor that feels like he/​she is trying to rush my appointment. This time i was determined to tell the doctor everything that’s been going on the past 2 months cause I’m tired having restless nights. I got doctor wong? (hwang?) lol something like that but he was soo nice. he told me he is a volunteer doctor and he already retired but he took his time with me and listened to every thing i had to say. he spent almost 45 minutes with me and suggested i take a blood test and told me what meds i didnt need to take that was prescribed by the other doctor lol apparently the other doctor gave me asthma medicine. anyways i know blood tests are $$$ but here they only charge $ 20! plus he personally took down my number and told me he would check in on me after my blood test results. i really hope i do get better before the end of this year but im glad i finally met a caring doctor that isnt just trying to take my money and prescribe me bogus meds

I cannot compliment this medical center enough! My primary was closed on a Wednesday and I needed a clinic, so I didn’t have to goto urgent care or ER. I called the Tzu Chi medical center at 11am. Was told they come back from lunch at 1:15. got there at 1ish, got checked out and got my meds THERE and for FREE because they have a pharmacist on-​site and left before 2pm! The doctor fee was 40, which is exactly the same as my co-​pay at my primary. I am never going back to my primary. This place is awesome and knowing they are truly non-​profit, I will be donating money to them in the future. THIS IS WHAT MEDICAL CARE SHOULD BE LIKE NATIONWIDE.

Office was so clean and people work there were professional and helpful. i wish I would know about this place before. doctor really listen, and we did it wait long time. if you don’t have insurance and want to get quality of care, this is the place

This place is wonderful!!! Everyone was accommodating and efficient and kind and the doctor even had a sense of humor! The facilities were clean too! God bless you for being open on a Saturday and taking care of me when I was in so much pain! Thank you thank you!!!

Such a good experience. I have no dental insurance and was able to get a teeth cleaning for 40 bucks. They worked HARD, I’ll just say that. I walked out with squeaky clean teeth. The dental assistant and the dentist were nice, very competent and friendly. The dentist was also straight up; they tell you what you need and are very honest. Additionally, the front desk staff were kind and genuine. Great place for the uninsured. On Garfield just a few blocks under Main Street.

Great medical center with very friendly staff! I was here about a week ago with my boyfriend and the care we received was amazing. We were in and out in less than an hour and only spent 60 $ for the doctors visit with labs done (that’s with no insurance!). Definitely would recommend this place

Had no insurance. They were very nice there and took care of us throughly. I was feeling down cause we had no insurance but going there made me feel comfortable, staff really nice, facility was clean. I am thankful for that place :) … Didn’t have to wait all day either in and out within a hour

Lots of praise for this facility. The staff is extremely helpful and knowledgable, I got help for my newborn’s Medi-​cal and I brought my mother in-​law here for physical exam when she had no insurance. Price is up front and they even offer vision and blood tests. This clinic is definitely a service to the community especially the uninsured. Glad we came and I recommend them for your basic health needs.

I went back last week for a medical appointment because I got sick a few days before school started.
I went to the doctor at school but the doctor there was sketchy, he didn’t do shit for me. He just told me that I have a throat infection and that was it. He told me antibiotics will not do anything for me and the only thing that would help me is to gargle salt water.
I was literally there for only 5 mins…
Anyways, so I went back to the Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Center. I went in, took a number, they called my number and I went up and paid $ 40 to see a doctor.
The wait was kind of long even though there wasn’t that many people there so that was a bit frustrating. The nurse called my name to weigh me and take my blood pressure and stuff and told me to go back outside to wait until there was a room. Finally called my name again after waiting for almost a total of almost 1 ½ hours.
I went inside, sat down ad waited for the doctor, took about 10 – 15 mins for the doctor to come into the room to see me.
This doctor was a bit more professional, obviously. But what bothered was that he kept telling me to sit on the chair then get on the bed thing and sit on the chair again and again.
He told me what was wrong and he asked me questions that the doctor at my school didn’t even ask me.
After that, he prescribed me some antibiotics and I didn’t have to pay for them, which I thought was pretty good for $ 40 to see a doctor.
After taking the antibiotics for about 2 weeks and ongoing, I’m feeling so much better.
I do recommend this medical center to anyone who doesn’t have insurance and needs to see a doctor.

After 2 years of suffering extreme fatigue, depression, mental fog, frustration, an intolerance of stress, internal pushing and fighting, today I finally found the source of the problem with the affordable kindness of the Buddhist tzu chi medical center!!! Now, I can have my full energy, get my life back on track, and really go beast mode towards my goals and dreams! Woohoo!
$ 25 to see the doctor and then the cost of blood tests was another $ 50. But, so worth it! They checked for nearly everything. Make an appointment. The doctor was so knowledgeable, helpful and thorough. I highly recommend them!

I’ve been here a total of three times, all for dental work. The first time was a consultation for my wisdom teeth, and since I had to get two more x-​rays than normal, it was $ 10. The second two times were for wisdom teeth extraction. These two visits were not fun, but they got the job done. The first extraction went really well. There was no pain, and the anesthetic worked when it was supposed to work. The second extraction was less smooth. I could hear the crunching of the needle delivering the anesthetic being stuck into the roof of my mouth, and I guess the numbing stuff didn’t have enough time to kick in because I felt it too. It was quite ouchies. The actual anesthetic got a good while to work its magic, since the dentist went to work on another patient while it took effect. They get quite busy here!
Overall, not a bad dental experience. It was $ 600 to get all four wisdom teeth removed, but what can you do? I needed them out and they took them out. Success!

This place is amazing !
Consistently amazing service and staff.
The Doctors performing the acupuncture are so creative and willing to go above and beyond!
I have been going for ankle treatments, and she recommended that we hike a small stool under the calves, creating the space to apply needles under the ankles, not just on top or the sides! WOW! That was amazing!
I recommend an appointment and $ 25 and expect, professional service, time-​friendly waiting time and accuracy to address the issue at hand,
Location is wonderful, just north of the 10 freeway, and plenty of street and private lot parking. Large and clean waiting room with a large screen TV, showing spiritually positive sayings or lectures.

I was in a very embarrassing situation — I just ends my study (not a student anymore), and my new job hasn’t start yet (by then I got some cheap PPO as benefits). So the break in between, I am enrolling in a crazy-​high deductible health insurance for temporary, mostly because I have neven been sick for years (as a young, health adult)… Well… you know the the story, sh*t thing always happens in the worst timing. I was suffering from a severe coughing for a month, and unfortunately my insurance can’t help at all — basically I have to pay all out of my pocket til hitting 6000 thousands …
My parents were volunteer for Tzu-​Chi in Taiwan, and I know people worked for Tzu-​Chi are for good will — they have strong belief in doing good thing for others because of «Cheng Yen», known as Mother Teresa of Asia. But I have to admit, when I hear «free clinic”— I was in a serious doubt… especially their quality.
I make a phone call early in the Saturday, right at the beginning for their office hour at 8AM. There is no online system, but no long waiting «machine guidance». A lady soonly picked up the phone call and told me she can set appointment at 1:30PM the same day, and she told me there will be a 25 dollars co-​pay. She mentioned nothing about insurance. BTW, she can speak both Chinese and English, and her English is perfect. No need to worry at all.
I arrived at 1:20PM and they told me take a number card and wait. (Yes, you have to wait no matter you got appointment or not, but I guess if you don’t have appointment, maybe they will reschedule you or expect a long wait. Anyway I don’t know.). During my wait there’s a buddhist volunteer hanging around, chatting with you. I am not a believer but there’s no hurt to have some small chat to kill time.
The unfortunately truth …
I wait about 1.5 til I met my doctor. Yes, you are right, with an appointment.
The doctor can speak both Chinese and English as well (and Chinese is my native language), so it’s easier for me to describe my symptom. A quick 3 minutes meeting and he told me that it’s probably caused by some allergy (which I never had allergy before). And eventually he is right. I’m recovering very well now after taking zyrtec as he suggested.
The only complaints is the long waiting. Other than that. Everything is above my expectation. The people are not super friendly, except those volunteer. For people who don’t share a common belief (buddism), they won’t force you to believe and trying to convince you. But they will try to tell how what kind of good thing they did for the world. (The TV is broadcasting Cheng Yen and Tzu-Chi’s contribution to the world over and over again.) Personally I am not a fan of self-​appraising, but I respect their notion. They want to affect people by telling them that doing good thing bringing good future.
I gave 5 stars because… seeing a doctor for $ 25 with no insurance. There’s no argument they are of good wills. This is not a filthy, cheap clinic. It’s nice and clean. The doctor seems to be very experienced. And I can tell that many poor people (including me) need them.
I won’t say that I’m a fan of Tzu-​Chi, but when there’s a need I may contribute Tzu-​Chi, like a donation, I will. I’m not a fan of Cheng Yen, but I know that when people give me a hand when I need, I will give back in return, simply because I do not want to feel myself as a free-​rider for free clinic (which I really need because I have no job now).
No hidden cost. Simply twenty-​five dollars. They deserve five star for that simple reason.

I’ve never witnessed a group of professionals in the the medical community who are so dedicated and caring toward their patients. BTCFC is a great alternative for those who need supplementary coverage or have no coverage at all. There is an initial $ 25 fee, which they waive during the first visit. Dr. Eugene Y. Taw and Dr. Stephen Po-​Jen are excellent doctors. I really appreciate their level of professionalism and can tell they are with BTCFC to help their community. They also have a dental clinic conveniently located in the same office. Basic dental cleaning is just $ 40 and the visit includes a free exam and two x-​rays. If you or anyone you know ever consider using BTCFC, they have donation boxes and every $ 1 helps.
Walk-​ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred.