Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center - Albany

Daniel Babicz

This is going to be as fair as a review as humanly possible. I switched to Whitney Young as my son's primary health care servicer so that my child with health conditions could continue to see the same, great provider that he has seen throughout the years. I have honestly regretted it since. The issue here is not with the Doctor's or even the nurses. The issue comes from complete lack of communication, and lack of follow through. Whenever I call in, there is easily a 45+ minute wait on the phones. This makes any type of "quick" conversation impossible, and really makes it so you have to plan your day around the phone call to WY. When you finally do get a hold of a staff member, you can tell the frustration they have been through. They are tired, and worn out and you can really tell. I don't blame the staff answering the phones, I blame leadership. A great example of what I just had to deal with commonly goes like this: My child get's sick. My child takes medications that can clash with OTC's so I put in a phone call. 45+ minutes later, I am connected to a curt operator who doesn't let me finish my sentence. I kindly ask the receptionist to have anyone call me back so I can ask them what my son can and can not take. That was three days ago. Second day, I emailed the provider through their online portal system, Athena. This too is a joke. I write two separate letters, on two more separate days, begging for them to communicate with me, and asking for help. No reply. I called again this morning, and explain for the third time (45 minutes x 3 now for 1 call) that I desperately need medical advice. When I finally get connected to the nurse, they claim they never got the email messages, or the phone messages. Why not? Communication and leadership. I have never had to work so hard to get a prescription refill, a referral, or just have a medical question answered at Whitney Young. I really do believe that there are great people working in there that genuinely want to help, but without leadership having your backs and active communication throughout all levels of the company, this type of situation will continue to happen. If you can look elsewhere, you'll be happy you did.

Krista Harwell

If I could give zero stars I would. I transferred with the boys pediatrician because he had seen them for 6 & 12 years. When you call, there is a 30 minute hold time before you speak to a receptionist and everytime I leave message for a call back I NEVER receive one. Not to mention in person visits... Its a two hour trip does not matter what time of day and the lobby is usually empty. Would NOT recommend.

Mele Bulger

As a long time employee I would just like say that we are doing the best we can. Those of us still working here are sticking it out and remaining here for you before, during and after Covid, We will continue to remain here for you always. So we are short staffed in our call centers, our front desks, our clinical staff and so on and so forth. Do you think we sit around and plot ways to upset patients? Do you think we keep you on hold just for fun? Do you think you are more important than the patient being seen before or after you? Do you think it's ok to come in here on a daily basis and behave belligerently and threaten our lives over asking you to keep a mask on and follow Covid regulations and other basic decencies and practice policies. Do you realize the risks we take showing up every day. We have families and loved ones too. I don't disagree it's frustrating to wait, etc. Perhaps some of you can volunteer in our call center or other short staffed departments and then write a new review.

Ryan E. Deyette

Lot of tough reviews on here so I thought I would share my two experiences at this location. I recently finished graduate school and am still job hunting, so I had to get some inexpensive dental insurance. Having done so, I only had two options for clinics, here, and St. Peter's clinic. People need to keep realistic expectations. This location handles the medicaid patients in the area. They do extremely high volume compared to most private dental clinics. My only complaint is that it is hard to get someone on the phone and that is because one person is taking care of myriad tasks and sometimes you have to be on hold. I just plan on calling when I am working on something else so I don't get ticked off from waiting. Again, it is what it is...going with the flow tends to be less frustrating than trying to stop the tide. Check in: Richard was working the front desk. He was very polite and helpful. Just a side note, I find that when I am polite to people and treat them with respect, I get the same treatment in return. I experienced this with every employee I encountered there. Exam and Cleaning: I loved the fact that my exam and cleaning were in one appointment. I had Jennifer cleaning my teeth. She was extremely efficient, yet very thorough as well. I was done faster than any dental appointment ever. She was moving and moving me (through dental x-rays) quickly. It was great. I am someone who seriously dislikes wasting time lol. Fillings: My follow up with Dr. Holder and Lavena (may be off with her name and if so, my apologies) were awesome. I was set up before Dr. Holder came in. He numbed me up real quick and also listened to my question/concern about my front tooth being chipped and chipping away more and more. He quickly ground it down a bit before starting. (He was also working on a patient next door going back and forth. I think this is great! I love the efficiency in this office). I was extremely happy because at most private dental clinics, this would have been a separate appointment. My fillings and cleaning times combined were still faster than most any single dental appointment I've ever had. Checkout: I didn't speak to the young woman for checking out. She was on the phone and I didn't want to wait (I also realized I didn't need to do anything because long-term appointments are not made, only 30 days out at most). Dr. Holder already informed me when I needed to call and get an appointment for my next cleaning. I told Richard thank you and that I would call to make an appointment when my next cleaning was due. As always, I received a polite response from Richard. So overall my expectations were low based on my insurance and my options. I was pleasantly surprised on both visits. Even when I start working, I plan on continuing to go to this clinic, I am that happy with the service and I am someone who is notorious for tearing apart bad service in my reviews lol. I also give credit when credit is due :<). *It's been several days since I had my work done and my teeth still feel great. I've had to go back in after getting fillings in the past because they didn't feel right when I would bite down. This was at two different clinics and they both were higher end clinics that only excepted very good insurance. So in terms of a value perspective. I give this clinic 5 stars. **Last note, I got to my appointments very early. I never get to appointments more than 30 minutes prior, but doing so enabled me to get squeezed in quicker. That won't always happen, but it's great that it did. I also always bring work with me or something to read when going to an appointment. Just sitting and waiting with nothing to do would probably get me very upset as well. People just have to be smart and plan accordingly.