Multnomah County Health Department

I gotta admit, my expectations were low when I had to get in for an appointment fast at the county for a required physical for the international adoption agency we’re working with, but the people there were so nice! From the lady I made my appointment with to the eligibility person to Dr James, everyone there was awesome. Yes there is a lot of bureaucracy in the system but it was good to know there are nice, hardworking care providers doing their best with what little systems/​tools they are often given. Highly recommend Dr James who was in the Peace Corps prior to this — so nice and gave lots of health tips about traveling to Africa.

I love my Dr. Lisa Sprague and her team. But the care I receive from the rest of the people in this clinic is horrible. Rebecca in the pharmacy needs a new profession. She clearly states «I hate working with the public». Her words exactly! The front office people checking you in automaticly assume if your a different color you don’t speak english.

This is the first time I do not have health insurance…ever, and it frickin’ sucks especially if I have to get immunizations for school. Luckily, Portland has a Community Immunization program for individuals without insurance. Please note that if you have insurance, they will send you away. Frickin-​A though, ONE Hep B shot cost me $ 83. Yes, I understand how «comparably inexpensive» that is, but no one likes spending that much on a lame shot. At least I didn’t have to get all 3 doses here since it’s $ 63/​dose + $ 20 office visit fee EACH time.
The facilities were cleaner than I had expected. The nurse who administered my shot was really friendly. She actually introduced herself to me, which I thought was very welcoming since she was only going to be with me for the whole of 30 seconds. You could tell she catered toward immunizations for school children because of the way she «mothered» me. It was kinda cute.
The woman at the front desk was nice but only to me and other English speaking individuals. It was REALLY annoying to see the disparity in the way she treated me and the Spanish-​speaking family ahead of me. It really is strange to me that all the signs and pamphlets in the clinic were in English AND Spanish, but neither she nor the co-​worker she called over for help knew a lick of Spanish. Why enlist the help of someone if you know they can’t speak Spanish either?! AND, repeating your question slowly and loudly does not help you nor them.. .they’re not deaf, they just don’t understand you! It was really frustrating watching how frustrated the front desk woman was becoming and increasingly ruder. It seemed like this situation was not unfamiliar to her, yet you think someone would take it upon themselves to learn some basic Spanish, get a Spanish-​English dictionary, have key questions/​answers written down somewhere.
Anyway, the clinic is open two days a week (usually T+Th), sometimes Sat. If you go early, the line isn’t very long. I went at 1pm right when they reopened after lunch and only waited 20 minutes. Out by 1:30pm. They’re moving locations to Stark St. too, fyi.

This review is for the CIC (Community Immunization Clinic) located within the Multnomah Country Health Department. I had to get another vaccine for measles since apparently one isn’t protection enough to get into Oregon State University (you know you’re old when they’ve changed the vaccine schedule, ugh!)
Anyhow, I’ve dealt with county clinics before, and it usually means lots of little kids running rampant, dirty facilities, and loooooong waits. It did take me about 45 minutes to get in and out, but that was with filling out paperwork, etc. The staff was really friendly, facilities were clean, and I didn’t have to spend my whole afternoon reading months old copies of magazines!
The costs were also very affordable, for you uninsured folks like myself. OSU wanted to charge me $ 67 to get my 2^nd dose, but I walked out today only paying $ 15. Love it!