About
The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center (CBWCHC) is a leading nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that has served the Asian American community and other underserved populations in the New York metropolitan area for over 50 years. Founded in 1971, CBWCHC emerged from grassroots community organizing when a group of volunteers organized the first-ever Chinatown Health Fair, a 10-day event that attracted approximately 2,500 community members who lacked access to health services in their own language. Following the overwhelming community response, the Chinatown Health Clinic opened that same year in a space generously donated by the Episcopal Church of Our Savior at 48 Henry Street, operating initially with volunteer doctors, nurses, social workers, students, and community health workers who provided free services two evenings each week and on Sunday afternoons.
The organization's founding was deeply rooted in addressing systemic healthcare disparities. During the early 1970s, the Chinatown community faced significant barriers to healthcare access, including language obstacles, cultural disconnects, and economic hardship. The volunteers who established the clinic recognized these challenges and created a model of care centered on bilingual and bicultural service delivery. This commitment to linguistic and cultural responsiveness remains a cornerstone of CBWCHC's mission today, with many providers being multilingual to ensure that the organization's incredibly diverse patient population receives culturally appropriate care.
Over its five decades of operation, CBWCHC has experienced substantial growth and expansion. The organization relocated to a new facility at 89 Baxter Street in 1979, which doubled the center's capacity and provided a more comparable patient care setting. This expansion enabled the health center to significantly increase its annual patient population from 2,000 in the early years to more than 18,000, comprising over 80,000 medical and dental service visits. In 1997, recognizing the growing Asian American population in Queens, CBWCHC established a health center in Flushing to provide primary healthcare services to the expanding Korean-American and broader Asian American communities in Queens County. The organization was renamed the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in 1999, honoring its commitment to community-centered care. In 2002, the center dedicated a new facility at 268 Canal Street and expanded its pediatric services at the Flushing site.
As of 2023, CBWCHC operates six locations across Lower Manhattan and Flushing, Queens, serving over 59,000 patients with more than 285,000 service visits annually. The health center has been recognized as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) since 2010, and was recognized as a national quality leader in 2020. The organization's patient population is predominantly low-income, uninsured, or under-insured Asian Americans, though CBWCHC serves all community members regardless of ability to pay, language spoken, or immigration history.
CBWHC's comprehensive service offerings span the full spectrum of primary and preventive healthcare. The health center provides internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dental care, primary eye care, mental health services, social work, and health education. Specialty care services include optometry, urology, hematology, pulmonology, and nephrology. Beyond clinical services, CBWCHC operates specialized programs including a Hepatitis B care program, a quit smoking program, a teen resource center, and a special needs program. The organization also provides anti-hate safety resources, reflecting its commitment to addressing the broader social determinants of health affecting its communities.
What distinguishes CBWCHC from other healthcare providers is its unwavering commitment to health equity and community empowerment. The organization's providers are board-certified or board-eligible and licensed to practice in New York State, and they employ a patient-centered approach that prioritizes individual needs and delivers the highest level of care. The health center operates seven days a week and accepts most major health insurance plans, making quality healthcare accessible to working families and those with varying insurance coverage. Additionally, CBWCHC has demonstrated remarkable adaptability and resilience, maintaining open doors throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while quickly launching telehealth services and becoming part of the public health response through testing and education initiatives.
The organization's impact extends beyond direct patient care. CBWCHC has established a Community Health Resource Center (CHRC) that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health education information, free health screenings, vaccinations, and other resources to empower community residents to lead healthier lifestyles. This reflects the organization's philosophy that health improvement requires not only clinical intervention but also community education and engagement. By maintaining its roots in community organizing while expanding its clinical capacity and expertise, CBWCHC represents a model of healthcare delivery that honors both the clinical rigor necessary for quality care and the community wisdom essential for addressing health disparities.
