Fort Bragg, CA – Mendocino Coast Clinics (MCC) is pleased to announce the arrival of physician assistant Stefanie Forrester, a medical provider with more than 20 years of experience who relocated from Sand Point, Alaska, a rural community even smaller than Fort Bragg.

Forrester chose MCC for personal and professional reasons: she was looking for a rural coastal community and she wanted to find a health center where she could provide patients with excellent and comprehensive care. MCC fit the bill on both accounts.

She said, “I was very impressed with the structure and the staff at Mendocino Coast Clinics and continue to be very happy with the organization’s professionalism. I have seen that working here allows me to work to the top of my license, and I look forward to being in an environment with multiple providers so that we may share in our knowledge and learn from each other.”

She describes her approach to medicine as collaborative with the goal of developing strong relationships with her patients. For her, she says, this starts with listening. “Often, patients will tell you what is wrong with them if you listen and give them the time to talk, and then we, as a provider and patient team, can work together to find the most appropriate treatment plan. Working together improves patient compliance and satisfaction.”

Forrester was always drawn to medicine. “Growing up, I wanted to be an emergency room physician. I worked as an emergency room technician during college and for a few years after graduating while I worked on my pre-requisites for medical school. Ultimately, I decided to pursue PA school so that I could have a good work/life balance. That’s when I became very interested in family medicine and internal medicine.” She said she enjoys spending time getting to know patients and their families and she likes the challenge of having to be proficient in all types of medicine to best care for her patients and/or get them to the appropriate specialist.

Forrester’s reasons for choosing a small coastal community are deeply personal. She said, “I have been living and working in rural Alaska and have become accustomed to seeing and hearing the ocean every day. I find it very calming for me. I lost my father at an early age to cancer and we scattered his ashes in the ocean beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Whenever I am near the ocean, I feel his presence and take comfort in knowing that he is still with me in another form. Fort Bragg is a beautiful little ocean town that will allow me to breathe in the ocean smells every day.”

The fact that Fort Bragg was a small rural fishing town was an added bonus, since Forrester had such a positive experience in Alaska in a similar environment. Of small towns in general, she said, “I enjoy living in a small community. I feel it helps me get to know my patients better. It’s nice to be in a place that’s small enough to run into patients or co-workers in the stores or on the walking trails on the weekends.” She is also looking forward to exploring the local art and music culture, as her significant other is both an artist and musician. “I feel that we will be happy to put roots down in this community,” she said.

When Forrester is not working, she spends plenty of time with her four-year-old German Shepherd and her Siberian Husky puppy. She also loves to dance and plans to take an adult tap or ballet class when time allows. Finally, she says she adores horses and would welcome the opportunity to help out at a horse ranch, cleaning stalls in exchange for riding. “It’s great exercise and great for the soul. I hope to find a horse ranch to spend weekends on once I’m further established here in Fort Bragg,” she said.

MCC Executive Director Lucresha Renteria said she is already impressed with Forrester’s attention to patients and her clear desire to provide top-quality care.

Fort Bragg, CA – As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, more people on the coast are struggling to meet their basic needs. In response, Mendocino Coast Clinics (MCC) is partnering with local government and other organizations to provide essential health services to as many people as possible, including registering people for CalFresh.

When people do not have enough money to cover basic living expenses, they are forced to make hard choices. This is the situation CalFresh is designed to address. CalFresh is California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly referred to as food stamps), and it provides monthly food benefits to low-income individuals and families to increase their food budget so they can put more healthy food on the table. CalFresh is the largest food program in California; it is federally funded, state-supervised and county-operated.

To provide these benefits to as many coastal residents as possible, MCC offers the free service of helping people apply for benefits. During this pandemic, the MCC Outreach Department is mostly talking with people over the phone to walk them through the process of completing the required forms. Then, the only activity that must occur in person is signing the form and making some copies, which is quick and easy, according to MCC Executive Director Lucresha Renteria.

The CalFresh benefits a household receives depend on household size, household income, and monthly expenses, including costs like housing and utilities. A family of four with a gross monthly income of $4,292 (or about $51,500 per year) is eligible and the definition of household does not require people to be related, simply to buy and prepare food together. The average CalFresh household receives more than $300 per month, with a household of four being eligible for as much as $642 per month. Details about eligibility are available online at mycalfresh.org/the-basics.

The program issues monthly benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, and food may be purchased at any grocery store or farmers market that accepts EBT cards, including members of the Mendocino County Farmers Market Association, knows as “McFarm” (mcfarm.org). Here on the coast, the Fort Bragg Farmers Market is open year-round with winter hours on Wednesdays from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, rain or shine. All McFarm markets not only accept CalFresh EBT cards to pay for food, they also offer matching funds. CalFresh recipients and those with pandemic relief EBT cards can trade their CalFresh dollars for Market Bucks and the market matches up to about $20, which helps CalFresh dollars go further. The matched dollars must be used on fruits or vegetables, while the rest of the Market Bucks can be used for CalFresh-approved food purchases. The Market Bucks do not expire; however, they must be used at the market where they were purchased. The matching program is funded by the USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grant program and administered locally by North Coast Opportunities.

Farmers Market Director Julie Apostolu said, “CalFresh recipients simply need to come to the farmers market manager’s table where they can use their EBT card to purchase Market Bucks tokens. Thanks to the FINI grant, CalFresh recipients receive fresh produce and other healthy food from the farmers market and all vendors are reimbursed for the full value of their product.”

Renteria said, “Sometimes when money is tight, people choose low-cost fast food or pre-packaged food, which doesn’t have the nutrients to keep people healthy. Fast food is full of high fat, salt, and calories that, over time, can lead to obesity which is a risk-factor for a lot of chronic illnesses. It’s wonderful that our local farmers markets make it easy for everyone to get fresh, healthy food.”