News Archives - Mendocino Coast Clinics

Let the Census know we are here! Funding for schools, roads, and other community resources is decided on and distributed according to population. Get some of your tax dollars back by completing the census. It just takes a couple of minutes. Click here to respond:

https://my2020census.gov/

Your response is confidential and can never be used against you by any government agency, including Homeland Security and ICE, or by law enforcement.

So stand up and be counted! A town is a town, no matter how small! #2020census

Our friends at Coastal Street Medicine have been staying busy these days! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have carefully updated their health and safety protocols to make sure that staff and clients are as safe as possible. They also assisted Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center to assure that their homeless clients and front-line staff were keeping safe.

Street Medicine staff has obtained and distributed PPE and hand sanitizer to homeless individuals, those in transitional housing, and front-line workers, including those at the motel where many homeless individuals have been staying.

MCC and Street Medicine staff worked together to set up and carry out a half-day COVID-19 surveillance testing in April for homeless clients and front-line staff. All tests were negative.

The Coastal Street Medicine Program is at the Hospitality Center every Wednesday from 9:00 am to 11:30 am, providing essential services such as:

• blood pressure checks
• blood sugar checks
• dressing changes
• first-aid for injuries
• hygiene products and socks
• assistance with medication
• mental health support
• assistance with referrals and navigation through the
healthcare system
• follow up from ER visits

Thank you to everyone at Coastal Street Medicine for taking care of our most vulnerable residents at this challenging time! #staysafestaywell

MCC will continue our weekly COVID-19 testing through the month of August at our 205 South Street location in Fort Bragg. This is a drive through test with a nasal swab.

This is for people who do not have symptoms. Call us at 964-1251 to be put on the wait list.

If you are experiencing symptoms, call us at 964-1251 to arrange for a staff member to assess you.

Rosa Hernandez celebrates 25 years at MCC

Stacy Pollina-Millen, Maria May, Ana Jara, and Albert Anderson celebrate 15 years at MCC

Dr. Brent Wright, the only OB/GYN on the Mendocino Coast, celebrates 15 years at MCC

Here’s to longevity!

This year, our Dental Clinic Manager, Rosa Luz Hernandez, celebrated 25 years of working at MCC. In addition to managing the busy dental clinic, Rosa also cares for our patients as a Registered Dental Assistant with Extended Functions – all with a smile!

No fewer than four of the staff members at our Sequoia Circle site reached the milestone of 15 years with MCC this year: Dr. Brent Wright, the only OB-GYN on the Coast, site manager Stacy Pollina, and amazing Patient Advocates Albert Anderson and Maria May. They join their coworker, the wonderful Patient Advocate Ana Jara, who reached that milestone last year.

Of the 125 people on staff, 22% have worked here for 5 to 9 years, and 24% for 10 years or more, so nearly half our staff has been caring for our community for more than 5 years. Here’s to the MCC team, and the #bestcareanywhere! #teammcc

If there’s one thing we know how to do here at MCC, it’s adapt to change. It’s how we grew from one tiny location to four flourishing ones, in response to the needs in our community.

COVID-19 has presented some challenges, but we’ve been getting through it the way we always do – together. We have adapted, we changed the way we do things, we are keeping our patients and staff safe. No matter how hard things get, there are still laughs and smiles in our clinic.

We usually celebrate MCC”s July birthday by being together, all 125 of us. This year, we found a new way to be together and celebrate, via Zoom. So while there won’t be an annual staff photo, like the one we took last year, we could all be together virtually.

And it wouldn’t be a birthday party without presents! Staff was delighted to receive the timely gift of soft cotton masks, beautifully embroidered with MCC’s logo. They are the classiest (and most comfortable) masks in town!

We don’t know what the coming year will bring us, but we do know this: we are all in this together.

Yesterday MCC rocked a COVID-19 testing event at Our Lady of Good Counsel Fort Bragg. We stepped up for our community when our friends at the County asked us to use our planned event for outbreak testing for up to 300 specimens. We did 186 tests! Our amazing and dedicated Registered Nurses Jessie and Bill swabbed for six hours straight!

An event like this takes a lot of work, setting it up, getting the tests ready and done, and taking them to be processed, not to mention the post-event clean up. Thank you to our many staff who showed up to help out on their day off, as well as some former employees and volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without you!

And thank you to everyone who got tested and waited patiently in line for your turn, observing physical distancing and wearing masks. We appreciate your patience and trust, and we are honored to serve our community.

MCC is continuing our free drive through testing for COVID-19. This week, we are testing on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Testing is free and you do not need to be a Clinic patient. Just call 964-1251 to be put on the wait list. We are scheduling testing appointments first call, first served.

So far, we have done more than 1,000 tests – and counting! We are so glad to provide this critical service to our community at this challenging time.

Some information for our community:

If you have symptoms of Coronavirus, please call your healthcare provider. If you don’t have one, you can call us at 964-1251 to establish a healthcare home here at MCC.

If you believe you have been exposed to Coronavirus, you can do any of the following:

• Call your healthcare provider to discuss the exposure to determine if you should be tested.

• If you 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲, you could wait to hear from County Public Health. They will conduct contact tracing for any positive case. If you are a “contact”, they will reach out to you about getting tested, quarantine, etc. This can take some time, so if you are concerned, contact your healthcare provider.

• If you 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀, you can call to get an appointment for surveillance testing at MCC. We are testing twice a week during the month of July. Call 964-1251 to make an appointment. Results are taking around 10-14 days.

• If you 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀, you can call to make an appointment for a test at OptumServe in Ukiah. Testing is available Tuesday – Saturday. Call 888-634-1123 if you do not have internet access or go to https://lhi.care/covidtesting to make an appointment. Results are taking about a week,

• If you 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 of the virus, call your healthcare provider to be assessed and isolate yourself at home until your assessment and/or testing is done and the result is received.

Have questions? Call us at 964-1251. #staysafestaywell

Just a friendly reminder that we are doing weekly drive-through COVID-19 testing. The testing is free and you do not have to be a Clinic patient.

To register for testing, click here and fill out the form:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WQPNQXL

We will contact you to set up a date and time for your test. It is a drive through test at our clinic at 205 South Street in Fort Bragg. It is very quick and convenient.

This testing is for people who do not have symptoms. If you do have symptoms, such as persistent fever, cough, shortness of breath, or a sudden loss of taste or smell, please call us at 964-1251 to speak with a nurse.

Take care of yourself and others by wearing a mask in public, keeping physical distance from others, and washing your hands often. We’re all in this together! #staysafestaywell #bestcareanywhere

Our friends at the Centers for Disease Control warn consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by “Eskbiochem SA de CV” in Mexico, since they may contain the toxic ingredient methanol. Methanol can cause blindness and/or death when absorbed through the skin or when swallowed.

The entire press release is here:

https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00434.asp

Be careful and stay well!

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