​Stay covered! Your local Medi-Cal office will review your eligibility every year. You may be renewed automatically. They’ll reach out to you when it’s your turn. Make sure your information is up to date. Learn more at Medi-Cal.dhcs.ca.gov.

If you have questions or need assistance with your renewal paperwork, RCMS has free assistance available. For more information call:
Javier Chavez 707.884.9670

¡Mantenga su cobertra! Su oficina local de Medi-Cal revisará su elegibilidad cada año. Puede que su renovación sea automática. Se comunicarán con usted cuando le toque hacer su renovación. Revise que su información esté actualizada. Más información en Medi-Cal.dhcs.ca.gov.
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Si tiene preguntas o necesita ayuda con su trámite de renovación, RCMS tiene asistencia gratuita disponible. Para mas informacion llame:
Javier Chavez 707.884.9670

National Doctors’ Week is March 25-31, 2024 so we are honoring our doctors today with heartfelt thanks!

Each year National Doctors’ Week is celebrated in the U.S. on March 30th. It is a week that honors doctors for the work they do for their patients, the communities they work in, and for society as a whole. Their hard work and devotion keeps all of us healthy and this acknowledgment is just a small way to say thanks to them for doing that for us and our loved ones.

Thank you to our Doctors here at RCMS!
Dr. Afsoon, DO | Dr. Bennett, DDS | Dr. Bertolli, MD | Dr. Leong, DDS | Dr. Thomas, DMD

​We are thrilled to unveil the latest addition to our healthcare services at RCMS - the long-awaited Patient Portal. After years of dedicated effort from our healthcare team, we are excited to announce that the RCMS Patient Portal is now live and accessible to all our patients.
 
The RCMS Patient Portal serves as a centralized platform designed to revolutionize how you manage your healthcare records. With just a few clicks, you can securely access your medical information, prescriptions, and more, all in one convenient location. Say goodbye to cumbersome paperwork and hello to streamlined healthcare management.
 
If you haven't already taken advantage of this innovative tool, creating your account is quick and simple. Just visit our login page and follow the easy steps to set up your account. Once registered, you'll gain instant access to the wealth of resources available through the Patient Portal.
 
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated individuals who played a pivotal role in bringing the Patient Portal to fruition. From our hardworking staff and supportive board members to the invaluable feedback provided by our patients during the testing phase, this achievement is a testament to the power of collaboration and community.
 
At RCMS, we are committed to enhancing your healthcare experience, and the launch of our Patient Portal is a significant step towards that goal. We look forward to empowering you with greater control over your health journey and providing unparalleled support every step of the way.
 
Take charge of your healthcare today with the RCMS Patient Portal. Your health, your records, your way.

CEO Report Notes from February 28, 2024
Board Meeting
Ara Chakrabarti, CEO

The following is an outline of comments from the CEO at the recent Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) Board Meeting.
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Community Communication

• On February 10th, four of the six candidates for the California 2nd assembly district came to RCMS. We hosted them for a meeting at EJC and then they visited our main facility. We emphasized to them the importance of what we do and the challenges that we have as the sole provider of E/R like emergency medical care, primary healthcare, mental health care, dental care, palliative and end-of-life care in this remote, isolated, and underserved community. We talked about our role during emergencies, in conjunction with CLSD and our fire departments – how we became a field hospital. We also talked about some of the unfunded mandates that come down from Washington or Sacramento that make our ability to do what we are supposed to do more challenging. We would hope that they were listening.
• Kind of related to this topic – on April 15th, there is something called “Day at the Capital” when healthcare-providing entities in California will meet with the lawmakers to lobby and to emphasize the impacts, both positive and negative, that their legislative agenda has on us. I plan to be part of that activity (been invited) in Sacramento to voice the unique concerns and challenges of rural, isolated, medically underserved communities like us.
• We met with the CLSD BOD this week to update them on our building expansion plan. We also shared with them our Urgent Care financials for the 1st half of this fiscal year. We will continue to share this information with them quarterly. Discussions were meaningful and insightful.     

Organizational/Operational update

• We met with our leadership team (that is our managers, team leads, and project leads) at an off-site meeting on Feb 17th. It was a facilitated planning session and our facilitator was Drew. This is the second of these meetings (and Drew was the facilitator then as well) and we plan to continue to have these with the leadership team every three to four months. As a team, we identify what we will focus on next number of months. We also discussed the status of the initiatives we identified last time we met. The discussions are lively and very valuable and help all of us with a road map of what we all agree to work on as an organization. 
• We have a dedicated Safety and Disaster coordinator on our team now. Chris Behrens joined our team late last year and is leading these activities. Given the critical role we play as a healthcare-providing entity – safety and disaster preparedness, from the perspective of both our patients and our employees, are important functions that need dedicated focus. We are working on these important initiatives under Chris’ leadership.
• Palliative care –After quite a few roadblocks, we believe we have now everything we need to file our application to the State to be approved as a formal Palliative Care provider in our community. These will include our Hospice-like services, Home Health clinical care, Visiting Nurse program, End-of-life clinical care, etc. I want to make a special mention of Lea Seefeldt for coordinating and Lois Falk providing the Clinical Leadership for this important initiative.      
• We are continuing our Annual external audit activities with the auditing firm. It is quite a bit of work for our staff, particularly our financial team. We are expecting the draft audit to be ready in the next 2 to 3 weeks.
• As most of you may know, we are having an “RCMS Black and White and White Night” event at the Sea Ranch Lodge on March 20th evening. This is a ticketed fundraising event which should also allow us to appreciate and thank many of our donors.
• And finally – Facilities. Before we talk about quite a bit of activity that took place over the last month or so on our building expansion initiative, I want to report that we are working through the initiative to replace all the flooring in the upstairs of the main building.

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives.
 Regular screening, beginning at age 45, is the key to preventing colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon or rectum). If you’re 45 to 75 years old, get screened for colorectal cancer regularly. If you’re younger than 45 and think you may be at high risk of getting colorectal cancer, or if you’re older than 75, talk to your doctor about screening.
 
Colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer don’t always cause symptoms, especially at first. That is why getting screened regularly for colorectal cancer is so important.

Screening Test Options
Several screening tests can be used to find polyps or colorectal cancer, including some that you can do at home. Each test has advantages and disadvantages. Talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of each test, and how often to be tested.

To schedule an appointment, call RCMS 707.884.4005.

For more information please visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website:
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/colorectalawareness/index.htm