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 Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) is pleased to announce that, in collaboration with the Mendocino and Sonoma County Health Departments, we will be performing two drive-thru COVID19 screening events in our community.
Timber Cove Sunday June 28, 2020 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (or until test kits run out) Location: Fort Ross Elementary School, 30600 Seaview Road Point Arena Monday June 29, 2020 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (or until test kits run out) Location: Veterans Hall/City Hall, 451 School Street, Point Arena Who Can be Screened: Both of these events are first come, first served screening event. For either event, any resident of Sonoma or Mendocino County can be screened. Number of Tests Available: A total of 100 tests will be available to be shared between the two screening sites. All screening is done on a first come, first served basis. What to Bring: Proof that you are a Sonoma or Mendocino County resident. Results Reporting: The Health Department has advised that ONLY POSITIVE patients will be receiving a call with results. They advise that positives should get results within a week; if a person does not get a call within 7 days, their result is a PRESUMED NEGATIVE. Please note that the screening is for asymptomatic people only. If anyone has symptoms, they should not come to these events. They should call RCMS at 707-884-4005 to make other arrangements.  Covered California announced this morning that it would be giving consumers more time to sign up for health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic by extending the current special enrollment deadline through July 31, 2020. Read the full press release here.
 On May 24, 2020 Redwood Coast Medical Service (RCMS) conducted a COVID-19 screening event in partnership with the Mendocino and Sonoma County Health Departments. A total of 212 individuals were tested.
RCMS has been informed that all tests came back negative. We sincerely appreciate the participants, the volunteers, and our staff for their involvement in this important activity for our community. RCMS acknowledges the long and unexpected delay in the COVID-19 screening results from this test, which was due to limited capacity for the labs to process so many samples. RCMS is committed to working with the Health Departments of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties to perform future screenings. We will also continue to advocate for means to do this in a more timely, efficient and geographically accessible fashion. As a reminder, free COVID-19 testing is available through OptumServe in Ukiah, Santa Rosa and Petaluma by appointment. If you are going to one of these areas on other business, consider scheduling an appointment for COVID-19 testing. You can schedule an appointment online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or via phone: (888) 634-1123. Please continue to follow the guidelines given out by Public Health Departments and stay safe and healthy. COVID-19 Community Screening Update
Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) would like to acknowledge the long and unexpected delay in COVID-19 screening results from the May 24, 2020 community screening event held at RCMS in Gualala. The Public Health Lab is still processing the results from the screening, and all results have not yet been received. RCMS recognizes this is an unexpectedly long delay and we have been advised the delay is related to the capacity of the lab to process so many samples. The lab has not been able to keep up with the demand for testing. RCMS is in regular contact with the Mendocino County Health Department about this issue. As RCMS receives results, we will be contacting those tested. Of the test results we have received so far, all tests have been negative. This delay in lab processing is an important issue to those of us living in rural communities. COVID-19 screenings are an important tool for us to safely and effectively reopen our society, businesses, schools and recreational activities. We need to advocate for increased capacity for accessible and timely screening. RCMS is committed to working with the Health Departments of Mendocino and Sonoma Counties to perform future screenings. We will also continue to advocate for means to do this in a more timely, efficient and geographically accessible fashion. As a reminder, free COVID-19 testing is available through OptumServe in Ukiah, Santa Rosa and Petaluma by appointment. If you are going to one of these areas on other business, consider scheduling an appointment for COVID-19 testing. You can schedule an appointment online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting or via phone: (888) 634-1123. Thank you for your patience and understanding.  A note from Medicare.
As more states relax stay-at-home orders, it's important to continue taking steps to protect yourself from COVID-19. Visit CDC.gov for tips to help you run essential errands safely, like getting prescriptions, groceries, gas, and connecting with your doctor. More Info Remember, if you need to see your doctor, please call their office first. Medicare has expanded coverage of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic, for common office visits, mental health counseling, and preventive health screenings. During this time, you may also want to contact your Medicare prescription drug plan to see if they've temporarily waived certain requirements — like waiving prescription refill limits or relaxing restrictions on home or mail delivery of prescription drugs. That way, you can limit in-person visits to the pharmacy. For more general information about COVID-19 and your Medicare coverage, visit Medicare.gov. Sincerely, The Medicare Team The outage has been resolved.
Local callers using landlines cannot reach our clinics and getting a recording. However, cell phone callers, and callers outside of our area code, are able to get through. So if possible, please use cell phones to contact us. We are working to resolve this with AT&T. In the meantime, if it is emergency and you are not able to reach us, please come to the clinic and meet us at the triage tent. We will update the community as soon as this is resolved.  Update from Ara Chakrabarti, CEO
"RCMS did more than 210 COVID-19 screening tests on Sunday, May 24. We have not received the results of these tests yet. We will keep the community informed once the test results are back from the lab." |
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