Beginning Monday, July 20, the Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) Dental Clinic in Point Arena will be open Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm for dental emergencies and for dental care that was previously postponed. 
While we wait for some additional safety equipment Dr. Rams and Dr. Thomas will be alternating weeks on duty. 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some changes to coming to the dental clinic:

• Our office will communicate with you before your visit to ask some screening questions. 
• You will be asked those same questions again when you arrive at the office before your appointment. 
• We ask that patients wait in their vehicle until an assistant indicates the Doctor is ready for you. 
• Your temperature will be checked and masks are required to enter the building.
• We will request that you wash your hands or use hand sanitizer and do an oral rinse before being seated. 

We thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate through this time. The dental clinic can be reached at (707) 882-2189.

Redwood Coast Medical Services (RCMS) is pleased to announce that, in collaboration with the Mendocino County Health Department, we will be performing a free COVID19 drive-through screening event in our community.
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Gualala
Saturday July 11, 2020
9:00 AM until swabs run out
Location: Parking Lot at Mary Star of the Sea, 39141 Church Street, Gualala
 
Logistics/Access:
Mary Star of the Sea is the church at the bottom on the hill, just below the RCMS clinic, on Church Street in Gualala.  Please proceed to the event from the south end of Church Street, and exit the event down Ocean Drive.  This allows for a one-way traffic, drive-through event, and makes the screening very quick and efficient.   
 
Who Can be Screened:

• Any resident of Mendocino or Sonoma County can be screened.
• This screening is for people without COVID19 symptoms. (i.e. no fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste/smell, vomiting/diarrhea.) If you have symptoms, do not come to this event, instead, please call RCMS at 707-884-4005 to make other arrangements.

Number of Tests Available:
A total of 100 tests will be available. All screening is done on a first come, first served basis. 
 
Procedure and Results Reporting:
Screening with be with a nasal swab sitting in your car.  If you walk up to the event, you will be screened in a chair outside.  We will try to respect your privacy, but this is a public/outside event, and we cannot guarantee privacy.   
 
If you test POSITIVE for COVID19, you will receive a telephone call by July 20, 2020.   If you do not receive a telephone call, you can presume you have a negative test.
 
This event is staffed by community volunteers and RCMS medical staff. 
We would like to thank them deeply for their efforts and time.

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.
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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.