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 Thank you to all our guests, donors, volunteers, and local businesses for their support of Black & White Night. The night was filled with great food and wine hosted by the Sea Ranch Lodge.
We’d also like to thank Paul and Carol Kozal for hosting a wonderful event at Studio 391. This event was catered by Elizabeth Clune and the food was wonderful. And a big thank you to Robin Hathaway, Paddy Batchelder, and Diane Fischer for making this event a reality.  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately dopamine-producing (“dopaminergic”) neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra.
Symptoms generally develop slowly over years. The progression of symptoms is often a bit different from one person to another due to the diversity of the disease. People with PD may experience:
The cause remains largely unknown. Although there is no cure, treatment options vary and include medications and surgery. While Parkinson’s itself is not fatal, disease complications can be serious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated complications from PD as the 14th cause of death in the United States. The first step to living well with Parkinson’s disease is to understand the disease and the progression: It is possible to have a good to great quality of life with PD. Working with your doctor and following recommended therapies are essential in successfully treating symptoms by using dopaminergic medications. People with PD need this medication because they have low levels or are missing dopamine in the brain, mainly due to impairment of neurons in the substantia nigra. It is important to understand that people with PD first start experiencing symptoms later in the course of the disease because a significant amount of the substantia nigra neurons have already been lost or impaired. Lewy bodies (accumulation of abnormal alpha-synuclein) are found in substantia nigra neurons of PD patients. Scientists are exploring ways to identify biomarkers for PD that can lead to earlier diagnosis and more tailored treatments to slow down the disease process. Currently, all therapies used for PD improve symptoms without slowing or halting the disease progression. In addition to movement-related (“motor”) symptoms, Parkinson’s symptoms may be unrelated to movement (“non-motor”).People with PD are often more impacted by their non-motor symptoms than motor symptoms. Examples of non-motor symptoms include: apathy, depression, constipation, sleep behavior disorders, loss of sense of smell and cognitive impairment. In idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, progression tends to be slow and variable. Doctors often use the Hoehn and Yahr scale to gauge the progression of the disease over the years. The scale was originally implemented in 1967 and it included stages zero to five, where zero is no signs of Parkinson’s and five is advanced PD. It was later changed to become the modified Hoehn and Yahr scale. Page reviewed by Dr. Ahmad Elkouzi, Movement Disorders Fellow at the University of Florida, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence. For more information and resources visit Parkinson's Foundation at: Parkinson's Foundation
 Our community health center is growing, and we’re looking for passionate professionals to join us! If you’re seeking a rewarding career in a supportive, professional environment, we’d love to hear from you!
Open Positions: 📌 Accounts Payable Specialist - Full Time – Manage invoices, payments, and financial records with accuracy and efficiency to support our healthcare operations. 💰 📌 Human Resources and Operations Director - Full Time – Lead HR functions and oversee operations to ensure smooth, efficient workflows in a dynamic healthcare environment. 💼 Why Join Us? ✅ Competitive salary & comprehensive benefits package ✅ Employer retirement match for your future security ✅ A collaborative & professional workplace committed to community health Be part of a team that values your expertise and supports your growth! Apply today and make a difference where it matters most.  We send surveys to our patients to get their feedback on our service. The feedback helps us know what we are doing right and where we can get better.
The results of the survey are used by our performance improvement and quality improvement teams and are actively used to improve our delivery and provide you with the best possible service. Here are some excerpts from our survey responses: "The care I received was exemplary!" "RCMS and Urgent Care are the best places for any sick or injured person to arrive and be care for. All RCMS staff are extraordinary and superb! Always!" "Very busy Urgent Care unit due to high volume of flu/RSV/COVID. No rooms were available, so they treated me in our car which was very nice. Did one X-ray and provided us with meds. Thank you. Great help and care!" "Great staff friendly and on their game."  As of the end of January, seven months into our fiscal year, our financial condition remains strong, but we continue to experience weakness in Primary Care visits and patient revenue, due primarily to a shortage of Primary Care providers. With a new full-time MD coming on board in late February, this situation will gradually improve. Very strong fundraising income from our annual ask buoyed net income for the month, although the bottom line remains negative and significantly below budget for the fiscal year to date. On the positive side, expenses remain under good control, and we feel confident that we can continue to meet whatever financial challenges arise. In particular, we have ample cash reserves to withstand any potential cuts in government funding for an extended period of time.
Details on the latest financial results can be found in the board meeting packet for February 26, 2025, on the RCMS website: Board Agenda and Packet  Community Outreach
While various directives, Executive Orders, and news from Washington have created a sense of fear, uncertainty, and confusion – we, at this time, continue to provide our healthcare services to the community as we have done in the recent past. That is the message I am communicating to our community. As I have done in the last five years in other RCMS-related important topics, I am meeting with people in small groups, community members, and neighbors – mostly after hours to communicate this message, reduce the anxiety, and encourage them to continue to seek healthcare at RCMS as in the past. That is not to say that we are not preparing for the possible impacts of these changes, if they happen, on RCMS and our ability to provide comprehensive healthcare in our community. There is no alternative to RCMS for our remote, isolated, underserved community with many marginalized people. That perspective should be the ‘North Star’ of where we go from here. You may know that local community performers are presenting the musical/play ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Gualala Arts Center to sold-out audiences for six performances. Several of our team members, on their own, are involved in that production. Also, KGUA is having a fundraising activity next week. Again, some members of our staff, on their own, are participating in that. We are also going to sponsor a team, like the last few years, in our community’s Little League this year. And finally, our own fundraising activity – RCMS ‘Black and White’ dinner is coming up on March 19th. Hope all of you will participate in that event. Organizational/Operational update
Our community health center is growing, and we’re looking for passionate professionals to join us! If you’re seeking a rewarding career in a supportive, professional environment, we’d love to hear from you!
Open Positions:
Why Join Us?
Be part of a team that values your expertise and supports your growth! Apply today and make a difference where it matters most.  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: CDC  If you’re seeking a rewarding career in a supportive, professional environment, we’d love to hear from you!
Why Join Us?
Be part of a team that values your expertise and supports your growth! Apply today and make a difference where it matters most. |
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