MENDOCINO COAST CLINICS, INC
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Mission Statement
Mendocino Coast Clinics is a 501(c)3 non-profit community health center serving the North Coast of Mendocino County. MCC provides medical, dental, behavioral health and pediatric care to more than 53% of the population in our service area of 50+ miles of rural and geographically isolated portions of the North Coast. MCC’s mission is to build a healthy community by providing quality patient-centered health care to all coastal residents. We provide health care services to all people who present without regard to race, creed, national origin, physical disability, sexual orientation or ability to pay for services to the extent the services are available at our three facilities.
About This Cause
Mendocino Coast Clinics is a 501(c)3 non-profit community health center located on the rugged North Coast of rural Mendocino County. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), MCC is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, which is representative of our patient’s characteristics. Over 50% of our nine Directors are also MCC patients. They have been recruited because their expertise is vital to the effective functioning of the community health center and they are committed to MCC’s mission to build a healthy community by providing quality patient-centered health care to all coastal residents. We provide health care services to all people who present without regard to race, creed, national origin, physical disability, sexual orientation or ability to pay for services to the extent the services are available at our three facilities. Our Board, staff and providers believe that all individuals have equal rights to optimum care and that each patient will be treated with dignity throughout their clinic visit; that care includes curative, preventive, rehabilitative as well as complementary aspects of patient care which include the enlistment and referral to community resources as appropriate. Mendocino Coast Clinics opened on July 1, 1994! That first year we served 2,564 patients with an operating budget of $408,000. Six months later, Behavioral Health services were added. This has expanded from providing counseling to now including Behavioral Medicine with psychiatric consultations, psychopharmacology, suboxone treatment for opiate addiction and pain management. In 1996, private-practice dentists in our area came together to request that MCC begin providing dental services. So the Dental Clinic opened as another major component of our organization. Soon staff was doubling up in offices and we were quickly growing out of space. With a shortage of exam rooms to keep up with the patient flow, in 1997 we opened discussions to identify a new location. The site was attained and secured in 2000 – and construction began. By the time the doors opened at 205 South Street in 2003, MCC had achieved the designation of a Federally Qualified Health Center. FQHCs are community-based organizations that provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care, including medical, oral, mental health and substance abuse services to persons of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay and regardless of their health insurance status. Hence, FQHCs are a vital component of the health care safety net, locally and across the country. As the demographics and needs of the North Coast’s population changes, we respond. In 2005, when the hospital made the decision to close its prenatal program, MCC took on the responsibility for this fundamental care, rather than leave our community without a local choice. In 2009 and 2011, and at their request, MCC assumed the providers and practices for geriatrics and pediatrics. These well-respected doctors were dealing with pending retirement, the need to invest in electronic record-keeping systems and increasing government requisites. Rather than forfeit these essential services, MCC became their employer. To house these expanded services, we leased, and ultimately purchased, our Sequoia Circle site and took occupancy of the Pediatric office on Cypress Street. Recognizing the increase in teen pregnancy on the coast, we launched a Teen Clinic in 2010, offering an array of confidential health care services and education. Now known as Blue Door@MCC local youth and young adults may text to 707.513.7575 to seek counsel and support. As an extension, MCC staff trained peer youth to be advocates and an outreach practice was created. This program has become highly successful. In 2011, we applied and were awarded a $2.5M grant through the Affordable Care Act to further grow our South Street Clinic. The Liz Irwin Wing was dedicated in 2013. It accommodates the larger, remodeled Dental Clinic and the contemporary and private Behavioral Health Clinic. Additional Administrative office space was created, as well as a large kitchen and conference room suitable for use as a disaster relief facility. Along 50 miles of rural and geographically isolated portions of the northern California coast, our vast service area spreads from Westport to Elk and inland to Comptche. 93% of our patients are from Fort Bragg, Caspar, Mendocino, Little River, Albion, Elk and Point Arena. 4% make the drive from Gualala, Willits, Philo, Manchester, Ukiah, Branscomb, Laytonville, Boonville, Westport; the final 3% are typically visitors who hail from out of our service area. 73% of patients are Caucasian, 20% Latino with the remainder 7% of other ethnicity; 56% are female; 44% male. Our patient profile includes 15% Medicare, 19% Uninsured, 25% Privately Insured and 37% Medi-Cal. In 2015, MCC’s provided care to 11,100 individual patients with 53,225 visits. Through a contract with the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Capital Link (a non-profit organization with the goal of supporting and expanding community-based health care) conducted its Economic Impact Report of MCC for fiscal year 2014. Their findings are impressive. MCC contributed to the local economy to the tune of $15,368,276, $10,000,000 in direct impacts – with $2,000,000 in local, state and federal tax revenue! Now with a staff of 130, MCC has become an employer of choice, and one of the largest in Fort Bragg, with a commitment to foster an environment in which an employee can learn and develop to their fullest potential. Believing that each person must be recognized and respected as an individual, management has made a strong commitment to provide professional training and to nurture in-house employment advancement. A tangible example is the recent promotion of one of the original seven employees. Lucresha Renteria, who began her employment with MCC as a part-time translator, held several positions for 22 years, many of those as the Clinics’ Director of Administrative Services. Upon the retirement of Paula Cohen on January 1, 2016, Lucresha was elected to succeed her as Executive Director. Our staff now includes 2 Pediatrician MDs, 1 Internal Medicine MD, 4 Family Practice MDs, 1 Obstetrician MD, 1 Podiatrist MD, 2 Physician Assistants, 3 Family Nurse Practitioners, 2 Certified Nurse Midwifes, 2 Perinatal Health Educators, 8 RNs, 3 LVNs, 19 Certified Medical Assistants, 4 Dentists, 1 Registered Dental Hygienist, 2 Clinical Psychologists, 3 Licensed Clinical Social Workers, 1 Registered Dietician, and 3 Patient Advocates. MCC Earns National Recognition for Patient-Centered Care! In Washington, DC, on June 24, 2015, The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that MCC had received their Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long term, participative relationships. “NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and coordinated care focused on patients,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Recognition shows that Mendocino Coast Clinics has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.” Patient-Centered Medical Home™ standards emphasize enhanced care through patient-clinician partnership. In our close-knit community with such limited resources, MCC’s services are enriched by teamwork with several of the Coast’s non-profit organizations. Mutual clients’ needs are better addressed through alliance with the Mendocino Coast Children’s Fund, the Cancer Resource Center, Parents & Friends, Safe Passage, Mendocino Coast District Hospital, First Five, Project Sanctuary, Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center, and Friends of Hospice. These joint efforts are accomplished through consultations and comradery. We serve on each other’s boards and help out with each other’s fundraisers. We dedicate efforts to work closely with the City of Fort Bragg, the Mendocino County Department of Public Health, Health and Human Services Agency and the Fort Bragg and Mendocino Unified School Districts to ensure we are moving forward together. On the state level, we keep active to improve legislation through our membership in the California Primary Care Association (CPCA). Because of our FQHC designation, we maintain compliance on the Federal level by meeting unfunded mandated care. Partnership with business advocates is also important to us. We have made a commitment to shop local and support those businesses that support our Mission. In our tourist based economy, the success of our supporters determines the level of support they can give back. MCC is a member of the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce and we work closely with Visit Mendocino County (VMC) during our signature fundraiser, held annually in January. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room on earth” ~ Muhammad Ali This well sums up our core belief and why we do the work we do the way we do it. We go beyond providing medical care. We advocate for our poor and reach out to our partners to secure resources to meet essential needs. The Community Foundation of Mendocino County administers the Carol and Neil Anderson Fund and the Angel Fund, dedicated to extending real dollars for special circumstances. Through them we can provide gas cards and hotel vouchers for families traveling to out-of-the-area specialists; expensive food supplements for extreme dietary restrictions; podiatric shoes and warm clothing, helping us help our patients outside our walls. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit our service area in March 2020, MCC took up the charge to lead our community with PPE, telemedicine appointments, the distribution of medical supplies (thermometers, masks) without charge. We became the first and most consistent testing center and vaccination clinic, setting up a drive-thru station, on the north coast.