LAKEPORT — “The team at Ukiah Valley Medical Center (UVMC) saved my life,” was a comment made by Pat Douglas of Rocky Point Care Center in Lakeport during a healthcare “speed-dating” event on June 12.
Douglas, a registered nurse and administrator for RPCC, shared her personal story about an emergency surgery performed at UVMC earlier this year.
At the event, dubbed, “Connecting with Focus,” Douglas and other community leaders learned, in a speed-dating format, about the services UVMC provides to the local community in Lake County.
According to Wikipedia, speed dating began in 1998 at Peet”s Caf? in Beverly Hills. On June 12, local community leaders were treated to a morning of educational speed dating, hosted by UVMC and MendoLake Credit Union. The event was held in the Kesey Confernce Center at the Lake County Office of Education.
Jamey Gill, marketing director for Mendo Lake Credit Union, who helped coordinate the event, said, “I had no idea of all the services that are right here in Lakeport.”
Nancy Brier, a local consultant, shared similar views, “I was so impressed to hear that UVMC had health care services in Lake County, and being a consultant, this is a great opportunity to engage the community and share ideas by word-of-mouth.”
Lakeport Chief of Police Brad Rasmussen was equally impressed. “I was really interested to hear that UVMC has a SART (sexual assault response team) program. We”ve been sending victims to Santa Rosa, not knowing that we had an option closer to home.”
“We have an amazing group of doctors and practitioners who provide care in Lakeport,” Darcie Antle, director of the Ukiah Valley Rural Health Center, said, who operates an internal medicine and pediatrics clinic at 487 S. Main St. in Lakeport. The clinics also offer lab draw services at that location.
In addition to the rural health center in Lakeport, speed daters learned about the new Advanced Wound Center for Lake and Mendocino counties, physicians being recruited to the area and the new emergency department at UVMC, which is due to break ground in September.
To find out more about the services offered at the Ukiah Valley Rural Health Center in Lakeport, call 263-4631 or visit the office at 487 S. Main St. in Lakeport.
Nick Bejarano is marketing manager for Ukiah Valley Medical Center.
