LAKE COUNTY
Adventist Health launches virtual visits
Adventist Health announced that it has launched on-demand virtual services which allows doctors to consult with patients remotely using video and audio through a computer or mobile device. Virtual visits can be vital to cope with the growing surge in demand for medical services – and to keep health workers and patients safer. So, instead of sitting in a waiting room, patients can see their doctor using video from their computer or device from home.
Providers are using virtual visits to screen for COVID-19 cases, handle routine visits and the chronically ill. They are proving to provide comfort for those patients who are anxious about coming to a clinic, especially as the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies. Virtual visits also save masks, gowns and key supplies, which are in high demand for dealing with the pandemic.
Patients are eagerly embracing this approach, in part to avoid going to clinics and waiting rooms. Limiting face-to-face encounters also helps protect health workers and support staff who are concerned about their exposure to infected patients who may be visiting clinics.
So, how does it work? To participate in a virtual visit, a patient just needs a smartphone, tablet or computer with a working camera and microphone. The provider sends an email with a link for the scheduled visit which utilizes Microsoft Teams, a technology-enabled, easy-to use secure platform, which is available as a downloadable app or web-based app. Once the visit begins, the provider and patient can see and hear each other as if they were in the same room.
Adventist Health’s clinic staff is reaching out to patients to reschedule appointments as virtual visits if possible. Patients who have a scheduled in-person appointment with a provider can also request to have their appointment rescheduled as a virtual visit by contacting their doctor’s office.
Virtual visits are covered by most insurance plans. To learn more about virtual visits, go to AdventistHealth.org/VirtualVisits or contact your local provider.
—Submitted
SANTA ROSA
Sonoma County Farmers Provide Local Food Source During COVID-19 Pandemic
Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Shelter in Place Order, local farmers and ranchers are still providing a stable food source for our community. While farmers and their employees are still working, as agriculture is listed as an essential business, their practices have been modified to ensure employee health and safety.
Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for all agricultural employees has always been a top priority in the agriculture industry. In order to lower the impact of COVID-19 on employees, the farm employers have taken extra measures to protect employees’ health and safety so that farmers can continue to provide a stable, local food supply.
Many companies are switching to work from home practices for those employees who can, and have modified work environments for those who are still reporting to worksites. Social distancing is being enforced and proper workspace sanitation practices are being followed.
Many farmers and ranchers have adapted quickly to the new way of doing business under COVID-19 restrictions.
Scott Bice, Manager of Redwood Hill Farm, said that they have had to modify their offerings because of the restrictions.
“We are happy to be working and giving back to our community at this time,” Bice said. “Being a small diversified farm with goats, olives, hops, and flowers has been okay, but what has suffered is our agri-tourism.”
For more information about how the guidelines and practices farmers and ranchers have been made aware of are implementing to keep them and their employees safe, please visit our website https://sonomafb.org/coronavirus-resources-2020/ or visit the California Farm Bureau Federation Coronavirus Farm and Ranch Resource page https://www.cfbf.com/covid-19-information/ https://www.cfbf.com/covid-19-information/
For more information contact Sonoma County Farm Bureau at 707-544-5575 or Tawny@sonomafb.org
—Submitted
UKIAH
Mendocino College Foundation pledges $150,000 in matching funds for Student Emergency Grants
“Many of our students are struggling right now,” said Linda Chapman, Mendocino College Foundation Board Vice President. “Our goal is to help them as quickly and easily as possible.”
On April 6, Mendocino College Foundation Board President Tom Dow asked the board to approve $150,000 in direct student support. This is a matching fund pledge unanimously approved by the Foundation. The Foundation will match every dollar donated to the fund, thus doubling the funds. Currently the fund has $36,000, including a generous $12,000 gift from the Redwood Credit Union.
Eligible students will receive $250 to use for anything they need help with from the Student Emergency Fund at Mendocino College. A recent recipient of the funds stated that after being laid off from her full-time job and being worried about the future, she was grateful for the student emergency funds that helped ease some of her anxiety.
“There is nothing more central to the Foundation’s mission than to support our students,” says DeMeulenaere. “Now more than ever this is true. We will need a lot more funds than the allocated $150,000 so we looking to draw on those deep reservoirs of generosity and resilience that are the hallmarks of our community.”
One hundred percent of every donation goes directly to the fund and is distributed directly to students. There are no fees. That means $100 immediately turns into $200. To provide a gift, go to: https://give.classy.org/mcgiving2020
To apply for the Student Emergency Funds at Mendocino College, email kbartolomei@mendocino.edu or efields@mendocino.edu and request an application. For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation, please contact Katie Fairbairn, Executive Director at kfairbairn@mendocino.edu.
—Submitted
