Prez Jody opened our meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guest/member to be: Jim Gay. Guests: Ilona Horton (North Coast Family Health Center Director), Lucresha Renteria (Executive Director of Mendocino Coast Clinics).

Thought of the Day: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity.”

Happy Dollars:
– Gary is happy for such profound Thoughts of the Day…
– Liliana is happy that we deliver dictionaries to all the local 3rd graders.
– John C is happy that it is raining again.
– Heather is happy to have a new client!

Sunshine Report:
John P. Reports that Wilma is undergoing a procedure today, to please keep her in our thoughts.

Announcements:

April 8-9 the Rotary Assembly will take place in Ukiah. Please consider attending, especially if you are on the Board.

Casino Night will be May 7 – check emails for your tasks. Everyone needs to bring in one raffle prize, two bottles of wine, and donate some large ticket items.

Next week: we will be voting on the bylaws revisions previously presented to club membership.

Jerry announced that the Easter Egg hunt is coming up on Sunday, March 29. Please bring colored, hard-boiled eggs to park between 10-11am on Easter Sunday, or drop them off at Jerry’s house a few days before.

May 22 is Petaluma Sunrise’s biggest fundraiser – Sonoma County Backroad Challenge. Cyclists in our club should register to ride, and promote this event within our local cycling community.

Today’s Program:
Dean introduced Lucresha Renteria, who has worked for 20+ years at Mendocino Coast Clinics (MCC), and was just appointed their Executive Director in January 2016. Before Lucresha presented, Dean taught us the following facts while collecting money as our Finemaster.

Finemaster questions:
– MCC has grown from 12 employees to 125!
– MCC first opened its doors under a different name in the 1970s.
– MCC started in Mendocino.
– MCC first opened to treat the STDs of the “free love” era.
– In 2015, MCC saw 11,300 patients.
– The blue door at MCC is used for the Teen Clinic.
– In 2014, MCC had 53,225 patient visits.

Lucresha has held several roles at MCC over the years. She shared with us the slide show that they use during employee orientation, which covered the clinic’s history and growth. Mission: To build a healthy community by providing quality, patient-centered care to all residents of the coast.

The clinic’s name became MCC on July 1, 1994. They added behavioral health services that same year. Dental services were added in 1996. In 1997, they started planning for a new health center because they outgrew their space. In 2000 they purchased land on South Street. They moved into their new building and received designation as an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) in 2003.

In 2005 MCC opened their Perinatal Service. In 2007 they had to lease the Sequoia Circle site because they already outgrew their new building.

In 2009, MCC opened Blue Door, the Teen Clinic, to reduce the high local teen pregnancy rate. Also in 2009, they expanded their Geriatric Services. In 2011, a local pediatric practice joined MCC at a Cypress Street location. A new wing of theSouth Street building opened in 2013, dedicated at the Liz Irwin Wing. MCC celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2014.

Their annual budget is about $9.9 million. All except for about $200,000 is covered by payment for patient care services and a federal grant. They have to fundraise for about $200K per year. Lucresha shared statistics on their 2015 patient volumes and demographics. Medical = 74%, Dental = 22%, Behavioral Health = 4% of total services provided. They have a couple AmeriCorps workers who help promote Blue Door services with students in the schools.

Their annual fundraiser is Crab, Wine and Beer Days — this year it was an Un-Crab event… The 2015 event raised $50,900 net income.

Today’s Raffle Winners: Erich and Roger.