Family and friends filled the Graeagle Fire Hall on Nov. 15 to remember Larry Fites. A host of speakers honored the man for his work, volunteerism and devotion to family during the celebration of his life. Fites died Nov. 5 at age 78, following a brief illness. Family friend Dink Rife welcomed the attendees. She was followed by Ed Ward, chief of the Graeagle Fire Department; Gail McGrath, Eastern Plumas Health Care; Paul Hardy, Feather River Land Trust; Scott Elliott, California State Park Service; and daughters Karen Gissible and JoAnn Fites. Each of...

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Ready or not, the new health insurance requirements are here! Everyone seems to have an opinion as to whether this is a good or bad thing. The fact is, though, it’s required and for many people in our county, it offers free or lower cost health insurance, and coverage will not be denied for pre-existing conditions or dropped when someone gets very sick or chronically ill. Covered California is the state entity that runs our new health insurance exchange. Those who have health coverage that covers certain “essential health benefits” such as hospital stays, emergency care, maternity care, and pediatric...

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SHERIFF DESCRIBES BRAWL WITH DEPUTY AS ‘LIFE-AND-DEATH’ By Jane Braxton Little Bee Correspondent PORTOLA – A Plumas County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a patient at Eastern Plumas District Hospital in a violent confrontation that moved from the acute-care section into the hospital lobby, officials said Monday. “It was an all-out, life-and-death struggle that resulted in the officer resorting to deadly force,” said Plumas County Sheriff Greg Hagwood. The patient, a 53-year-old man, became disruptive early Sunday – hours after checking in with an unspecified medical complaint – and barricaded himself in a room adjacent to the nurses’ station, Hagwood said. Hagwood said the patient...

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Eastern Plumas Health Care welcomes board certified family practice physician, Dr. Anne Williams, to its staff. She’ll be seeing patients primarily in Portola (including one Saturday per month). Dr. Williams has practiced throughout the Bay Area for the past 23 years, receiving her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Dr. Williams and her husband recently relocated to the Clio area and are in the process of building their home here. She said she has “happily moved from the Bay Area” to Plumas County. Williams said it was always her goal to practice in a rural setting, as...

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This year, beat the flu by attending one of our Drive-Thru Flu Clinics! Thursday, Oct. 24th, 9:00am - 12:00pm at the Graeagle parking lot. Monday, Oct. 28th, 3:00pm - 6:00pm at the Portola Hospital parking lot. A $15 donation is requested. Call 832.6510 for more information.

With October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, quickly approaching it’s good to know that Eastern Plumas Health Care upgraded nearly two years ago to state of the art digital mammography. It’s the Superwoman of mammography—faster, easier, more comfortable, offers less radiation (here the Superwoman analogy breaks down), and diagnosis is faster and more accurate. Mischele Dillon and Meredith Eaton lead a dynamic team in the Radiology Department, and they are excited about the possibilities of digital mammography and the gold standard imaging offered at EPHC in general. Dillon is Radiology Supervisor at EPHC, and Eaton is Lead Mammography Technologist....

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The mood was light and smiles were aplenty at the Eastern Plumas Health Care board meeting Aug. 22. After hearing the hospital would be exempt from the 23 percent Medi-Cal cuts that threatened the facility with closure, there was a tone of triumph in the board members and hospital staff. Board Chairwoman Gail McGrath commended hospital Public Relations Coordinator Linda Satchwell for her outstanding diligence in researching and asking questions that brought essential facts to light. “(Satchwell) did an absolute bang-up job,” she said. “I want to commend her on her efforts.” ...

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We received word late Wed. that the Dept. of Health Care Services has granted EPHC our requested exemption from the devastating skilled nursing Medi-Cal cuts. (We will still have to pay the retroactive amount, but we will be given many years to do this, which we are able to handle.) This protects us from approximately $1.3 million/year in cuts--it is tremendously good news for us, and proves that a small hospital and community, working together, can make a huge difference. We did this ourselves, and we should be very proud! This exemption will cover ALL rural and frontier hospitals, which...

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Diabetes reaches epidemic levels in the U.S. Diabetes statistics for the U.S. population are the stuff nightmares are made of. And yet, as chronic diseases go, this one is remarkably preventable and/or controllable, which makes diabetes education not just useful, but essential, especially for newly diagnosed patients or those who have not previously received this service. Eastern Plumas Health Care’s telemedicine diabetes education program connects Certified Diabetic Educator, Ginger Farias, with diabetic patients through a secure high quality video connection. Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels that result from defects in the body's ability to...

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Diabetes reaches epidemic levels in the U.S. Diabetes statistics for the U.S. population are the stuff nightmares are made of. And yet, as chronic diseases go, this one is remarkably preventable and/or controllable, which makes diabetes education not just useful, but essential, especially for newly diagnosed patients or those who have not previously received this service. Eastern Plumas Health Care’s telemedicine diabetes education program connects Certified Diabetic Educator, Ginger Farias, with diabetic patients through a secure high quality video connection. Diabetes is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels that result from defects in the body's ability to...

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