Eastern Plumas Health Care and Plumas District Hospital are making good on the promise to work together to bring top quality, broad spectrum health care to all residents of Plumas County. Dr. Mark Williams, the new general surgeon who will be shared by both hospitals is the first tangible proof of this new era of collaboration. Dr. Williams is a USC Medical School trained, Board Certified General Surgeon with medical school honors in General Surgery, Urology, and Plastic Surgery. He received an Outstanding Surgery Resident Award, and he has also taught, researched, and published extensively. Why is he coming to...

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This time of year—given great weather, great causes, and plenty of need, Eastern Plumas County has a fun fundraising event almost every weekend. Community members—with their numbers seemingly doubled by the return of “snowbirds” and the onslaught of tourists—come out in strong support of their favorite events and in turn are treated to a fun game of golf or great music, good food and drink, and unique, often handmade auction fare. Eastern Plumas Health Care joined the party, as it does every year, with its one big annual fundraiser—their “Swing Fore Eastern Plumas Health Care” golf tournament, held for a...

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SAT. JUNE 21, 9 - 1. CALL 832.6600 TODAY FOR YOUR APPT.!!! BREAST CANCER SCREENING SAVES LIVES!! “Breast cancer screening with mammography is the only screening technique that has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality,” according to Eastern Plumas Health Care’s Dr. Michelle Kim. “Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer and the accounts for the second highest rate of cancer related deaths in North American women.” Breast cancer screening recommendations have evolved over the past few years, explained Dr. Kim, but despite this there is consensus that mammography should be done at least biennially for women between...

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Plumas County residents are once again experiencing decision makers’ preference for larger urban communities when it comes to their health care. Last year, it was Eastern Plumas Health Care’s battle to keep their skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) open in the face of cuts that would unfairly affect small, rural communities. This year, the hit is being felt by the new Medi-Cal enrollees. In both cases, the promise of “access to care” seems hollow—and it points to a prejudice against our rural communities that sets a dangerous precedent. Rural counties such as Plumas have recently been required to shift to Medi-Cal Managed...

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One of the primary difficulties facing small, rural hospitals is that of attracting high quality physicians, particularly specialists who face a mountain of debt once they graduate from medical school. Often, locating specialists who are of exceptional quality and who also work to create caring relationships with their patients, is a daunting task. Further, finding them is one thing; getting them to stay is sometimes quite another. So, when Eastern Plumas Health Care managed to attract Dr. Charles Cox, a Board Certified, Stanford trained Gastroenterologist to its staff, there was cause for celebration. Currently, his dance card is so full,...

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The Portola City Council celebrated a hero at its regular city council meeting on April 24. Jose “Tony” Avalos, a humble 20-year-old local who works as a cook at Eastern Plumas Health Care, saved a life on April 14 by running into a burning house and dragging unconscious citizen Dave Stanton to safety. In recognition of Avalos’ selfless act of bravery, the council awarded him with a commemorative plaque given to him by Stanton in an emotional presentation. Mayor Phil Oels read a proclamation describing the event while Avalos’ family and friends snapped photos of the unpretentious man receiving his award from...

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Three members of Eastern Plumas Health Care’s Ambulance Department have just been awarded the prestigious Exemplary Performance Award for 2013 from their overseeing body, Nor-Cal Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EPHC Ambulance Dept. manager, Steve Waldeck, and EMT, Henry Johnson, were partners on the call. Leah Turner, Advanced EMT for Portola Fire Department, who is also a part of EPHC’s ambulance crew, all responded to the call for an unresponsive, possibly not breathing patient. Turner was first to arrive on the scene, where she found the patient with very shallow respirations and a slow pulse rate. Soon after Waldeck and Johnson arrived in the...

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Eastern Plumas Health Care’s new 16 slice, digital CT scanner just received its gold seal accreditation from the American College of Radiology, which is considered “the gold standard of accreditation” in hospital imaging, according to Radiology Supervisor, Mischele Dillon. CT scans take a series of x-ray views from many different angles. It uses state of the art computer technology to process the multiple views in order to create cross-sectional images of bones and soft tissue. A CT scan gives your doctor much more information than a traditional x-ray; it can even create a 3D image. CT scans have many uses,...

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Cathy Conant, Eastern Plumas Health Care’s Director of Human Resources, is retiring after 34 years. But, this sentence does little to impart the true meaning of Cathy’s presence at the hospital all these years. As CEO Tom Hayes will tell you, “Cathy’s loyalty to this organization is second to none.” For a third of a century, Cathy has believed that it’s her duty to be a “caregiver” for this hospital, its staff, and its patients. “You don’t find healthcare, she said, “it finds you. There’s something about the honor of caring for another that goes beyond a job description.” Since 1995,...

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Dr. Wendy Flapan, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist has just joined the staff at Eastern Plumas Health Care. She is, in many ways, a perfect fit for EPHC’s patients. As she explains, a PM&R specialist, or Physiatrist, is a nerve, muscle, and bone expert who treats injuries or illnesses that affect how you move. Her goal is to decrease pain and enhance function without surgery. She also helps patients prior to and after surgery to get back the function they may have lost. Let’s put this into terms those of us who live in this recreational wonderland in the...

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