Over the past year, Marin Community Clinics has continued to make good on our commitment to improve the health and well-being of our patients and community while expanding access to compassionate health care – for anyone. Throughout our network of clinics in Marin County, living our values – Excellence, Integrity, Equity and Resilience – has helped us earn the trust of those we serve. Our medical, dental, and behavioral health care teams provided quality care to 36,207 people of all ages last year.
Mammography to Go! Mobile Unit Comes to MCC
Kerner Clinic Staff with Mobile On-Site Breast Screening Truck
With support from Partnership HealthPlan of California, Marin Community Foundation and the Outdoor Art Club, we hosted mobile mammogram events, bringing a mobile imaging unit to our clinics in Novato and San Rafael. We outreached to patients that had never had a mammogram or were past due for breast cancer screening. Approximately 200 women were screened at these events. We are grateful for these partnerships that provided much-needed access to this important screening at a convenient and familiar location.
Fourth Street Dental Clinic Expansion Progress
In July, we completed the first phase of our expansion and renovation project at 411 Fourth Street in San Rafael. This project was made possible thanks to generous donations to our capital campaign. The first phase combined multiple suites into a more efficient space to increase access for more patients. The optimized space has new dental chairs, state-of-the-art equipment, and a remodeled lobby, lab, and sterilization room. The remaining renovations will be completed in 2024.
Inspiring Local Students to Pursue Health Careers
Marin Community Clinics partnered with the Marin County Office of Education and Terra Linda High School to offer paid internships to students interested in health care careers directly out of high school. The Medical Assistant interns learned medical terminology and simple procedures while observing physicians, nurses, and other health
professionals. We were excited to introduce students to our health center and hope they will enter into health care professions.
Tackling Food Insecurity with Access to Nutritious Food
Each week, Marin Community Clinics distributes free nutritious, fresh food to over 800 households at our Community Health Hubs. Held outside our clinics in Novato and San Rafael, the Hubs also provide information on resources and services. Our nutritionists offer budget-friendly recipes and healthy food samples, using the foods distributed that week.
County Supervisor Lucan’s Aide Tanya Albert, Health Hubs Supervisor Carlos Garcia, District 5 Supervisor Eric Lucan, and SF-Marin Food Bank’s Senior Government Affairs Manager Marchon Tatmon
“I am learning a lot about how to eat healthier with the help of nutrition professionals.” – Maria, Patient
This program is possible thanks to our partners at San Francisco-Marin Food Bank and extrafood.org. Throughout the past year, the Hubs have continued to alleviate food insecurity in Marin. We have seen an increase in the number of people relying on this service as the cost of food has increased.
Volunteers are key to the program’s success. If you are interested in volunteering in this fast-paced, rewarding environment, visit marinclinic.org/health-hubs.
New Technology to Improve Patient Care
Upgrading our patient health record system to Epic (the same software used by many health care systems and hospitals) was a major undertaking. Among the many benefits, patients can access the intuitive MyChart patient portal, communication is enhanced between patients and their care team, and providers can securely exchange information with hospitals and specialists who use Epic, adding to the quality and efficiency of care.
National Health Center Week (August 6-12)
Assemblymember Damon Conolly with Interim CEO Leigha Andrews & Medical Director of Strategic Projects, José A. Chibrás-Sainz, M.D.
From passing out healthy snacks to patients on Patient Appreciation Day to treating staff to breakfast and t-shirts showing Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) throughout the U.S. on Staff Appreciation Day, the week was jam-packed! Celebrating the impact of FQHCs, National Health Center Week recognizes the value of patients, staff, and you – our stakeholders.
This year, we were honored to host leaders from the California Primary Care Association and Marin Community Foundation along with California Assemblymember Damon Connolly and aides of Marin County Supervisors at a site visit that included presentations, tours and discussions. Each guest was eager to discuss opportunities for advocacy and action to support Marin Community Clinics.
We appreciated the exchange of insights and information.
Recognized for Top Quality Care
Partnership HealthPlan of California’s Quality Improvement
Program offers financial incentives to public health care systems that achieve established quality measures for Medi-Cal managed care enrollees. Marin Community Clinics’ performance ranked in the top 10% out of 264 provider sites in Partnership’s entire service area, thanks to the focused efforts of our providers and staff.