National Health Center Week 2019 – Staff Spotlight: Alyssa Hicks

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National Health Center Week 2019 – Staff Spotlight: Alyssa Hicks

In this series, we spotlight Open Door Staff who are involved in our community. Next: Alyssa Hicks, Manager of Health Professional Training and Development

“I grew up in a small town in Arkansas called Gurdon—population of about 2,000 people. My family was low income; we didn’t really communicate about or take care of health needs. The closest thing we had to reproductive health care was 40 minutes away at the county health department. And let’s just say HIPPA didn’t exist there.”

“I was lucky to have an older sister who lived a couple hours away and taught me about reproductive health and services at Planned Parenthood. As I grew older, I knew that I wanted to help people—especially those in small communities—so that they feel comfortable talking about and taking care of their reproductive needs.”

“I started volunteering at the local Six Rivers Planned Parenthood in 2011. And then they hired me to work as a reproductive health specialist, a position I held until 2015 when I came to Open Door. ”

“Then in 2016 my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I feel like our health system completely failed her. She didn’t have the proper insurance to take care of her needs, and there was no local Planned Parenthood for her to lean on. This more than anything has made me want to stay involved with Planned Parenthood, where all genders can get the care they need and deserve—no matter their form of payment. It’s an important service in all communities. I continue to help out at their events here and serve on the local Board of Advocates. I think it’s more important now than ever to stand with Planned Parenthood.”

By Elio Robles|2020-02-07T15:38:59-08:00August 6th, 2019|News|Comments Off

About the Author: Elio Robles

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Walk-In Acute Care Services

Do you need medical care today, but you can’t get in with your regular Open Door provider?

Open Door is pleased to announce walk-in services for non-life threatening medical issues!

What: Open Door Acute Care Center (ACC) for walk-in appointments for established Open Door patients

Who: for all established Open Door patients. We cannot accept anyone who is not already a patient of Open Door.

Where: 2412 Buhne Street, Eureka, CA 95501 | 707.443.4666 phone

When: 8 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday (closed for lunch 12:00PM – 1:00 PM)

What: Walk-in health center (no appointment needed) for established patients

Morning appointments accepted before 11:15 AM

Afternoon appointments accepted before 4:15 PM

The ACC serves the following acute issues:

Cough, chest, or sinus congestion
Sore throat
Earache/ear pain
Nausea/vomiting
Diarrhea/constipation
Headache/migraine
Pinkeye
Eye injury
Asthma or COPD flare up
Wounds/minor injury
Abscess or other infection
Lice, scabies, ringworm, or rash
STD testing
UTI or yeast infection
Back or joint pain, less than 2 weeks

Important Notes:

Appointments are made on a first-come first-served basis.
Wait times can be up to 2 hours.
Come in early, as schedules fill up quickly. We open to pts at 8 am and 1 pm. You can call ahead to see if our schedule is full at (707) 443-4666.

The Acute Care Center cannot see patients for work related injury or illness, sports physicals, or medication refills of any kind.

We cannot treat life-threatening conditions. If you have any of the following, please call 911 or proceed to the Emergency Department nearest you:

Chest pain or heart palpitations
Acute psychiatric changes including suicidal ideation
Severe abdominal pain, active internal bleeding (throwing up blood or black stool)
External bleeding, uncontrolled bleeding or bleeding/ spotting with possible pregnancy
Poisoning
Car accident/physical trauma (assault/major fall)
Suspected (child, sexual, or elder) abuse
Neurological changes including stroke, recent loss of consciousness, decreased level of consciousness (unusually sleepy, listless, “out of it” confused, hard to wake, not acting normal) and seizures

Point of Care Ultrasound Training (POCUS)

The ODCHC APC residency program offers a Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) training program as part of our Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) residency curriculum. This program equips healthcare providers with the skills to perform and interpret ultrasounds at the patient’s bedside, resulting in enhanced diagnostic accuracy, timely decision-making, reduced healthcare costs, improved patient experience, expanded access to underserved areas, and opportunities for education and community health promotion. By integrating POCUS into our curriculum, we enhance patient care and access to healthcare while reducing costs benefiting individual patients and the community.

Procedure Clinic

The procedure clinic within our Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) residency curriculum at Open Door Community Health Centers empowers our healthcare providers with the skills to perform essential medical procedures efficiently in the primary care setting, such as biopsies, injections, suturing, etc. This program significantly benefits our patients and community by ensuring enhanced patient care, reduced wait times, cost-effective treatment, and improved access to essential healthcare services. With procedure-trained providers, we prioritize patient well-being, offer prompt and effective procedures, and contribute to our community’s overall health and satisfaction.

Longitudinal Pediatric Clinics

Our Longitudinal Pediatric Clinic training, an integral component of the Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) residency curriculum at Open Door Community Health Centers, is designed to equip our healthcare providers with specialized skills in pediatric care. This program offers numerous benefits to our patients and community by ensuring comprehensive, continuous, and high-quality healthcare for children. Our residents gain expertise in pediatric diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, leading to improved child health outcomes. By focusing on pediatric care, we are committed to enhancing the well-being of our young patients, fostering healthier communities, and providing a vital service to families in need of specialized healthcare for their children.