California Care Force makes first Eureka visit

By
Tucker Caraway
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At the Adorni Center in Old Town, Eureka, the California Care Force is hosting their free clinic. 

“We’re basically a service that fills the gaps. So, you know, for example, here in Humboldt County, it’s not that some people have insurance, they just don’t have a provider Or the providers in the area are not accepting new patients, or they have to go 65 miles an hour to see a patient, a provider, or, you know, they just have to wait six months and they really can’t wait six months”, says Cyndi Ankiewicz, Executive Director.

They draw providers from around the area to volunteer. 

“We have dental, probably about eight dentists, we have about two optometrists. And then we also have two hygienists. But we also have a lot of vision professionals helping out a ton of general volunteers”, Ankiewicz says.

The California Care Force goes where healthcare is lacking. 

“Well, we’ve never been quite this far north. We’ve done Sacramento. Amador County also is kind of similar to a county with very limited providers. I mean, they didn’t even have a pediatrician in the county, so they have to go outside of the county to find a pediatrician. So we’ve been to counties like that”, she said. 

Tom Lewis, a retired dentist, is the chairperson of the host committee and saw a need for care in Humbodlt county. 

“I’ve been here since 1980. I had a private practice, and then I took some time off and started working in medical clinics, and it was there that I really learned the need of the medical patient that don’t really get good service. In 1995, I started volunteering, and I didn’t retire yet. But anyway, I got to see more working on Medicare patients in needy areas to see how great the need is. And so as I moved into retirement, I decided that that was still healthy. I had a good knowledge of what I done, so I decided to help other people”, he said. 

When the California Care Force is in town, anybody can get help.  

“We don’t ask for identification. We don’t ask for insurance, we don’t ask for any kind of citizenship. Anyone and everyone should be able to seek our services”, says Cyndi Ankiewicz.

Story by Tucker Caraway

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