SCMA/MLCMS
From the desk of: Wendy Young, Executive Director
(and the entire Team from the Sonoma County Medical Association
and Mendocino|Lake County Medical Society)
(707) 525-4141 | exec@scma.org
The Sonoma County Medical Association and Mendocino Lake County Medical Association is working to support our local medical communities through the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic efforts. I do understand that you are already receiving tons of email and updates, so I aim to be helpful, not redundant.

Some of leaders advised that we need masks in the event of a N95 shortage. I put out a call for home sewists to make masks on SM. This led me to a group that had just created a Facebook page called North Bay Sewists Unite with the same mission. We joined efforts and went from 30 to over 700 home sewists making masks for you. If your practice is in need of masks, please use the donation request form below:


FYI - Here are two websites that I check daily that you might find help for a quick overview:





I am hopeful I will have good news for our medical community early next week. I have been working with the Well Physician CA and CMA team night and day for the last week to finalize details and obtain our initial funding for our Care for our Caregivers campaign. We are using Sonoma County as a pilot program for something we hope to roll out statewide shortly after. Stay tuned for details.

Please contact SCMA with any questions or concerns so that we can be sure we are getting you the information you need. You may call our main office line at (707) 525-4375 or email me at scma@scma.org. We are working remotely and are monitoring phone messages and emails. We will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Note: If you have information that you believe is imperative to share with your Sonoma County physician and medical staff colleagues, please drop me a brief email.

If you have an urgent question and need to speak to somebody immediately, please call me, Wendy Young, Executive Director, on my home office line at (707) 620-0808.
** PEER COACHING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED **
SCMA is seeking volunteer physicians to train and deploy (through video conferencing) to provide support to clinicians in California who test positive for COVID-19 or who are displaying COVID-like symptoms. This program of peer coaching will supplement work being done by CMA and the county medical societies to provide support. It’s important to note that we will train physicians as coaches. The video conference for which we would be training, is not considered "practicing medicine,” therefore a current license to practice is not necessary.  

Specifically we are looking for physicians who:

  • Have access to computer audio and video and sufficient broadband.
  • Are passionate about supporting fellow clinicians in this time of need.
  • Are compassionate, empathetic, and patient
  • Are a good listener

 To volunteer for this program, please email your contact info (including mobile #) to:

More details on the initiative are coming shortly! We must first finalize our offerings and get the approval from our lawyer!
CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (CMA)
MEMBER TO MEMBER
Urgent call for all medical offices: The primary care testing sites and the public health testing sites are in desperate need of swabs for testing. If you have Dacron tipped and plastic handled swabs, please consider donating to the effort. Even a few makes a difference! Please deliver your donation of swabs to: 495 Tesconi Cir, Santa Rosa.

Have a message to get out in my next blast, email me at exec@scma.org .
CMA COVID-19 RESPONSE - SIGN UP TO HELP!
CMA is working with the State of California to identify physicians that are willing to help care for patients, both COVID-19 and non COVID-19, in hospitals and new facilities around the state.

To pursue volunteer opportunities, please fill out CMA’s Google form. Paid positions can be explored on the California Medical Assistance Team (CAL-MAT) website . CAL-MAT is comprised of highly trained medical professionals and other specialists coordinated by the State Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) for rapid field medical response, and interested physicians can start the enrollment process here .
TELEHEALTH TOOLKITS FOR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
You can find the Telehealth Toolkit for General Practitioners here:  https://www.cms.gov/files/document/general-telemedicine-toolkit.pdf
STATE OF CALIFORNIA - GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM
COUNTY OF SONOMA
Due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, our health department is providing updated guidance for our clinical partners. Please feel free to disseminate as you see fit. Please go to our website, Health Provider Alerts, for more information. 

Sundari Mase, MD, MPH | Health Officer | Department of Health Services
(707) 565-4426 | Sundari.Mase@sonoma-county.org
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA)
Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis, stay informed with facts by visiting our Rumor Control Page .
CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)


Cases and latest updates (Note: This page will be updated regularly at noon Mondays through Fridays. Numbers close out at 4 p.m. the day before reporting.)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: Find more information on the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans at: SBA.gov/Disaster.