Susan Sattui of Santa Rosa and Kenneth Reynoldson of Gualala are the first two local, trained Red Cross volunteers to deploy to San Antonio, in the southern part of the state.

Sattui will be helping to feed people in large shelters. Reynoldson expects to drive throughout affected areas to distribute clean-up supplies such as buckets, mops, bleach, as well as personal toiletries for adults and children. Both will be working on the job for three weeks, the standard length for Red Cross disaster deployments.

The volunteers know they will be facing a “hardship assignment.” That can take many forms; in this case, they can expect high heat and humidity, as well as power outages, that may make their work more difficult.

Additional local volunteers may be deploying to the area in the next week, depending on requests from the national Red Cross and availability of trained volunteers.

Community members who wish to volunteer on similar Red Cross assignments can get trained for free in a variety of classes by the local Red Cross. They often gain experience by volunteering to respond to small local disasters, such as single family fires, that take place throughout our two counties each year.

To learn about classes, they can visit www.arcsm.org and click on “Course Registration.” They can also call the Red Cross at 577-7600 (Sonoma County), or 463-0112 (Mendocino County).

Expenses for volunteers who serve on national disasters are paid for by the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund. Support for local operations of the Red Cross, including disasters such as single family fires, is provided by residents of Sonoma and Mendocino County.

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Massage instructor Rama Deva, HHP. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT – Sutter Lakeside Hospital & Center for Health’s Wellness Center is presenting a Couples Massage and Connection Workshop on July 26 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wellness Center on the Sutter Lakeside campus in Lakeport.

The workshop involves different practices and techniques to connect on a deeper level with your partner. Through these exercises you will experience the movement of your own energy and the effect it has on those around you as well as practices in awareness about your partner’s energy. You will explore your intuition and learn how to cultivate an intuitive touch to bring the most satisfaction to yourself and your partner.

You will learn some basic anatomy and physiology of the muscular and skeletal systems as well as a brief talk about the effect of massage and energy on the other systems of the body.

You will learn and practice some breathing techniques to ground and center yourself as well as connect with your partner. The breath work will relax your body and mind opening your awareness of the moment and being mindful of your partners needs.

Practice and learn how to give and receive a full body massage with oil that relieves stress, relaxes the body and mind, removes toxins, improves circulation, connects you in a more profound way to your beloved, and increases over all wellbeing. Learn about the different types of massage tables and products that can enhance the experience.

The instructor will be Rama Dev, a Holistic Health Practitioner.

The cost is $100 per couple, which includes handouts for breath techniques; handouts for full body massage protocol; three healing stones (per couple); a light lunch; and Aikem Therapeutic blended massage oil (one bottle per couple).

To reserve your space or for more information, please call the Sutter Lakeside Wellness Center at 262-5171.

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John Hodgkin, MD, medical director of the new hospitalist program. Courtesy photo.

CLEARLAKE – A new breed of doctors called “hospitalists” has arrived at Redbud Community Hospital, bringing specialized in-hospital care to patients.

Hospitalists are board-certified internists and family practice physicians who spend 100 percent of their time treating patients who are admitted to the hospital. Hospitalists maintain a close relationship with the patient's primary care physician and return the patient to their physician's care when discharged from the hospital.

“This allows the primary care physician to dedicate their time to caring for patients in their offices. If the primary care physicians choose to care for their patients during a hospitalization, they have that option,” said John Hodgkin, MD, medical director of the new program and a nationally renowned pulmonary medicine specialist honored as 2007 “Outstanding Clinician of the Year” by the California Thoracic Society. He is a board-certified pulmonary and critical care specialist who trained at the Mayo Clinic and has practiced at St. Helena Hospital since 1983.

“Studies have commonly shown improved patient care when hospitalist physicians assume responsibility for the care of inpatients. Hospitalist programs can also reduce the length of hospital stays and the need for readmissions,” he said. “It’s a win-win for inpatients, office patients and doctors.”

Hospitalists at Redbud admit and care for patients who come to the hospital through the emergency department or have been sent to the hospital by their primary care physician. Since hospitalists are based at Redbud full time, they can respond to the needs of patients and their families quickly. “This makes it possible for inpatients to be assessed quickly following their admission and whenever problems arise,” Dr. Hodgkin said.

For patients who have a primary care physician, close contact is maintained between the hospitalist, the patient’s physician, and the patient’s family. At the time of a patient’s discharge, the primary care physician is given key information including required medication and follow-up care instructions.

Redbud’s program is similar to the two-year-old hospitalist program at St. Helena Hospital, where patient satisfaction scores are among the highest in the area. “We believe the hospitalist program at Redbud will have a very positive impact on our patient satisfaction and our quality of care,” said Linda Gibson, senior vice president of operations, who has expressed a goal of making Redbud “the best critical access hospital in the country.”

Redbud operates the program through a partnership with TeamHealth Hospital Medicine, a division of TeamHealth, the nation's largest provider of clinical outsourcing services to more than 500 hospitals.

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SJR 31 calls on the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush to enact the federal “Commercial Fishing Health Care Coverage Act of 2008,” which would provide coverage for the nation’s commercial fishing men and women. Approval by the Health Committee means the measure now heads for a vote of the full Senate.

Wiggins, who chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, said that even though commercial fishing remains one of the nation’s most dangerous professions, the number of men and women in that industry who lack health insurance is “three to four times greater than the national average.”

Her measure, Senate Joint Resolution 31, calls on the President, Vice President Dick Cheney, and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to enact the “Commercial Fishing Health Care Coverage Act,” which is contained in two federal bills, S. 2630 and HR 5404, introduced by a bi-partisan group of Congressional representatives. If they were to become law, the federal bills would authorize funding to coastal states for planning and implementation of health care programs specific to the needs of a state’s commercial fishing fleet.

In her testimony before the committee, Wiggins said that the “fishing community is under-insured relative to most other industries because of the dangers of the job, the migratory nature of fishing fleets, and the irregular cash flow of the industry.”

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