Mee Memorial Healthcare System to celebrate the power of rural’ on Nov. 18 for Rural Health Day

  There are many advantages to living in rural areas, among them less noise, more privacy, a close proximity to nature and a strong sense of community. 

King City, CA, September 01, 2021 — There are many advantages to living in rural areas, among them less noise, more privacy, a close proximity to nature and a strong sense of community. 

As the only comprehensive medical facility within 40 miles of its base in King City, Mee Memorial Healthcare System will celebrate National Rural Health Day with its neighbors on Nov. 18. Each year, the third Thursday in November is set aside to highlight rural communities as wonderful places to live and work, to increase awareness of rural health-related issues, and to promote the efforts of organizations that address these issues. 

This year the theme is “Celebrate the Power of Rural,” with plans to honor the community-minded spirit that prevails in the countryside of America. 

As part of those efforts, Mee Memorial has launched a poster contest that is open to all South Monterey County public and private students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Poster submissions should reflect the 2021 theme.

 Prizes will be awarded to individuals (as well as to classrooms) for first, second and third place. Winners and teachers will be announced and notified on Rural Health Day, Thursday, Nov. 18. 

Entries will be accepted through Friday, November 12th. Students must send a photo or a PDF via email to media@thebuzzpr.net or through the U.S. mail (postmarked on or before November 12th ) to: 1320-B Main St., #235 Salinas, CA 93901-2109. 

An estimated 57 million people — nearly 1 in 5 Americans — live in rural communities throughout the United States. 

Many of these rural communities face a variety of barriers that adversely affect their overall physical, social and mental health status. 

According to the National Rural Health Association, the following statistics help define healthcare challenges in rural areas across the country: 

·        Although 25 percent of Americans live in rural areas, only 10 percent of physicians practice in them.

·        Rural residents tend to have a per capita income that is $9,242 lower than residents in urban areas.

·        Approximately 1 out of 4 rural children live in poverty.

·        Over the past 25-years, more than 500 rural hospitals have closed.

·        Rural residents face greater problems with medical transportation than residents living in urban areas.

·        Approximately 20 percent of rural counties lack not only basic mental health services but any mental health services at all.

·        Approximately 54 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed internet. This can make it more difficult for them to access their health information from home.

·        Tobacco use is a significantly higher problem among rural youth than it is urban youth.

·        Rural communities have higher unemployment rates and more uninsured residents, which can result in limited access to healthcare.

·        Rates of diabetes and coronary heart disease are higher in rural areas than urban areas. 

More information:

Mee Memorial Hospital Foundation

300 Canal St., King City, CA 93930

Phone: 831-386-7327

Online: www.meememorial.com

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
The Buzz PR, LLC.
Salinas, CA
(831) 747-7455
http://www.meememorial.com

 

Mee Memorial Healthcare System’s Board appoints Two Physicians as New Trustees to Governing body

  Mee Memorial Healthcare System’s (MMHS) governing body has appointed two new members to its Board of Trustees, responsible for ensuring quality healthcare and financial wellbeing. 

King City, CA, February 08, 2021 - Mee Memorial Healthcare System’s (MMHS) governing body has appointed two new members to its Board of Trustees, responsible for ensuring quality healthcare and financial wellbeing.

 The new members include Dr. Moneesha Pinto, an Internist at the King City Clinic, and Dr. Noah Hawthorne, an Emergency Medicine physician at Mee Memorial.. The appointments add to the expertise, experience and diversity that make up the current board. Dr. Pinto will be named Chief of Staff. 

Dr. Pinto began working with MMHS in July 2017. Born in Mumbai, India, she had never been out of the country until moving to San Jose at age 16. Her grandaunt was one of India’s first female doctors. Having lost both her husband and child to Yellow Fever, she dedicated her life to treating women in distant villages without any healthcare options. 

Dr. Pinto did undergraduate work at Santa Clara University and went to medical school at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. She prefers the quiet pace of rural life and likes to travel, cook, eat, garden and read. 

Dr. Hawthorne received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco’s School of Medicine in 2013. He completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco’s School of Medicine in 2017. He loves travel, photography, scuba diving, mountain biking and cooking. 

About Mee Memorial Healthcare System

Of highest priority for the Mee Memorial Healthcare System (MMHS) is keeping our community healthy. This includes offering an extensive array of medical and preventative services with a commitment to the highest possible standards, the best available technology, and the care of skilled professionals. 

The Mee network includes a hospital in King City including emergency services, 25 acute care beds and 48 skilled nursing beds, and three comprehensive outpatient clinics; two adjacent to the hospital (Adult Medicine and the King City Clinic, for Internal, Pain and Family Medicine) and the Albert and Donna Oliveira Clinic, a full-service, primary care facility in the city of Greenfield. 

MMHS is the primary healthcare organization serving the rural communities of Southern Monterey County. Overall, our healthcare professionals serve a population of nearly 80,000 within an area spanning over 55 miles between the agricultural communities of Soledad to Bradley 

Learn more at meememorial.com/ortho or call (831) 385-6000. 

Contact: 
Marci Bracco Cain 
The Buzz PR LLC 
Salinas, CA 
(831) 747-7455 
https://www.meememorial.com/

Orthopedist Dr. Molly Meadows Launches Orthopedics Program at Mee Memorial Healthcare System in King City

  Orthopedist Dr. Molly Meadows has launched her practice and the orthopedics program at Mee Memorial Healthcare System (MMHS) in King City starting this month.

King City, CA, November 11, 2020 — Orthopedist Dr. Molly Meadows has launched her practice and the orthopedics program at Mee Memorial Healthcare System (MMHS) in King City starting this month. As the on-staff expert, Meadows is seeing patients of all ages to diagnose and treat orthopedic-related medical conditions.

With a career focus and specialty training in pediatrics and adult sports, Meadows completed medical school at Columbia University, did five years of residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and two years of fellowship at Stanford’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Redwood City.

Looking to bridge into a practice, she was excited when Dr. Robert Valladeres, Chief Medical Officer at MMHS, reached out to convey to her the real need in the community for these services.

“The opportunity to join the MMHS team as the organization was beginning to build this specialty area was really appealing to me,” says Meadows.

Her practice at MMHS also aligns with her broader humanitarian interests, having served on several mission trips to Honduras, Bolivia and Ethiopia with organizations such as Operation Rainbow that connect rural and underserved areas with specialty services and providers.

Meadows knew from a very young age that she wanted to be an orthopedist.

“As a gymnast growing up in Berkeley, I saw a lot of injuries that resulted from taxing the body and thought it amazing how doctors could put the musculoskeletal system back together,” she says.

Due to the complexity of this system, surgeons currently tend to focus on certain areas of orthopedics, says Meadows. “While you can still find some professionals that do it all, the trend today is towards specialization in order to really perfect one’s technique, and studies have shown this to be more effective in achieving great outcomes.”

Pediatric orthopedists typically diagnose and treat the full spectrum of conditions, from the rare, such as congenital issues and bone deformities, to the more common conditions, like broken bones and athletic injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus tears (the piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shin and thighbone) and kneecap dislocations.

Typical adult conditions that she treats include rotator cuff tears, ligament injuries, and meniscus and cartilage injuries. Many of Meadows’ joint surgeries can be done arthroscopically; using a minimally invasive procedure where instruments are inserted via small incisions and a fiber optic tube, reducing downtime and scarring.

Her approach as a new hire has been to meet as many patients as possible, get to know them, exhaust all non-surgical treatment possibilities first (this often involves physical therapy) and then perform surgery when absolutely necessary.

Currently, most of Meadows’ cases come from primary care referrals within the MMHS network, but the organization is widening its reach to expand these services throughout the South County community.

Meadows loves working with the patients and staff at MMHS.

“The patients are so very grateful as this service has not been available for some time — it’s very rewarding to work with people who are thankful!” she says. “The medical and support staff have been so gracious and welcoming and I am eager to offer expert orthopedic services to first-time patients in need of orthopedic care or athletes preparing to get back in the game.”

 About Mee Memorial Healthcare System

Of highest priority for the Mee Memorial Healthcare System (MMHS) is keeping our community healthy. This includes offering an extensive array of medical and preventative services with a commitment to the highest possible standards, the best available technology, and the care of skilled professionals. 

 The Mee network includes a hospital in King City including emergency services, 25 acute care beds and 48 skilled nursing beds, and three comprehensive outpatient clinics; two adjacent to the hospital (Adult Medicine and the King City Clinic, for Internal, Pain and Family Medicine) and the Albert and Donna Oliveira Clinic, a full-service, primary care facility in the city of Greenfield.

 MMHS is the primary healthcare organization serving the rural communities of Southern Monterey County. Overall, our healthcare professionals serve a population of nearly 80,000 within an area spanning over 55 miles between the agricultural communities of Soledad to Bradley.

 Learn more at meememorial.com/ortho or call (831) 385-6000.

Contact: 
Marci Bracco Cain 
The Buzz PR LLC 
(831) 747-7455 
https://www.meememorial.com/ortho