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Little Lake Health Center
45 Hazel Street, Willits, CA 95490
(707) 456-9600
Serving Willits and Mendocino communities since 2002.
As a result of a Mendocino County Community Health Survey conducted by the Department of Public Health in 2000, it became clear that the health status of Willits residents was seriously imperiled for two key reasons: lack of access to healthcare providers and lack of health insurance. Stakeholders who participated in the survey, including The Howard Foundation and Willits Action Group, realized that to maintain and improve the quality of life for Willits' residents, something had to be done to expand access to local healthcare services.
Looking to MCHC, the survey team approached MCHC about opening a dental clinic. MCHC assessed the survey results and saw that a community health clinic would more adequately serve local needs. Also, it would be more efficient to operate, it would be fully within MCHC's mission and it would have the greatest possibility of being broadly successful.
Location seemed, at first, that it might be a problem, but through the generosity of the Howard Foundation, Dr. Bill Bowen and Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital, a new facility was remodeled and leased. In 2004, a USDA loan permitted MCHC to purchase the facility.
In its first full year of operation, Little Lake demonstrated both the great need for health services in the Willits community, and that a dedicated staff who share a strong commitment to MCHC's mission can make an enormous difference in their community.
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