North Coast Family Health Center

A Team Approach

The best kind of rural healthcare system is one that provides comprehensive primary care with access to specialists and onsite support services such as lab, X-ray and physical therapy. Even better is a system that gives medical providers one-click computer access to test results. We do both.

Located on the MCDH campus, Family Health Center gives patients easy access – a short walk across the parking lot – to the pharmacy, lab, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy and outpatient surgery.

The North Coast Family Health Center is located in Suites A and B at 721 River Drive, on the south side of Fort Bragg, CA. The clinic is adjacent to Mendocino Coast Hospital.

Phone Number: (707) 961-4631 or 707-961-4634

Directions:

From the south, proceed north on Highway One to Fort Bragg, turn right on Cypress Street (the first stop light after crossing the Noyo Bridge). Drive two blocks to the hospital campus — across from the Redwood Health Club — make a right on River Drive and follow the signs to the North Coast Family Health Center on the right. The Health Center is on the west side of the Hospital Campus.

From the north, on Main Street (Highway One) in Fort Bragg, turn left on Cypress Street. When you see the Redwood Health club, turn right onto River Drive, and the clinic is on your right.
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OUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS

Appointments: 707-961-4631 or 961-4634.

John Cottle, D.O.

Specialty: Osteopathic Manual Therapy
Medical Training:
Medical School: Oklahoma State University Health Science Center
Residency: South Bend Osteopathic Hospital
Board Certification: Osteopathic Board of General Practice

 

Prakash Devaskar, M.D.

Specialty: Pediatrics
Medical School: University of Baroda
Residency: Henry Ford Hospital
Board Certification: American Board of Pediatrics

 

John Gallo, M.D.

Specialty: Family Practice
Medical School: Georgetown University
Residency: Good Samaritan Medical Center; Kaiser Permanente
Board Certification(s):
American Board of Family Practice
American Board of Pediatrics

 

Benjamin “Buz” Graham, M.D.

Specialty: Internal MedicineMedical School: University of California, San Francisco
Residency: Mount Zion Medical Center
Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine

 

Diane Harris, M.D.

Specialty: Family Practice
Medical School: USC School of Medicine
Residency: Valley Medical Center
Board Certification: American Board of Family Practice

 

Jennifer Kreger, M.D.

Specialty: Family Practice
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Residency: Stanislaus Medical Center
Board Certification: American Board of Family Practice

 

Jason Kirkman, M.D.

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Medical School: University of California, San Diego
Residency: Rush Presbyterian – St. Luke’s, Chicago
Board Certifications: American Board of Internal Medicine, National Board of Echocardiography

 

David Newell, M.D.

Specialty: Internal Medicine, Endocrinology
Medical School:Medical College of Wisconsin
Residency:Loyola University of Chicago
Board Certifications: American Board of Internal Medicine (2 specialties): Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolism

 

Nancy Reynolds, M.D.

Specialty: OB/GYN
Medical School:Darmouth BMS, Stanford University
Residency:Stanford University
Board Certifications: American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology

 

James Swallow, M.D.

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Medical Training:
Medical School: University of Colorado Medical School
Residency: University of New Mexico
Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine

 

Appointments: 707-961-4631 or 961-4634.

Jack Bellah, M.D.

Specialty:
Orthopedic Surgery

Medical Training:
Medical School: Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York

 

 

Dan Conlin, M.D.

Specialty: internal medicine
Medical Training:
Medical School: Tufts University

Board Certification: American Board of Internal Medicine

Linda K. James, M.D.

Specialty: General Surgery

Medical Training:
Medical School: University of Miami
Residency: Brooke Army Medical Center; Madigan Army Medical Center

Board Certification: American Board of Surgery

 

Doug Lister, D.P.M.

Specialty: Podiatry

Medical Training:
Medical School: California College of Podiatric Medicine
Residency: Northlake Regional Medical Center

Board Certification: American Board of Podiatric Surgery

 

Appointments: 707-961-4631 or 961-4634.

Note: Our Nurse Practitioners cover a wide range of primary care needs, can write prescriptions and order diagnostic tests. They work in consultation with their supervising physicians to provide you the best care possible. Learn more about their training.

Sasha Graham, F.N.P.

Earned her Masters degree in Nursing at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA. Graham has been a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2001, and sees a wide variety of patients including family medicine, pediatrics, adolescent and women’s health.

Sharon Hunter, F.N.P.

Hunter earned her Masters degree in Nursing at Sonoma State University in CA. She has more than 15 years experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner, and more than 30 years experience as a nurse. Hunter has a loyal patient following and sees patients of all ages and medical conditions.

Marilyn Magoffin, F.N.P.

Marilyn received her CWOCN certification at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia in 1994 and her FNP at Sonoma State University in 2007. She works closely with your primary care provider or podiatrist to address problems with non healing wounds including leg ulcers, pressure ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers. She also assists people who have new or problematic ostomies and people with incontinence of urine or stool. She regularly consults with Mendocino Coast Home Health and sees inpatients at Mendocino Coast District Hospital by request.

Pamela Miller, F.N.P., C.D.E.

Miller, a Certified Diabetes Educator, works at the North Coast Family Health Center assessing and treating diabetes and pre-diabetes, as well as counseling for those at risk for diabetes. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 30 years, and a Nurse Practitioner for six years. Pam will work in partnership with our Endocrinologist, Dr. David Newell, M.D. to provide diabetes consultations, medication management, insulin pump training and maintenance, glucose meter downloading and monitoring, and much more. Pam also works closely with the hospital’s Registered Dietitian to facilitate education on the relationship between food and diabetes. Ask your doctor for a referral today!

Katherine Willems, F.N.P.

Katherine “Kathy” Roegner-Willems, FNP, has been a nurse practitioner for 18 years (and a nurse for 30 years), with extensive background in Family Practice, Occupational Medicine, Womens Health, and all general primary care. Kathy was trained at UCSF, ANP and Sonoma State, FNP and was an undergraduate Columbia University.

As part of an ongoing commitment to improve quality of care, physicians and nurse practitioners at North Coast Family Health Center (NCFHC) began April 23, 2013 using electronic health records (EHR) to record and monitor patient care.

“Our goal is to improve the quality of care provided,” says NCFHC Practice Administrator Heather Paulsen. The paper medical charts will be phased out.  Besides increased efficiencies in the office, there are many other benefits to EHR implementation.”

The many advantages of using an EHR include the fact that patients often increase participation in their health care. The coordination of a patient’s care becomes more efficient with an EHR, and the speed of information traveling to pharmacies and other provider offices improves.  The EHR’s built-in alerts can help to identify abnormal lab results, potential medication interactions, and due dates for preventive care and immunizations.

Federal Legislation Stimulates EHR Adoption

Congress passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) to stimulate the adoption of electronic health records and supporting technology throughout the country. President Obama signed the HITECH legislation into law on February 17, 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), an economic stimulus bill.

Both the federal Medicare and California Medi-Cal programs offer financial incentives for adopting approved EHR technology and implementing its use.  So far, North Coast Family Health Center has received approximately $340,000 in government-funded incentives to pay for implementation of the multi-phase process to meet government EHR operability criteria.

For an appointment, call 707-961-4631

E. Alessandra Strada, PhD, FT, MSCP has joined the MCDH and NCFHC Provider Team as a clinical psychologist. Dr. Strada provides outpatient services at NCFHC and inpatient consultations at MCDH.

Dr. Strada holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology, a PhD in East-West Psychology, and a post-doctoral Masters in Psychopharmacology. She is an adjunct associate professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and adjunct faculty in the post-doctoral psychopharmacology program at Alliant University, San Francisco.

She is a fellow in thanatology, the scientific study of death and its processes and the author of two books on the subject: “The Helping Professional’s Guide to End-of-Life Care: Practical Tools for Emotional, Social and Spiritual Support (Jan. 2, 2013)” and “Grief and Bereavement in the Adult Palliative Care Setting, Oxford American Palliative Care Library (May 7, 2013).”

In addition, she is a former assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and attending psychologist in the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, where she developed and directed the psychology fellowship in pain, palliative, and hospice care. Dr. Strada is also a regular presenter at national and international conferences.

Her clinical work and research focus on psychological care in advanced illness, end-of-life, grief, bereavement in the palliative care setting, and chronic pain.

Dr. Strada has worked extensively to promote stress management and burnout prevention for clinicians. Her treatment approaches include integrative use of psychodynamic, existential, and insight-oriented approaches with cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis, guided imagery, mindfulness, and meditation. She lives in Northern California.

Jim Burns talks about how he was cared for by Dr. Linda James.