Mendocino Coast Clinics outlines on-site behavioral, reproductive health and youth services to Fort Bragg board

Lucretia Renteria, executive director of Mendocino Coast Clinics, told the Fort Bragg Unified board the clinic operates the Blue Door and JD Center programs and offers behavioral-health and reproductive-health services at district sites. “We have both behavioral health and reproductive health services offered there,” Renteria said, and noted some services may be accessed by minors without parental sign-off under California law: “All of the services that we provide there by California law are allowed for by anyone to self consent at 12 years old and above.”

Renteria and Stacy Paulina Millen, the clinics reproductive-health manager and site supervisor, described teletherapy options, early-release drop-in hours at JD Center, community partnerships and workforce-development efforts. Renteria said Mendocino Coast Clinics received a four-year grant to support youth depression screening and advanced behavioral-health interventions, and the clinic plans youth vaccine clinics and internship pathways tied to Mendocino College and local employers. The clinic reported seeing roughly 9,800 unduplicated patients in its service area and said approximately 35% receive more than one service annually, drawing that number from their tracking data.

Board members thanked the presenters and asked about outreach and service gaps; Renteria said the clinic conducts a gap analysis with district staff and monitors unduplicated-patient counts and managed-care enrollment lists to guide outreach. She also described a Suboxone program that now accepts patients 16 and older and explained staffing and recruitment challenges in rural areas.