LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeside Health Center has hired psychiatrist Ed Bez, DO, to provide psychiatric care to patients, both onsite and via telemedicine.

Continuing his calling to work with the underserved, Dr. Bez will work full-time: onsite in Lakeport for one week out of every month, seeing patients via telemedicine the rest of the time.

“I’m familiar with telemedicine, because it’s what I’ve been doing,” Dr. Bez said.

Before he worked at Lakeside, he was located at a mental health center in West Virginia that served four rural counties.

The best way to see the most patients was not to have Dr. Bez driving half the day, but rather sitting in his office and connecting with health centers located hours away.

Lakeside Health Center Site Manager Kim Tangermann hopes the work Dr. Bez does via telemedicine will allow the organization to provide more and better services to local patients.

The telemedicine arrangement may serve as a model for future care, whether it’s psychiatry or other types of health care.

Lakeside Health Center is owned and operated by Mendocino Community Health Clinic, which has health centers in Lakeport, Ukiah and Willits.

Telemedicine could allow providers located in one of their health centers to see patients in their other health centers.

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Lakeside is held to high quality standards and does not refuse care based on a patient’s ability to pay.

The health center provides medical, dental, and behavioral health care and accepts Medi-Cal and other insurance.

To learn more, visit www.mchcinc.org or call 707-263-7725.