Humboldt’s 21-Year Doctor Drain Continues

One year ago, our article for Senior News examined the problems with lack of availability of many medical services in Humboldt County. What has changed in the past year?

Getting a primary care physician (PCP) in our area can be a challenge, although there are some signs of improvement. Medical groups in our area have worked to improve primary care access with the addition of more physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

The past year, however, according to data from the Humboldt-Del Norte County Medical Society, showed a net loss of nine primary care doctors who have left Humboldt, and we are now 35% below the California average for

 PCPs per 100,000 population. An additional 29 physicians would be needed to get us up to the California average.

Today, Open Door Community Health Clinics in Eureka and Providence primary care providers in Eureka do accept new Medicare patients, although, as in the rest of the country, the wait for the first appointment can be long. Providence also accepts new patients with private insurance.

Mad River Primary Care Clinics in Arcata is accepting some new patients. All Open Door locations will accept Medi-Cal patients. The many United Indian Health Services clinics will see members of any tribe and their family members. The Veterans Administration Clinic in Eureka will see new patients who qualify. Once you are a patient, your clinic will attempt to make same-day appointments, although access depends on demand.

Access to specialists is still a problem in most fields except for orthopedic and general surgery. Humboldt has only one urologist and one neurosurgeon, the only surgeons in their specialties for 150 miles, who try to meet demand, but waiting lists can be long.

Physician eye care has taken a hit with the well-deserved retirements of Drs. Gregory Gibb and John Mastroni. Our two remaining ophthalmologists have done their best to try to absorb those patients, of course, but many patients have to travel out of the area for care.

Access to the Providence Medical Group Cardiology Clinic has improved with the hiring of visiting cardiologists, with wait times for new patients now reportedly less than a month. Gastroenterology and oncology care also rely upon traveling specialists. This may be preferable to having to travel out of the area, although continuity of care can suffer.

The accompanying chart illustrates trends in physician numbers, both general primary care doctors and specialists, in Humboldt County since 2005. These data were supplied by the Humboldt-Del Norte County Medical Society. While not all North Coast physicians are members of the Medical Society, the data are indicative of trends over time in both recruitment and, especially, retention. We first reported these data on PCPs, surgeons, medical specialists and hospital-based providers a year ago. It is concerning that many — though not all — categories have declined just since last year; for example, there are nine fewer PCPs (-11%) than at this time in 2025. Overall, the total number of all physicians is down 9% since 2025 and down 32% since 2005.

These numbers do not, of course, include temporary, short-term physicians, known as “locum tenens” (Latin for “to hold the place of”), or those providing services via telemed, two strategies employed by hospitals and practices to cover staffing shortages.

The good news is that in an era when many rural hospitals have closed their doors, all four Humboldt County hospitals remain open for emergency and inpatient care. Pandemic-era payment for virtual visits by telemedicine lapsed earlier this year but has been extended through the end of 2027, an invaluable tool for serving distant rural patients. Providence St. Joseph Hospital serves as a regional medical center, with a Level III Trauma Center, Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and 24/7 availability of cardiology care for severe heart attacks. St. Joseph was certified in 2025 as a primary stroke center.

Providence St. Joseph Hospital serves as a regional medical center, with a Level III Trauma Center, Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and 24/7 availability of cardiology care for severe heart attacks. St. Joseph was certified in 2025 as a primary stroke center.

However, dark clouds remain. Federal funding cuts in Medi-Cal and declining support for Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance may threaten the financial future of all Humboldt medical care institutions (see Irvine & Kessler, page 24).

What can you do to help?

Tell your elected representatives that access to medical care in our rural community is an important issue for you. Support our nonprofit medical institutions, including Providence Medical Foundation Humboldt, Open Door Community Health Clinics and the Humboldt Senior Resource Center’s Redwood Coast PACE. Finally, be nice to your providers. We know how frustrating it can be to wait for weeks to see physicians and then only have 15 minutes with them. Remember that they are probably more frustrated than you are. An occasional “thank you” can really make a difference in whether they stay or give up in frustration and leave.

Dr. Bruce Kessler and Dr. Jack Irvine are retired longtime Humboldt County physicians. For more on, “Why it is so difficult to obtain medical care in Humboldt?” see Dr. Kessler’s recent Cal Poly Humboldt OLLI presentation on at youtube.com/@ollihumboldt/videos.