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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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At 3:30 on a July morning, Emily Meyers’ water broke. Her son was coming five weeks early. Meyers and her husband jumped in the car and raced from their home in Greenville, population 387, to Reno, Nev. where they had planned to deliver. It was a two-hour drive along mostly narrow, two-lane highways shared with logging trucks.

They didn’t make it in An ambulance truck outside the Plumas Hospital District. Photo courtesy of Plumas Hospital District time. Their son, Grant, was born in the car 13 minutes from the hospital to two stunned parents.

Along the way they had passed two other hospitals — Plumas District Hospital in Quincy and Eastern Plumas Health Care in Portola — neither of which have maternity wards. Meyers’ husband had asked if she wanted to stop at either one, but she told him to keep driving.

“At that point I didn’t know how intense things were going to be,” Meyers said. “I didn’t feel like I could stop in the little towns if something was wrong.”

Meyers’ frantic experience exemplifies the challenges that have become commonplace for pregnant patients in rural California: Dozens of hospitals have stopped delivering babies across the state, leaving many families with no option other than to drive for hours and hope for the best.

But in the remote Sierra Nevada community where Meyers lives, hospital executives have a plan to change things.

Plumas District Hospital, one of the hospitals Meyers sped past during labor, closed its maternity ward in 2022 after costs grew and birth rates declined. This year, it helped pass two state laws that give rural hospitals the ability to reimagine birth services.

One of the laws, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, creates a 10-year pilot program allowing hospitals such as Plumas District Hospital to create “standby” maternity units that operate only when needed, rather than offering standard 24/7 service.

The unit must have the ability to do surgical deliveries, blood transfusions, resuscitation and life-support measures. The California Department of Public Health will monitor and evaluate safety outcomes with the new model.

A related law relaxes some of the licensing requirements for birth centers, which are typically run by midwives and accept low-risk pregnancies.

“Expecting moms and their families in rural California deserve better,” said McGuire, a Democrat from Santa Rosa whose district stretches north to the Oregon border, in a statement to CalMatters.

Dr. Robert Moore, chief medical officer for Partnership HealthPlan, a health insurer that covers the state’s northernmost counties, said it’s not realistic for some rural hospitals to offer maternity care 24 hours a day. The numerous closures prove that. Emergency maternity services are better than none at all, he added.

“It’s not acceptable for someone to travel two hours to the nearest hospital. The outcomes are not worth it,” Moore said. “We owe it to the rural areas of the state to fix it.”

A new birth center for Plumas County

Next year, as a result of the legislation, Plumas District Hospital plans to open a birth center and standby maternity ward. Women who qualify and do not want an epidural will be able to give birth locally. The hospital’s on-call obstetrics team will be available to take transfers from the birth center should any complications arise that require a doctor.

Darren Beatty, chief operating and government affairs officer for the hospital, said maternity care is part of what makes a rural community vibrant, and it’s why facility leadership pushed hard to change state law over the past few years.

“We’re experiencing multiple threats in and outside of health care to maintain(ing) a rural lifestyle,” Beatty said. “We need to do our part so that Quincy can be an outlier and not continue to shrink and go away like many rural communities have.”

Nearly 60 hospitals have stopped labor and delivery services since 2012 in rural and urban areas alike, according to a CalMatters database. But in rural areas, when a hospital stops delivering babies, it is often the last option left to a community. The closest hospitals to Plumas with maternity wards are a 70-mile drive north to Susanville or south to Truckee through winding mountain roads. Many families, like the Meyers family, choose to go east to Nevada where the hospitals are farther but larger.

The Plumas District Hospital chose to open a birth center because families in the county want something different: Home births have trended upward since 2020.

A community midwife delivered more babies at people’s homes in 2022 than the hospital did in its labor and delivery ward, said Tiffany Leonhardt, director of business development.

“That was just really a huge eye opener to us,” Leonhardt said. “There’s so many women in our community who, number one, they want it, and number two, they actually qualify for it — it’s safe for them.”

Emily Meyers said if those resources had been in place three months ago, she would have elected to give birth locally at the birth center. She and her husband likely also would have stopped at the Plumas District Hospital emergency room in Quincy.

“A birthing center that’s 30 minutes from my house — that would be a huge relief,” Meyers said. “It was very miserable to be in labor in the car for an hour and a half. It would be nice if there were a few more options for people, and it would give me more peace of mind knowing there was more care available.”

Rural hospitals struggle to maintain labor and delivery

In 2022, the last year that Plumas District Hospital operated a maternity ward, it delivered 64 babies, barely more than one per week. When the number of births drops below 200, that’s usually a sign of trouble, Moore, with Partnership Health Plan, said.

Low volume is a common problem in rural California and one that comes with a hefty price tag. Maternity wards are often the second most expensive hospital units to run after the emergency room because they require around-the-clock staffing, and without enough births there’s no revenue to cover the service.

Plumas’ hospital also struggled with staffing issues. As a rural hospital, it needed nurses who could work in multiple areas of the hospital when women weren’t in labor; modern training has encouraged most medical professionals to specialize in a single area.

Open nursing positions with sign-on and housing bonuses would go months without applicants, hospital leaders said. Temporary traveling nurses hired to fill on the maternity ward were unwilling to work in other areas of the hospital.

“We couldn’t throw enough money at it,” Beatty said. “We were willing to spend whatever it took to get the staffing we needed, but that wasn’t the problem.”

Still, hospital leaders vowed to bring some birth services back to the area after closing the maternity ward.

Plumas District Hospital kept its 24-hour operating room open and retained anesthesiologists, obstetricians and respiratory therapists on staff. Typically, when a rural hospital ends labor and delivery, it stops related services; but doctors and midwives have continued prenatal care and follow-up with moms who deliver in other cities.

“Obstetrics really forces an organization to be very, very excellent across the board,” Beatty said.

Birth centers gain popularity

Emily Meyers’ sister-in-law, Mary Ann Meyers, remembers when Plumas District Hospital closed its maternity ward. She had been planning on delivering her first child there in 2021 when the Dixie Fire swept through the region, burning nearly 1 million acres. The hospital was spared, but she transferred her care to a hospital in Nevada instead because of the smoke. Months later, Plumas District Hospital shut the doors to its maternity ward.

That loss complicated the birth of her second child. Mary Ann drove five hours round trip between Greenville and Reno for those prenatal appointments.

Then, the same July day that Emily gave birth, Mary Ann found herself in labor with her third child, speeding to the same hospital. Her water broke at 2:30 a.m. She and her husband drove to Reno and had just checked into a hotel when they got a call saying Emily had delivered in the car and was also in Reno – in the Sierra Medical Center emergency room.

Mary Ann started feeling stronger contractions herself, so she and her husband rushed over to Sierra Medical too. By the time she made it up four flights of stairs to the maternity ward, Mary Ann was 9 centimeters dilated and nearly ready to push.

“We made it but I am definitely worried about next time,” Myers said. “It went from zero to 100 in 40 minutes.”

Moms in the area will be excited about the new birth center, Mary Ann said. Many of her friends want natural births. Though she delivered in a hospital, she did it without an epidural.

Planned out-of-hospital births in California increased by 30% over the past decade even as birth rates overall declined, according to data from the Medical Board of California.

“If there is an emergency it’s still a little risky, but it’s good to know that there are people who are capable and knowledgeable if you need help,” Mary Ann Myers said.

Lori Link, a certified nurse midwife with Plumas District Hospital, said the plan is for obstetrics staff to routinely spend time at larger institutions, to keep up their skills.

Link, too, is optimistic about the future of maternity care in Plumas. Many of her current patients ask about the birth center and when it will open. The plan wouldn’t be sustainable if the community didn’t want it, she said.

“I think this is a testimony to the power of listening to women,” Link said.

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Maria Cecilia Mendonca passed away on November 5, 2025 at the age of 92.  She was born on March 8, 1933 in Lajes, Flores, Azores, Portugal to Jose Antonio and Maria Vieira Goncalves. On November 20, 1954 she married Ernesto Mendonca. Cecilia immigrated to the United States, arriving in Arcata on October 31, 1957. In 1962 they welcomed their daughter, Maria Gorette. 

Cecilia worked at Lazio’s as a fish processor.  After her husband passed away in 1968 she started working at Feuerwerkers Furniture Store, which is now Hensels Ace Hardware.  She then went to work for Coast Oyster Company as a oyster shucker, a job she did for 15 years. After retiring from Coast Oyster she worked for herself as a house cleaner.

Cecilia’s favorite pastime was taking care of her vegetable and flower gardens and taking care of her grandchildren.  She loved picking them up at school, taking them to sporting events, and spoiling them with chocolate donuts every Saturday morning.

Cecilia enjoyed being a part of the Arcata Portuguese and Catholic communities, often helping in the kitchen at Portuguese Hall Events and various church fundraisers. One of her favorite things to do was make filhos (Portuguese donuts), especially for Halloween night for all to enjoy.

Those who knew Cecilia will remember her kind heart and caring personality.  She was always there to help family or a friend in need, whether is was taking them to the grocery store, a doctors’s appointment or simply keeping them company with conversation. Cecilia had a great sense of humor.  Her knack for a well timed joke and ability to make someone laugh with a silly gesture, brought joy to those around her.

She leaves behind her daughter, Maria Gorette Coelho (husband Lucio), grandson Casey Coelho (Lacey), granddaughter Brooke Coelho (Hayden), great grandsons Bennett and Calvin Coelho, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Cecilia was preceded in death by her husband, Ernesto Mendonca, her parents, brothers Luis, Antonio, Jose and Mauricio Goncalves, and numerous sisters-in-laws and brothers-in-law.

Her family would like to thank Granada Rehabilitiion for their exceptional care in the last six years. Rosary and mass will be on Thursday, November 13 at 11 a.m. at St Mary’s Church in Arcata.

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CORRECTION, 9:43 a.m.: After this story was published, Carr reached out to clarify that Humboldt Soup’s On was cofounded by Jaime Doyle, who made the first pot of soup, named the group and was instrumental in establishing it as a nonprofit. Doyle is no longer involved in the organization, Carr said.

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Arcata resident Jan Carr raised 10 kids — three birth children and seven adoptees — and once they had all left the nest, she figured she was ready for some down time. 

“I bought a house — little, tiny house — for myself, and I thought, ‘I’m going to read and drink tea and hike and that’s it,” she told the Outpost in a recent interview. “It never happened.”

Instead, without ever really planning to, Carr launched a nonprofit that, over the past two years, has provided nearly 40,000 meals to unhoused Humboldt County residents. She’s the executive director of Humboldt Soup’s On, which has a team of roughly 45 volunteers who serve hot meals to between 50 and 60 unhoused Arcata residents every single day, seven days a week. 

In a phone conversation on the eve of the organization’s second birthday, Carr told us about the impetus for launching it, the personal connections she has forged and the community support that has allowed Humboldt Soup’s On to flourish.

The logo for Humboldt Soup’s On.

It began, she said, with herding cats. Or trapping them, actually. Carr has long been involved in animal rescue efforts, and in 2023 she was volunteering with Arcata House Partnership to help trap feral cats. These captured kitties would then be spayed and neutered for the sake of population control. 

In the fall of 2023, she partnered with Redwood Pals on a plan to spay and neuter all the loose dogs in the Valley West area, too. Eventually she and her fellow volunteers managed to collect and fix all the strays they could find in Arcata and Eureka. 

“And that was really the focus for a short time, actually, because once we started on that, it was really clear that humans were struggling terribly,” Carr said. She remembers seeing homeless folks rummaging for food in a big dumpster in the parking lot of Arcata House Partnership. Soon she learned that a group of about 40 people were living in two makeshift camps hidden among the foliage in Valley West.

Carr initially assumed that these folks were receiving services, but after checking with local nonprofits and speaking with the people themselves, she learned that they weren’t. She panicked, overwhelmed by the knowledge that so many people were going hungry each day and huddling through the cold, rainy nights under flimsy tarps and tree branches.

“I got to be friendly with these people, and I was developing relationships with them, and I was, it’s just … their stories were … .” She struggled to find the words. “I mean, I was losing sleep over this. It was terrible. … I get a little choked up even talking about it now.”

She remembers talking with an administrator at Arcata House Partnership who said these folks had simply fallen through the cracks. There’s just not enough housing, not enough food, not enough resources. This person suggested to Carr, half joking, that she should adopt them, like she had with all those kids over the years. 

Carr chuckled at this memory. “I laugh about it now, and I laughed about it then,” she said. “But within a week, that’s really what happened.”

Determined to help these hungry people, she started buying pre-made deli items from Costco and delivering them to a few of the campers. She also enlisted their help in trapping feral kittens.

A woman named Jamme (pronounced “jammy”) was among the unhoused campers at the time. (In a phone interview, she declined to offer her last name, reasoning that there can’t be many locals with that name.) Jamme remembers seeing Carr offering various items to unhoused folks and then, one Sunday, seeing her out trapping cats.

“It was kind of intriguing,” Jamme recalled. “I wanted to know more: ‘How come this lady cares so much?’”

Carr, meanwhile, had realized that she couldn’t just feed three or six people at a time, not when the need was so much larger. 

Jan Carr on a recent outing to help feral cats in Arcata.

“There were at the time, gosh, 40-ish” unhoused people camping in the area, she said. “And so the only thing I could think of was to network on social media. I felt like my community had no idea they were there. I mean, we all see people clearly on the streets, with their little signs. Or we see them walking the streets. But to see them all together — and that many. The suffering that I saw at the time … I didn’t even see tents. They had tarps if they were lucky. It was horrifying to me.”

As far as she could tell, the only food they could get was stolen or pulled out of a dumpster or trash can. She started asking people if she could take their photos and post them online. Why? “Because I wanted my community to know they were there,” she said. “I really felt like nobody knew. Nobody knew how many were there and their struggles.”

Within days Carr started hearing from friends who wanted to help. A former cook suggested making a big pot of soup and feeding as many of the homeless campers as they could.

“It was on Sunday,” Carr said. “It was on November 12, 2023, and we went into the Ray’s shopping center, and by god, like 25 people came. They brought their dogs, and I was able to talk to them about spaying and neutering their dogs. So it was wonderful. It was so fun, and it was wonderful. So then we just thought, ‘Well, heck! If we can do this once. Let’s do it again! Let’s do it on Wednesday! And then let’s do it on Friday! And very quickly, I had a team of about 10 [volunteers]. And within, oh my gosh, I would say three weeks at most we were feeding these people seven days a week.”

Jamme was amazed.

“I don’t know how but she did it: She started feeding everybody,” she said. “Winter was about to happen, and she got clothes donated because she felt the need, and she knew that eating was the biggest issue.”

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Carr had yet to form a nonprofit organization, but the Presbyterian Church of Arcata reached out after seeing some of her Facebook posts and volunteered to serve as a temporary fiscal sponsor. Carr also reached out to Coast Central Credit Union regarding a grant opportunity. The folks there said she wasn’t technically eligible until she secured legal nonprofit status, but they were supportive of her efforts so they gave her $5,000 anyway, she said.

“That was the boost we really needed,” Carr said. “And as soon as we became a nonprofit, we rented a commercial kitchen.”

The all-volunteer crews — roughly 98 percent of which are retired women, according to Carr — feed as many as 60 people every day of the week, and since November of 2023 they haven’t missed a single day, Carr said.

Jamme, who is now employed and housed, said Humboldt Soup’s On has been transformative.

“It means a lot to people to know they’re gonna have food, warm food, and that there are people behind that who put love into the food,” she said. “It gives them hope. It gives them value. It gives them dignity as a human being.”

And Carr, in particular, has impacted people on a deep level, according to Jamme.

“No matter who it is, she’ll give them a hug,” she said. “She is an amazing person, really. She goes over and above for humans. … It builds self esteem. … She’s just a really special woman. If anyone needs any kind of award out here, she deserves it.”

As you might expect, Humboldt Soup’s On hasn’t been universally welcomed by neighbors. For a while the group faced pushback from Arcata officials, who were receiving complaints from businesses in the Valley West neighborhood.

Carr said she understands their perspective. “Nobody wants 60 unhoused people in their yard or next to their business,” she said. “I do understand it. But it became really difficult for us to find a place to feed these people. Very difficult.”

She’s heard people say the same things to hear about homeless people as they say about feral cats: If you don’t feed them, they’ll go away.

“Well, that’s not true,” Carr said. “These humans will not go away. Some of them have lived there for years, in Valley West and Arcata, and they will just be hungry or they will steal. … They say to me, ‘It’s so nice that we don’t have to steal anymore.’”

Eventually, Humboldt Soup’s On moved its operations into an unincorporated part of the county, and Carr said that the county government has been very supportive and kind. 

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) told the Outpost that Humboldt Soup’s On is the first and only group in the county to be registered as a Limited Service Charitable Food Operation with DHHS Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health.

“The program is amazing,” DHHS Director Connie Beck said. “They have more volunteers than any little program I’ve seen and get donations from many community members and local entities. Jan [Carr] is also very aware of the services DHHS provides and often directs the folks she interacts with to contact us. Her program is amazing.”

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Carr and her fellow volunteers have gotten to know the people they feed each day. It’s not like a food line, she said. “It’s always been very social. We are friends with these people. We know what shoe size they wear. We know who likes hot sauce in their soup. We are very close to them, and it’s the same core group of people for the last two years.”

Some have mental health issues or are otherwise unable to hold down a job. Jamme, who is now the outreach director for the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR), said there are “several different layers” at play in these camps, from addiction disorders and dual diagnoses to personal tragedies and more. 

Her own husband recently overcame a serious drug addiction only to require hospitalization from the effects of withdrawal and years of heavy use. 

“When my husband was in the hospital — this how incredible [Carr] is — she came up to his room brought me the most amazing food package for my daughter and I, so many good snacks you don’t think you need when you’re in the ICU, [plus] a personal card to all three of us even though my husband was in a coma.”

Carr and her fellow volunteers help people navigate social services, which often involves getting them new government-issued I.D. so they can collect social security. Humboldt Soup’s On has helped several people get housing through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Once a year, she said, everyone served by Humboldt Soup’s On gets a new sleeping bag, and the camps get new tarps and tents.

One camper expressed a strong desire to work, so volunteers arranged to buy him a brand new lawnmower, a weed eater, leaf blower and other tools. 

“And he just started doing neighbors’ yards,” Carr said. “He started doing the trailer park, and pretty soon — within, I want to say six months — he bought a truck! … It’s a really beautiful red truck, and he’s so proud.”

Humboldt Soup’s On is entirely supported by volunteers and donations. They rent a kitchen from the Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Jacoby Creek, and purchase food via Food For People.

“We love Food For People,” Carr said. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”

On October 1, Humboldt Soup’s On went completely mobile, meaning the volunteers now deliver food directly to people in their encampments. Recently, due to the government shutdown, Humboldt Soup’s On got a call from Northcoast Children’s Services informing them about children in the area who are living in cars with family members and in need of food. Carr and her fellow volunteers were more than happy to help. After a quick Zoom meeting, they decided to bring the kids “as much food as we can possibly bring them.”

She described her team of volunteers as “the most wonderful humans I ever met in my life,” adding, “truthfully, they are so committed.”

Sometimes Carr marvels at where she is and what she’s doing. “Like I said, I never planned it,” she said. “If you would have told me this three years ago, I’d think you were crazy. But here I am! And, yeah, this community has just been phenomenal to us.”

She says her team of volunteers is committed, but clearly she is, too.

“We will not stop feeding people,” Carr said. “I always say, I’ll either have to be in jail or dead before I stop.”

UPDATE: Says DHHS:

As of Nov. 11, ByHeart has extended its voluntary recall to include all batches of its formula. Anyone with this formula should discontinue use immediately.

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From the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services:

We received confirmation from Target in Eureka that at least four cans of recalled “ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula” were sold locally. The cans were sold in early November, prior to the recall for Infant Botulism on Nov. 8. No other stores in Humboldt County received shipments of the recalled lots. If you have used ByHeart formula purchased at Target this month, check the lot number and contact your medical office or Public Health at 707-268-2182 or the Sheriff’s Office after hours at 707-445-7251, if your formula matches the lot numbers below. If your baby is showing any signs of illness, go to the closest Emergency Department (ED) and notify them that your baby received the recalled formula. Local EDs have been notified of the potential for cases.

The following lots are being recalled:

• Lot: 206VABP/251261P2 (“Use by 01 Dec 2026”)
• Lot: 206VABP/251131P2 (“Use by 01 Dec 2026”)

The lot code and “Use by” date are located on the bottom of the infant formula can. 

This recall went into effect Nov. 8, after the Federal Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), and state and local partners, started investigating a multistate outbreak of 13 infant botulism illnesses from 10 states: Arizona, California (2), Illinois (2), Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Washington. Laboratory confirmation for some cases is ongoing. There are no deaths reported at this time. The CDPH IBTPP reported an increase in number of botulism type A infections among infants consuming ByHeart powdered infant formula from August 2025 to November 2025. All 13 cases included in this outbreak are reported to have consumed ByHeart- brand powdered infant formula.

Symptoms of infant botulism include constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control and difficulty swallowing, which can progress to difficulty breathing and respiratory arrest. Symptoms of infant botulism, which is diagnosed clinically, can take as long as several weeks to develop following formula ingestion.

ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula is available for sale online and at major retailers nationwide, including the Eureka Target and Walmart. See the image below.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 7, 2025, at approximately 10:22 p.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area of Singley Hill Rd. in Loleta observed a vehicle parked partially obstructing the roadway.  The vehicle’s engine was running, and a male and female were observed inside. 

The deputy contacted the occupants and identified the vehicle’s owner as 43-year-old Saeed Michael Owen of Miranda. During the contact, the deputy observed drug paraphernalia in plain view on the vehicle’s front seat.  A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a sawed-off shotgun, bear spray and approximately 11 grams of methamphetamine. 

Further investigation also revealed that Owen is a convicted felon. 

The female occupant was identified as, 32 -year-old-old Savannah Tori Iverson of Hoopa.  She  was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant. 

Both Owen and Iverson were arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. 

Owen was booked on the following charges:

• P.C. 29800(a)(1) - Felon in possession of a firearm
• P.C. 33215 - Possession of a short- barreled rifle
• P.C. 22810(a) - Unlawful possession of tear gas
• H.S. 11370.1(a)-Possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded weapon
• H.S. 11395(b)(1)- Possession of a controlled substance w/ 2 or more priors
• H.S. 11377(a)- Possession of a controlled substance
• H.S. 11364 Possession of drug paraphernalia

Iverson was booked on:

• P.C. 978.5 Bench Warrant / Failure to appear

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office remains vigilant and proactive in its mission to keep its community safe. Through routine and strategic patrols, deputies are empowered to fight crime and hold individuals accountable, thereby enhancing public safety.

Under California’s lenient criminal justice policies, methamphetamine possession is often classified as a “non-violent” offense, reflecting the state’s soft stance on crime. This approach frequently results in Superior Court Judges releasing repeat offenders pending future court appearances, undermining public safety. 

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages residents to stay informed about the severe dangers of methamphetamine use and to advocate for stronger, more effective public safety policies that prioritize accountability and community protection.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On November 7, 2025 at approximately 9:48 p.m., Eureka Police Department Officers were dispatched to the 600 block of G Street for a report of a strongarm robbery. The reporting party/victim stated while riding in a vehicle operated by Ryan Taylor Landowski, age 41 of Eureka, he pulled her hair and forced her to provide him her ATM card. Landowski refused to allow the victim out of the vehicle and drove to an ATM. Landowski removed money from the victim’s account and while doing so the victim was able to escape and phoned EPD for assistance.

The victim provided officers with a description of Landowski’s vehicle. EPD Officers began patrolling an area of town where they knew Landowski frequented and located his vehicle traveling on Highland Avenue. An enforcement stop was conducted by Officers and Landowski was detained without incident and subsequently identified by the victim. During a search of Landowski’s person, incident to his arrest, Officers located the monies stolen from the victim’s account.

Landowski was transported and booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, on charges of Kidnapping to Commit Robbery and Robbery.

If you have any information in regard to this incident, please contact Eureka Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.

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As the government shutdown stretches into its sixth week, millions of Medicare patients who rely on telehealth services to see their doctors are being forced to either pay out-of-pocket for virtual visits or forgo appointments entirely. While in-person appointments are still available, telehealth services provide a lifeline to elderly or disabled patients who have a difficult time traveling, especially those who live in rural or underserved areas like Humboldt County.

In a recent interview with the Outpost, Dr. John Aryanpur, a neurosurgeon at St. Joseph Hospital and Chief Medical Officer for NorCal Providence Medical Group & Clinical Network, estimated that telehealth visits accounted for “between 10 and 18 percent” of outpatient visits before the government shut down on Oct. 1. 

“These actions, unfortunately, have impacted our patients in Humboldt and all across northern California,” Dr. Aryanpur said. “We’ve had a number of folks who have canceled appointments or deferred care that we feel is time sensitive. Many of our clinicians are feeling very stressed because they have folks who they need to provide care to who are not coming in or who are deciding to defer care because of these actions.”

Medicare, which provides federal health insurance for people over 65, stopped paying for telehealth services and in-home hospital care programs when the government shut down on Oct. 1. A Senate vote on Sunday cleared the way for a spending deal to end the shutdown this week. If the deal moves ahead, it is still unlikely that the government would reopen before Wednesday, according to The New York Times. 

However, even if the government reopens in the coming days, that doesn’t mean telehealth services and in-home hospital care programs will automatically resume for Medicare patients. Those programs lapsed on Sept. 30, and to receive federal funding, Congress must approve the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which would extend telehealth services through the end of 2030.

Telehealth services were meant to be a temporary alternative to in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have increased in popularity over the years, especially among the elderly and people living in rural communities.

A report from the Brown University School of Public Health found California had the highest rate of telehealth usage, with 26 percent of Medicare beneficiaries using remote health care services at least one time during the first half of 2025.

“In Humboldt County, we have a fair number of folks with chronic medical conditions who live in very inaccessible areas that are far from our cities, and the ability to provide them with medical care via telehealth has — in my opinion and in some cases — been life-saving,” Dr. Aryanpur said. “It’s very difficult to not have that ability since October 1. It seriously impacts folks across the spectrum.”

Dr. James Goldberg, St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, added that telehealth services allow patients to seek care locally, rather than travelling out of the area.

“On the hospital side, it’s actually been a way for us to bring specialty care to our inpatients so that we don’t need to transfer them out of the area,” Dr. Goldberg said. “They could stay in Humboldt in our hospitals with their families and not have to worry about the travel. … When you have a rural community like this, it can be difficult to recruit specialists, too. [Telehealth] really opens that door to allow [us] to provide that necessary specialist care.”

There are some exceptions for rural residents. Guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notes that Medicare beneficiaries “will generally need to be in a medical facility and in a rural area to receive Medicare telehealth services.” That means people who are seeking telehealth services still have to travel to a brick-and-mortar clinic to get remote health care services.

Tory Starr, CEO of Open Door Community Health Centers, said Open Door’s clinics have leaned on this exemption to provide Medicare patients with the care that they need. However, whether or not Open Door will be reimbursed by Medicare for its services remains to be seen.

“As a cautionary approach, we have been having folks come into the clinic and see some of our remote providers that way,” Starr told the Outpost, noting that Open Door can provide transportation to its facilities for some patients. “Therefore, they’re considered inside the four walls of the health center, and that qualifies under Medicare. … If somebody really needs to communicate with their provider and they’re not able to get in [to the clinic], we are still serving folks, and we will work through the reimbursement issues if they arise later.”

Open Door has ingrained telehealth into its services since the pandemic, Starr said, noting that remote appointments account for about 20 percent of all visits. 

“If somebody literally can’t get in, we will still do a telehealth visit with them, and we’ll see what happens with our payment in the long run,” Starr said. “We believe that we do qualify under the rural exemption, so we’re being cautious, but if people really do need a virtual visit, we will do that. … We’ve tried to make sure that people aren’t being negatively impacted by this change … but it could definitely be negatively impacting Open Door’s finances.”

“We always put patient care first,” he added. “We certainly have the ability [at] both the state and federal level to advocate for payment, even if it’s retroactive. … It’s just, instead of getting paid for a visit, we may not get paid for that visit.”

Similarly, Dr. Aryanpur said Providence will “still provide telehealth care to those who need it,” and staff will “sort it out later.” Still, some patients are choosing to put off appointments out of fear that they won’t be reimbursed.

“However, there are some Medicare patients who are uncomfortable with that, because, as it stands now, they might have to pay out of pocket,” he said. “For example, last week, I was made aware of a patient who needed to see a specialist for an urgent condition. The initial visit was telehealth in order to set up a surgery, but the patient decided to decline the telehealth visit and delay care until this issue is resolved. I’m hoping that doesn’t result in a poor outcome, but I’m quite worried.”

Providence Humboldt County Communications Manager Shannon Garcia provided the following additional statement:

Before the U.S. federal government shut down on October 1, Providence proactively prepared for immediate changes to our health care operations and reimbursement policies for certain services. While we expect essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid to continue to process payments in the immediate future, disruptions to federal oversight and the expiration of health waivers have impacted care delivery across the Providence family of organizations.

Most notably, telehealth waivers first adopted during the pandemic expired without Congressional action, jeopardizing care for many Medicare patients who often relied on these virtual services for timely treatment. In response, Providence proactively prepared for telehealth services to return to pre-pandemic guidelines, which limited the type of telehealth services that qualify for reimbursement including restrictions for audio-only visits, types of service and sites of service. Due to this change, some Medicare patients are being asked to come in for appointments that were originally scheduled as telehealth to ensure their care is covered.
 
In addition, the Acute Hospital at Home (HaH) waiver lapsed, requiring all patients who were receiving inpatient-level care at home to be transferred to a hospital or discharged to another appropriate setting. Like other health systems, Providence actively coordinated transitions for affected patients to minimize disruptions and ensure safe, high-quality care.
 
Despite these challenges, Providence remains committed to reducing impacts to our patients and ensuring continuity of care for the communities we serve. We continue to advocate for the restoration of essential waivers that support flexible and accessible care delivery. Most importantly, Providence’s hospitals, outpatient clinics and medical offices remain open and operational to provide high-quality, compassionate care to our communities, ensuring that every patient receives the essential care they need.