PREVIOUSLY

• Free Healthcare Clinic Coming to Eureka This Week; Medical, Dental, Vision Services Available on a First-Come, First-Served Basis

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Anthony Holt eats soft foods. He sticks to soup, or yogurt — he was eating a cup of noodles when we spoke. He had his teeth pulled a few years ago, but couldn’t find a provider to finish the process of getting dentures when he moved to Humboldt County.

“These people are providing me dentures, and I might be able to enjoy steak at the end of the day,” he told the Outpost.

He was at California Careforce’s Eureka clinic on Friday, among hundreds who will receive treatment.

Dentures, which range in price but start around $4,000 for a set, were being offered free thanks largely to Dr. Allen Wong, who traveled from Nashville, Tennessee to lead the denture lab.

Chris Wilson, who sat next him, was waiting to see if partial dentures were a possibility for him to get that day. He said a lack of local providers and high costs means it’s extremely difficult to get dentures, and the drawn-out process means a lengthy wait to get your teeth back.

He’s waited hours, but said it’s worth the time investment to at least get an answer to his problem.

Dentures were just one offering of a volunteer force of providers Friday, who were giving people glasses, pulling teeth and offering medical screenings in the Eureka Municipal Auditorium.

Hundreds had waited in line outside the clinic. Some were there as early as 4:30 a.m., wielding lawn chairs and books.

California Careforce Executive Director Cyndi Ankiewicz expects around 1,200 people to be treated at the clinic over the three days it will run in Eureka.

“We try to go to communities that have a low provider-to-patient ratio,” she said.

“Definitely in this area, you’re hungry for providers. I mean, it’s a desert.”

The organization is the charitable arm of the California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and recruits volunteer providers that travel across the state (and even country) to treat people in these clinics. This clinic cost roughly $145,000 to run, according to Ankiewicz.

The clinic was operating like an organism, with over a hundred local volunteers guiding patients through the line that wrapped around the block, then to intake, to treatments. People had the option of receiving dental care, health care or eye care — they can start again in the back of the line if they need a second service.

Dental care is particularly requested, Ankiewicz said. They added more dental chairs after the last clinic in Eureka in 2024.

A lack of providers locally means many go years without routine dental services, making it more likely for serious problems like infections to creep up.

“The services just aren’t here,” said DeDe Moore, a caregiver who was waiting in line with her client who needed a tooth extraction.

The organization focuses on three areas: addressing acute issues, pain and infection, and helping people to see again. It’s first come, first serve.

Qiaoling Chen, a nurse practitioner student at UC Davis on her third time serving at a Careforce clinic, said one patient at the medical station hadn’t seen a primary care provider in eight years.

Nursing students volunteers from UC Davis pose for a photo.

“This is a gap, we need to fix it,” she said.

It’s particularly important for those with high blood pressure or diabetes to get regular health screenings for blood pressure.

A decline in primary care providers and a lack of specialty treatments has strained the system locally. As reported by Senior News, Humboldt County is 35% below the California average for primary care physicians per 100,000 population. The total number of all physicians is down 32% since 2005, as of early 2026.

Health care organizations are also bracing for cuts to the Affordable Care Act — local systems depend on government insurance like Medi-Cal.

Ankiewicz said more people are going to their clinics recently.

“We’re not gonna meet the needs. We don’t have the resources,” she said.

But at least this weekend, people got treated, regardless of insurance, income or legal status. Click here for clinic information, which will run November 6-8.