Guests: Kirk Greene, Jann Curley, Mariko Tabar, April Montoya, Sarah York Rubin, Lawrence Williams, Maria Long, Dr. Charles Fenzi and Dr. Domenic Caluori, speakers.
Sandra called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. and mentioned she only has 8 more meetings to go before she becomes a PP.
Joanne sent a condolence card around for Murray Ray, husband of Rosslyn Ray of the RC of Montecito who recently died.
Dolphin Dive: Dennis has a list of Hi-Tech companies to be approached about sponsorship of the fund raiser. Put your name next to a company and the fundraising committee will walk you through what to do.
Kirk Greene and Jann Curley
Check Presentation: Seattle 4 members Kirk Greene and Jann Curley presented checks to Foundation President Janet to help the club meet its goal. Thank you, Kirk and Jann.
Anniversary: Our club will be celebrating its 35th anniversary this week; the club was chartered March 6th, 1985. President Sandra displayed a binder given to her by previous President, Sis Chris. Sandra reviewed a little of our history.
Membership: At a recent board meeting, a new form of membership was approved: Associate which, for one year, will allow new members to try out at half our normal cost with the hopes they will transition to regular membership. The club also plans to expand Honorary Membership.
Arroyo Hondo Hike: Judith mentioned the Arroyo Hondo Preserve is open two weekends a month. The group should meet at 9:45 a.m. next Saturday and bring lunch. The Preserve closes at 3:00 p.m.
Community Service: Luz Maria announced the next meeting for Thursday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. at Nasif Hicks Harris, 104 W. Anapamu St. Because we gave $20,000 to rebuild a cabin at Camp Whittier, we have naming rights. At the last meeting, it was decided to call it the Sunrise Cabin. We now have to decide on a quotation to go inside the cabin. Let Luz Maria know if you have any good ideas.
Team Rotary: The March event will be Fairy Tale weekend at the Zoo. The orientation and costume fitting is this weekend so sign up if you want to help.
District Assembly: Will be held in Oxnard Saturday, March 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This is a training particularly oriented towards incoming board members.
International Service: Hannah said the committee will meet on Wednesday, March 25th at 7:30 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Club.
Happy Hour: Diana Washburn has planned the next Happy Hour for Thursday, March 26th at Third Window Brewing Co., 406 E. Haley St., that will include a brewery tour. They serve wine as well as beer and have a happy hour menu.
RYLA: Our club is sponsoring four students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) in Ojai April 23-26. Volunteers are welcome.
Raffle: Scott Burns won the raffle.
Program: Janet Napier introduced Drs. Charles Fenzi and Domenic Caluori from the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC). Because it is a hot topic, Dr. Fenzi, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer of SBNC, talked about the COVID-19 (coronavirus). He showed the Johns Hopkins map of the world where, on Wednesday, there were 94,250 cases world-wide and 128 in the U.S. 13 labs are doing the testing which can be turned around in 4 hours. He emphasized washing hands regularly and using alcohol sanitizers (at least 60% alcohol) – 70% is the standard. Don’t touch your face, eyes, mouth or nose. Stay 6 feet away from people who are sick. If you are sick, stay home. Masks are for sick people and health providers. They are ineffective in protecting you if you are not sick.
Dr. Charles Fenzi
Dr. Fenzi said a vaccine is 18 months away. They are testing out an antibiotic that was used against the Ebola virus that has some success. He said at the SBNC Call Center, they ask pertinent questions and, if necessary, call the Health Dept. who will make home visits to determine the course of treatment. At their offices, there is a sign on the door that, if someone has symptoms, they should stand outside and call in. Someone will come out with a mask and escort the individual to a separate room. SBNC has plenty of supplies.
Older people are most at risk. The local health dept. has a twenty-four hour hotline. There’s not enough data to know the shelf life of the virus. It could hang out for 4 hours to one month. Use standard cleaners.
Dr. Domenic Caluori
Dr. Caluori, SBNC Chief Dental Officer, said the SBNC started in the 70’s in Santa Barbara when UCSB students were presenting sexually transmitted diseases. In 1990 the Federal government passed an act to fund clinics like SBNC for lower income people; otherwise, they would end up in the emergency room. At SBNC, they can provide dental services for $156 per visit. Oral health has a huge effect on overall health. The clinic is aimed at people who earn $24,000 per year or less but others can go there and will pay more but still discounted. 8,000 people per year die of oral cancer. Gum disease affects many issues, such as preterm births and low birth weight babies.
SBNC has three clinics with 16 chairs: Milpas, Goleta and Carpinteria. Dr. Caluori’s dream is to have a dental clinic on the Westside of SB. They operate with dental students; they receive 80 applicants for 7 spots. The students get paid through a special program and are trained by SBNC dentists. They do orthodontics, implants, advanced gum surgery, dentures and crowns. They have a lot of partnership organizations. 50% of children in SB have tooth decay. SBNC clients have doubled since 2012 and there is now a 7-week wait for treatment. The dental clinic received the Clinic of Excellence Award in 2018 from DentaQuest and Dr. Caluori received the Director of the Year Award.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
