Devotion for a small community: Sutter surgeon a 'natural leader' at hospital and on sideline

Mitch Hanna remembers the day Dr. Jeffrey Jenkins walked into his office. Jenkins arrived at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital about a year earlier and expressed his interest in setting up a practice in bariatric surgery (weight loss). Jenkins finished his military commitment, joined the hospital staff in 2000 and started the bariatric program in 2001. "It was obvious he was a natural leader," said Hanna, CEO of Sutter Auburn Faith and Sutter Coast in Crescent City. "He joined what was an existing group there and became very involved with the surgery group." Away from the hospital, Jenkins joined the youth sports community as a way to spend time with his children, coached them for several years in baseball and football and to this day he's the team physician for Bear River High School's football program. Jenkins will be honored Sept. 30 with the State of the Community Award for healthcare. He was nominated by Hanna. "He just exemplifies the all-round, well-rounded healthcare professional," Hanna said of Jenkins. "He has excellent leadership skills, and he's just been a superstar in terms of community involvement. I asked if it was OK if I nominated him, and he was just so honored." Said Jenkins, "I am humbled to receive it, and I'm very honored. I was very surprised when I was told by Mitch I was going to be honored. It certainly wasn't anything on my radar." Jenkins coached his kids in baseball for 11 years, starting with tee ball. When the junior football program needed coaches, he and another dad stepped up. "That was one of the most rewarding parts, taking young men from junior football into high school," Jenkins said. "It was just a rewarding experience to see kids grow and become young men, teach them what it's like to be important in the community, to be a strong member of the community. Through sports, I was able to give the many life lessons as teaching points arose during practices or games." He also believes fans appreciate literally having a doctor in the house. "It wasn't uncommon for someone to come to me to check on an injured player," he said. "I was more than happy to do that." Hanna noted that in addition to Jenkins' work as a surgeon – "And he was a busy surgeon" – he has served as chief medical executive since 2016 and remains on what Hanna described as "all the committees." After serving 10 years in the Air Force and another four in the Air Force Reserves, Jenkins has been a Navy Reserve for 4½ years and recently returned from deployment to Japan. He says interaction with the staff is "one of the great things" about working in a small hospital such as Sutter Auburn Faith. "You get to know people personally," Jenkins said. "People can't really hide. And because of that, people perform at their best. Our hospital is a really amazing place. People take pride in taking care of the people of our community."