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Blast from the Past--Medical Care in Your Home

Author: MichaelNowling
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If your memory can stretch back 50 years or so you might remember seeing a well dressed man carrying a black bag approach your or your neighbor's front door. No, it wasn't an IRS auditor or an insurance salesman, or even someone running for city council. It was the doctor.

Back in those days physicians would often visit patient's homes to render care. Most everyone thought it was good idea, but this convenience seemed to vanish as doctors became increasingly inundated with patients during the baby boom.

This might be a pretty short story except for Family Home Care and Hospice (FHCH), a home health agency headquartered in Spokane, WA. FHCH currently serves home care patients in Eastern Washington State and in Northern Idaho. FHCH has now launched a new service providing primary care medical services in patient's homes. Known as "House Calls" the new service will offer patients a generous selection of medical services including routine check-ups, prescribing medications, monitoring medications, blood draws, and more. After the first visit and diagnosis, patients can continue with their House Calls provider or they may also do any follow-up with their normal physician.

House Calls medical providers are Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP). They have received special training and are licensed to provide medical services in the home. The House Calls staff at FHCH actually prefer to see a patient in a home setting instead of a hospital or clinic.

"We love the chance to spend as much time as necessary with our patients," noted Carol Charles, ARNP. "We like to get to know our patients on a personal basis and see how they live. Often our observations will give us an advantage in recommending treatments that may be more effective for the patient. We wouldn't have that if we were at a clinic."

While the new House Calls service is ideal for bed ridden or home bound people, it is not meant only for them. Anyone who would prefer to receive their primary care medical services at home can make use of the service.

"The majority of our patients are elderly." explained Alicia Bowman, FHCH's coordinator for primary care services. "They certainly have the need, but there are also quite a number of younger patients. This is not a service only for the elderly."

In many communities throughout the nation, services which will deliver primary medical care in the home are non-existent. Without a House Calls style service, many people in the community will postpone medical care until their condition deteriorates enough to require emergency treatment. Even under the best conditions, some bed ridden or immobile patients postpone their care long enough that their problems have become significantly more serious. Having a service like House Calls available in a community is critical to the health of these people.

While the demand for this service in the Spokane area is strong, the rapid growth of the elderly population in the US means that, services like Family Home Care's House Calls will likely be needed in many areas of the country.

"Home health agencies already have the expertise and systems to offer these services in their areas," explained Michael Nowling, FHCH President. "If enough home health agencies take on this service all across the country, it will represent a significant benefit to our elderly patients and will take some of the pressure off of our emergency rooms and staff."

Family Home Care and Hospice is the largest privately owned home health agency in the Inland Northwest and has been serving the Spokane area market for more than 40 years. They have recently been recognized by Medicare as one of the top 1% of all home health agencies in Washington State as well as one of the top 5% of home health agencies in the US.

About the Author

Michael Nowling is the President of FHCH, a home health agency in the the area area, WA. The largest privately owned home health agency in the the area area, FHCH has been serving the inland Northwest for more than 40 years.