Back to the Future--You Can Still Get Your Medical Care at Home

By: Michael Nowling

Perhaps you're not old enough to remember, but it wasn't that long ago that the sight of a man carrying a small black bag up the walk to your front door could mean only one thing. Can you guess? No, it wasn't an IRS auditor. Not an insurance salesman. It was not even someone selling Amway or running for mayor. It was the doctor coming to your house.

There was a time when doctors would routinely visit patients at their homes. It seems like this convenience disappeared for good about 50 years ago as the baby boom was in full swing and physicians were swamped with patients.

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 this program because it allows us to spend more time with our patients," said Carol Charles, ARNP. "When we can get to know them more closely and see how they're living, we can many times recommend treatment options that will fit more closely with the patient's lifestyle. This is an advantage for the patient that isn't possible at a hospital or 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.

"We see mostly elderly patients," noted Alicia Bowman, FHCH's primary care coordinator, "as they tend to have the greatest need, but we also see a number of younger patients. There is no reason to feel like this is only something for the elderly."

In FHCH's primary market area, as in many communities across the country, there are no services which provide primary medical care on an in-home basis. This means that, without the House Calls service, many patients will not see a medical professional until their condition becomes serious enough that emergency treatment is needed. Even in the best cases, home-bound patients often postpone their medical care long enough that their conditions have worsened. The availability of quality in-home medical care is essential to the continued health of these patients.

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 like Family Home Care and Hospice are in a perfect position to offer this valuable and necessary service to their communities," noted Michael Nowling, President of Family Home Care and Hospice. "I believe this service trend, if adopted by enough home health agencies throughout the country, will be a huge benefit to our aging population and will also relieve some of the burden on our hospital 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.

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Michael Nowling is the President of Family Home Care & Hospice, a home health agency in Spokane, WA. The largest privately owned home health agency in Spokane, Family Home Care & Hospice has been serving the inland Northwest for more than 40 years.

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