Recognizing that it gets harder to leave your home
for medical care as you get older, Lenox Hill Hospital
started its Lenox Hill Housecalls program two years
ago to bring care to patients who have trouble getting
to the hospital or doctor's office. Services include basic
checkups, prescription refills, lab work, imaging tests,
and occupational, physical and speech therapy.
"As we enroll each patient, we listen to the patient's
concerns and try to understand his or her needs," said
Erin Sullivan, MD, Director of the Lenox Hill Housecalls
program. "We determine how often we should see the
patient, and if he or she has an acute issue, we go out
that day to give care in the home and try to prevent an
unnecessary hospitalization."
As of January 2016, providers in the Lenox Hill Housecalls
program had enrolled about 300 patients and made more
than 2,000 house calls. The program, which offers care
from providers including physicians, nurses, nutritionists,
psychologists, physical therapists and social workers, has a
92 percent patient-retention rate.
A PATIENT'S PERSPECTIVE
Manhattan resident Frances Eisenberg remembers a
time when doctors making house calls was the rule, not
the exception.
"I'm 92, and I have consequently experienced the
general loss of capacity and ability that comes along
with that," Mrs. Eisenberg said. "Age has affected
my ability to manage my health, so being able to
talk through real problems with doctors and get an
opinion from someone with medical knowledge,
not just someone in my family, is a big help. The
program is particularly effective because a doctor
comes to our home instead of me having to go to
the doctor's office."
Most insurance plans, including Medicare, cover Lenox Hill
Housecalls services. For more information or to enroll,
call 212-434-3015.
In 1930, doctors in the United States
provided as much as half of all health care
in their patients' homes. By 1990, that
number had fallen to 0.6 percent.
Helping Patients Guide End-of-Life Care
Because many Lenox Hill Housecalls patients are elderly, program
providers make a point of discussing Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining
Treatment (MOLST), which allow patients to clearly note their
preferences regarding life-extending measures such as cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, as well advance directives such as do-not-resuscitate and
do-not-intubate orders.
Lenox Hill Hospital has established MOLST preferences with
92 percent of program patients, allowing them to specify exactly what
kind of care they do and don't want to receive so their wishes are honored.
Of the patients who have passed away while enrolled in the program,
82 percent were able to do so in their homes rather than at a hospital.
WHEN CARE COMES TO
For most Americans, house calls from
physicians and other health care providers
happen only in old movies — but for Lenox
Hill Hospital patients, the tradition is still alive.
To view a video about patient
Frances Eisenberg's experiences
with the Lenox Hill Housecalls
program, visit bit.ly/northwell-
housecalls.
YOU
Frances Eisenberg (right) receives a checkup from a Lenox Hill Housecalls provider.
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Northwell.edu
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TO FIND A PHYSICIAN NEAR YOU, CALL 1-888-321-DOCS.
HOME CARE
