Unless you were around in the 1950's you probably don't know that it was common to see a man carrying a small black bag knock on a neighbor's door. Who would it have been? Today you might think, insurance salesman, Amway salesman or even political office seeker. Would it surprise you to know that it was the family doctor?

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.

Our house calls story would end abruptly right here, were it not for Family Home Care and Hospice. (FHCH) of Spokane, WA. FHCH is a home health agency serving patients in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. FHCH has recently begun offering primary care medical services in a patient's home. The new service, appropriately named, "House Calls" provides a variety of primary care medical services including, routine check-ups, blood draws, medication monitoring, diagnosing medical conditions and prescribing medications. Following an initial visit and diagnosis, patients may also receive their on-going treatment and follow-up from their House Calls provider, or their in-home care can be coordinated with their regular physician.

Medical professionals staffing the House Calls program are Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNP). They have additional training and are specially licensed for providing medical services in the patient's home. These skilled professionals would rather see a patient in a home environment instead of at a clinic or a hospital.

"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."

House Calls is a perfect service for the home-bound or people for whom the task of getting to the doctor's office is just too daunting. But, House Calls is not limited to people who are immobile. The service can be used by anyone who prefers their primary care medical services to be delivered at home.

"Certainly the greatest need for the service is among the elderly," said Alicia Bowman Primary Care Coordinator for FHCH, "but the service is not restricted that group alone. We also see a goodly number of younger patients."

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.

The expertise and systems for programs like House Calls are found in the many home health agencies in communities throughout our country," added Michael Nowling, President of FHCH. "If home health agencies throughout the nation took on this challenge, it would be a tremendous help to our elderly residents and would also represent a significant decrease in the load currently being experienced by hospital emergency rooms and ER staff."

For more than 40 years Family Home Care and Hospice has been serving patients in the Inland Northwest. Recently they were recognized by Medicare as being among the top one percent of home health agencies in the State of Washington and among the top five percent of home health agencies in the country.