House Calls are Making a Comeback

House calls were once a thing of the past. We can see doctors going from house to house in old Western and prairie movies, but today such a thing is unheard of. Or is it? Nurses and nurse practitioners are reviving this practice in some parts of the U.S. because there is such a high demand for it.

 

Part of this is simply a response by those in need of care against nursing homes. Most people do not want to be in a nursing home. Even if it is a great facility and there is a low patient to nurse ratio, nursing homes are something that a lot of people look at negatively. Not necessarily because of the quality of care, but because it isn’t their home. As a response to this, Baby Boomers have created a demand for house calls when it comes to receiving medical care.

 

Although not a new concept, it is one that many thought to be outdated and inapplicable to today’s culture. Just the opposite is happening. Because of how easy it is to get around today, and because of technology that allows us to share information instantaneously, house calls are actually more realistic–and more helpful–than ever before in history.

 

House calls by nurses and nurse practitioners are becoming more popular.

 

Now, this doesn’t necessarily need to be accompanied by in-home care, but it easily can. When a loved one has an in-home caregiver working with them because they have difficulty getting around and getting out of the house, an occasional visiting nurse practitioner could be a good idea when it comes to checkups and minor health concerns. This service has already proven promising when it comes to patient health, too. Under any type of senior care, this is your ultimate goal, isn’t it? Doctors say that it can take about a week to recover from a day in the hospital. The longer the stay, the more exhausting the patient is, and the longer the recovery will take. For those in poor health already, this can be devastating. Many seniors rely on emergency services because of the mobility issues that they have, and this can actually do more harm than good. Having a nurse stop in and help once in a while can help to prevent this temporary decline in health.

 

Right now, this is happening mostly in larger cities where the population is dense and travel by foot or bicycle for a nurse is relatively easy and cheap.  If you have questions about whether or not there is a service like this available in your community, get in touch with your doctor’s office today. They may already be doing this! Be sure that you get in touch with your insurance company, too. Just because this is a service that might be provided near you does not mean that your insurance policy will cover it. However, because of the value that this provides, it has proven to be helpful for many seniors. So, if you know someone who will thrive under this kind of a care model, it is definitely worth looking into.

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