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http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend July 3, 2006 Click image for larger view Family nurse practitioner Deidre Goldberg with Triune Integrative Medicine examines Rogue River resident Doris Roser during a house call at her home. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) House calls return By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune For the first time in many decades, you can get a house call. From a real doctor. Right in your own home. It's a service offered by the new Triune Integrative Medicine in Medford, part of Asante Health System. Its first patient, Doris Roser of Rogue River, said a recent visit brought back memories. "Sure, I remember house calls. I'm 82," said Roser, who underwent a screening with Deidre Goldberg, nurse practitioner with Dr. Robin Miller at Triune. "I remember lots of times in World War II when I'd have to go next door to use the phone and call the doctor. He always said he'd be there as soon as he could — and he was, always on the same day, sometimes in the evening," she said. "It's greatly missed by older people — or people who don't have transportation." With the elderly and disabled populations rising in the U.S., there's been a resurgence in house calls nationwide, said Miller. "We're doing it because no one else is doing it here," said Miller. Triune's integrative approach combines traditional medicine with alternative therapies such as yoga, acupuncture, massage, meditation and herbal remedies, according to its Web site. Practitioners making house calls take in the patient's home environment and lifestyle, looking at what's in the patient's kitchen, whether there are hazards in the home, etc. They take blood pressure, do blood draws, write prescriptions — accomplishing almost everything that staff do in an office visit (except for tests with sophisticated machines), said Goldberg. No digital data or files leave the office, so notes are taken in longhand and transferred to computers later. "You get 99 percent of what you need to know from the patients, their history, and the physical helps," Miller said. "In the home, you see their lifestyle and diet. You may see cooking oils they shouldn't be taking and they didn't realize that." Roser's regular doctor was on vacation when she needed immediate help, Goldberg said. "I think she was pleasantly surprised and delighted" with the visit, she said. The recent doubling of bus fares in the valley presents a "pretty significant" obstacle for older patients to get to doctors — making house calls all the more attractive, said Ashland Senior Center Outreach Coordinator Chris Dodson. "Even with Valley Lift (a bus that picks up patients at home), when you're dealing with walkers and wheelchairs, it's a huge event to get there and back home. There's something nice and intimate about a house call," said Dodson, whose father-in-law, a South Dakota doctor, did daily house calls over a large area in his Volkswagen van. "He loved it. It was his labor of love," she added. The home health nurse program sees a lot of homebound seniors, disabled people and other patients, while Valley Lift, whose fares go from $2 to $4 on July 1, transports many patients to their doctors. Still, said Roser, "I notice quite a few people have no way to get around. They can't see well enough to drive or are wheelchair-bound. "I'm fortunate to live in a small town where I can get downtown easily enough, but I seldom go to Medford anymore," she added. "All the new roads, all the constant construction, it's just too difficult." It may be hard to imagine a doctor hitting the road without tagging several hundred dollars onto the bill, but Miller does it gratis within 15 miles and adds $4 beyond that. Triune does not accept Medicare, but some private insurers may cover the costs. Triune prefers to limit house calls to patients who've already undergone an exam in its clinic at 916 Town Centre Drive. For more information, call 734-7770 or see www.triunemed.com . John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Casino Reviews