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Instead of making an appointment, waiting a few weeks and spending an afternoon driving to a clinic to get medical attention, the residents of Glenwood Place Senior Living have a different option: Receive healthcare in their own homes when they need it.
The senior living community in Vancouver recently partnered with CRM Physicians, a group of healthcare providers who offer healthcare services in senior residential communities—similar to the partnership that Glenwood Place had already established with The Vancouver Clinic.
“Glenwood is very involved in their patient care, making it easy for us to be updated on any changes of condition for a resident.”
—Adair Moore,
COO of CRM Physicians
“The good old days of the house call are here again,” said Ben Young, Executive Director of Glenwood Place Senior Living.
The partnership, Young said, was a no-brainer. CRM has a long history of providing services to skilled nursing facilities in the area, so when they reached out with hopes of expanding into senior living, Young jumped at the chance to be the first community in Clark County to partner with the company. All of it, he said, with the goal of making healthcare more convenient for Glenwood Place residents.
“Getting to and from clinic appointments can sometimes be challenging, but now our residents don’t have to bear that burden,” Young said.
Glenwood Place is well-staffed with a team of nurses, including a charge nurse on-site, 24-hours a day. Partnering with CRM Physicians allows its residents more frequent and more timely access to a provider who can make a diagnosis or write an order for things like medication. Nurses at Glenwood Place can even receive medical orders from CRM providers over the phone after-hours, giving yet another option for more immediate care.
CRM family nurse practitioner Tomo Honda visits Glenwood Place once a week where he does in-home visits with residents. Outside of those weekly visits, Honda is also available more frequently as needed and keeps an open line of communication with staff nurses.
“Glenwood is very involved in their patient care, making it easy for us to be updated on any changes of condition for a resident,” said Adair Moore, COO of CRM Physicians.
Residents of the assisted living facility aren’t required to use CRM and those who opt-in have options. Honda can either become a resident’s primary care physician or they can see Honda as a way to supplement the care they’re already receiving from their doctor. With ready access to online medical records, Honda works seamlessly with other care providers. That way, if Honda treats a resident for a more emergent issue while he’s at Glenwood Place, their primary care physician will be quickly informed and can follow up as needed.
The scope of services that CRM provides is vast, including treatment for acute care issues and chronic care management. They also offer routine checkups and wellness visits as well as advanced care planning, ensuring that each resident gets exactly what they want for the end of their life.
In many ways the new offering fits with Glenwood Place’s existing ethos of enriching the lives of their residents. The facility already has an on-site movie theater, a 2600 sqft Sky Gym, a pool, jacuzzi and a calendar chock-full of fun activities such as crafts and cooking classes.
“Supporting all this fun stuff at Glenwood is this very, very strong foundation for health and wellness,” Young said. Now, he said, “We’re able to deliver interventions more quickly — and that keeps our residents healthier and more active.”
Gaining access to more frequent, flexible and immediate care helps especially with the early detection of problems, allowing residents to address them before they become emergent.
Another added benefit, Young points out, comes in the form of more quality family time for the residents who don’t drive and thus rely on local family members for transportation.
“Spending your time in a clinic is time better spent going to lunch with your family,” Young said.
Also, because Honda’s visits are taking place inside the resident’s home, the result is more comprehensive care. “Healthcare providers can learn important information about their patient visiting them where they live,” Young said.
A few months into the partnership, Glenwood residents are already noticing the advantage of working with Honda, who has extensive experience and a deep personal drive to work with the aging population. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Honda was a registered nurse for 20 years, most of which was spent working in nursing homes.
Tomo said he really enjoys working with seniors and has begun to develop good relationships with the residents — something he says has already proven to make his job easier.
“I think me hanging around and visiting them, they feel more comfortable explaining what their issue is,” Tomo says. “I enjoy talking with them and hearing their insights. They’re very open to me and I feel very fortunate. Hearing their stories, they remember quite a lot from when they’re younger. It makes me smile.”
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