Illinois Medical Practices Selected For Statewide “House Call” Project
ILLINOIS MEDICAL PRACTICES SELECTED FOR STATEWIDE “HOUSE CALL” PROJECT
National nonprofit recognizes 17 medical practices providing home-based primary care – or looking to expand or add it – as part of new ‘Illinois House Call Project’
July 2022–In Illinois, nearly 200,000 residents who require home-based primary care (HBPC) are not receiving this critical medical service. To address this urgent need, 17 Illinois medical practices, some independent, others representing hospital systems, and three supporting subspecialty groups including dentistry, dermatology, and wound care, will participate in a new 3-year project, the Illinois House Call Project, building on their track record of caring for the state’s most vulnerable residents—homebound adults with chronic conditions.
These medical practices have been brought together by the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI), a national, Illinois-based nonprofit focused on spreading awareness, and increasing the adoption of HBPC ─ also known as “the modern-day house call” ─ to elevate access and the quality of care throughout the state. Each practice has designated up to three “Champions” to lead their work in the Illinois House Call Project. HCCI will provide the Champions with ongoing professional education to develop their skills, mentor others in best practices, and raise awareness about the value of HBPC in their communities.
Among the 2.1 million older adults living in Illinois, at least 12% are 85 years of age or older. More than 700,000 residents have ambulatory difficulties, and 40% of Medicare beneficiaries across the state have four or more chronic conditions. Approximately 260,000 individuals are homebound*, with only 26% receiving HBPC. The unmet needs in Illinois are great; as mentioned, it’s estimated that nearly 200,000 residents require HBPC.
The House Call Champions—in addition to their existing base of patients—seek to collectively enroll and serve 3,000 new homebound or home-limited people in their homes by 2024. Without HBPC, many forego primary care or rely on their local emergency rooms and hospitals to help them when crises arise.
“Home-based primary care was already on the rise, then the pandemic hit, which further reinforced the need for high-quality care delivered safely in the home,” said Julie Sacks, president and COO of HCCI. “With the critical need in Illinois for this type of care and with Illinois also being the ‘home state’ of HCCI, this initiative is one of our key priorities.”
During house call visits, physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants provide primary care services (e.g., blood draws, medication management, immunizations) in the patient’s home or place they call “home,” resulting in improved health outcomes, enhanced quality of life for patients and caregivers, and a reduced overall cost of care, according to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Aligning with HCCI’s mission to advance HBPC, the Illinois House Call Project is the organization’s second statewide initiative (the Florida House Call Project launched in 2020) to promote HBPC among providers and elevate awareness among patients and caregivers across a state.
As background, a majority of providers in the Florida House Call Project collectively increased their volume of home-based primary care patients served by 25% and also noted decreases in hospital stays and days, skilled nursing facility (SNF) stays and days, emergency room visits, and hospital readmissions. These improvements can be attributed, in part, to their involvement in HCCI’s education and its focus on operational efficiency and workflows, marketing and community partnerships, and best practice clinical care.
Illinois House Call Project participants include:
Belvidere:
- Your Family Doctor, Belvidere, IL
Carol Stream:
- AdventHealth HouseCall Providers, Carol Stream, IL
Chicago:
- Comprehensive Care @ UChicago Medicine, Chicago, IL
- Duo Health, Chicago, IL
- ElderDerm (Dermatology), Chicago, IL
- Frontier Healthcare Systems, Chicago, IL
- H2Home Med, Chicago, IL
- In-Home Physicians, Chicago, IL
- Joyful Dental (Dentistry), Chicago, IL
- Lifesaver Healthcare, Chicago, IL
- Mendota Health (Wound Care) – based in St. Paul, MN, serves Chicago and outlying areas
- Shifa Nephrology Associates, Chicago, IL
Flossmoor:
- Physicals Plus, Flossmoor, IL
- SAJ Family Practice Health and Wellness Center, Flossmoor, IL
Joliet:
- Lightways Hospice and Serious Illness Care, Joliet, IL
Naperville:
- Transitions Home Medical Group, Naperville, IL
Wheeling:
- AnyTown PCP, Wheeling, IL
The Illinois House Call Project practices will lead HBPC awareness efforts within their communities using HCCI resources, tools, and curriculum.
Learn more at hccinstitute.org.
*Calculated using data from the 2019 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates and a journal article (Ornstein, Katherine A., Bruce Leff, Kenneth E. Covinsky, Christine S. Ritchie, Alex D. Federman, Laken Roberts, Amy S. Kelley, Albert L. Siu, and Sarah L. Szanton. “Epidemiology of the homebound population in the United States.” JAMA internal medicine 175, no. 7 (2015): 1180-1186.)
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CONTACT: Arlyn Riskind, arlynriskind@gmail.com, 202-431-9495
About the Home Centered Care Institute
The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) is a national nonprofit organization focused on advancing home-based primary care to ensure that medically complex and homebound or home-limited patients have access to high-quality care in their homes. HCCI works with leading academic medical centers, health systems, and industry experts to raise awareness of and advocate for expanding the model by growing the home-based primary care workforce through education and training and developing a research-based model for sustainable house call program implementation and growth. For more information, visit www.hccinstitute.org.