The Akron Legal News

House calls make a return to Ohio thanks to NY-based healthcare company

BRANDON KLEIN
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 23, 2019

After launching in Ohio more than a year ago, Landmark Health is bringing back house calls by medical professions for patients with chronic health problems.

Landmark started in New York in 2014 and now operates in 13 states. The Ohio and northern Kentucky area consists of 9,000 potential patients with Landmark now engaging a quarter of that population.

Landmark now has 20 providers in the Ohio region including nurse practitioners and physicians who make regular and urgent house calls.

"We are still growing with the number of providers," said Elaine Manieri, Landmark's vice president and general manager of the Ohio and Northern Kentucky area. "We like to say we're bringing back the house call."

The company is also building its team of health-care ambassadors, social workers and behavioral specialists. Its goal is to reduce the number of emergency room visits by patients with chronic diseases. The company was founded because one of the founders often experienced a relative's frequent visits to the ER.

"They want to stay in home," Manieri said. "We can handle most urgent needs at the home."

Landmark providers are available 24-7. The providers most often see patients with heart disease, diabetes and breathing conditions such as COPD and asthma.

Landmark providers often work with a patient's family. "Sometimes we're the only contact they have in a week," Manieri said

Landmark reached out to patients in the Dayton area, checking to see if they were OK, after tornadoes swept the area in May. They helped one affected patient who had breathing difficulties and custody of three small children. Landmark was able to assist with her oxygen needs and arrange for food to be delivered there.

Among other benefits from the house calls, Landmark providers gain a better understanding of a patient's living situation and what medications they're taking compared with the traditional doctor's office setting.

"We do not replace the patient's primary care physician," Manieri said. "We work collaboratively."

Angie McLearen, a nurse practitioner, has been a medical professional for more than 15 years. She joined Landmark as a provider in May 2018 and has offices in Blue Ash. She said the model allows her to spend more time with patients and catch any medical errors. In one case, McLearen found a patient was taking the same medication but in a different pill form without realizing it.

"I really love the education piece of it," McLearen said. "You can educate people when you have time."

Having previously not done home health care, she was shocked to find some patients lacked resources in their homes. About a quarter of the patients she sees do not have family support.

"Finding that and changing that is pretty cool," she said.

And she's already done her share of late night calls. McLearen visited a patient just before 3 a.m. on a Sunday.

"It kept her out of the hospital," she said. It's "satisfying when we can do that."

Additionally, McLearen said working with a patient's primary care provider hasn't been challenging.

In another case, McLearen determined a patient needed an EKG. They went to the closest hospital that the patient normally did not attend. McLearen was able to receive that EKG from the cardiologists without issue.

"It was really exciting to have all these different people partnering together," she said. "We all work together for the benefit of the patient."

That patient, from Cincinnati, has used Landmark's services for more than five months. When he couldn't get an appointment with his doctor for his bronchitis, he used Landmarks services.

"They're just awesome," he said. "They don't pressure you with anything."

Manieri said the company plans to engage with 3,000 patients by the end of the year.

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