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Medical Treatment

at Home

A Florida Connection

Technically Speaking
by Dave Trecker

orth Naples resident Peter Whinfrey was stunned to see need to expand into home-care treatment. Drawing on a cadre
N of medical experts from around the country, it offers training and
the costs and complications associated with his father’s
chronic pulmonary problems some
consultation. Ms. Sacks said HCCI just completed a two-day
10-12 years ago. workshop in Orlando, training caregivers from numerous practices
The challenges were many. His father had trouble across Florida.
getting to the hospital for treatment, the paperwork One important service is helping them understand the ever-
was confusing, and the costs were enormous. When changing payment model for at-home services, a part of the mind-
his father passed away in considerable discomfort numbing bureaucracy that permeates medicine today. Webinars
in the hospital, Peter estimated the total costs were and online courses are offered.
close to $150,000 – a terrible drain of Medicare and “Our outreach also extends to professional associations,”
taxpayer dollars. Ms. Sacks said. “We go to national conferences and engage
Whinfrey thought there must be a better way – both to provide physician assistants, nurse practitioners, hospice providers …
quality care and to do it cost-effectively – and he set about to find We also work with those seeking more government support for
it. home-care treatment.” A specific aim is legislation to make it an
The key, he learned, was home care. Much more it, efficiently actual Medicare program.
run, was needed. So partnering with home-care specialist Who benefits from all of this? Those who have difficulty
Dr. Tom Cornwell, he founded the Home Centered Care leaving their homes or assisted-living facilities. Those who need
Institute in a Chicago suburb in 2014 and tapped a group of local vaccinations, blood tests, diagnoses, physical therapy, routine
philanthropists to fund it. monitoring, wound treatment, EKGs.
Another Naples-area resident, Roger Harris, at the time board An important niche, said Ms. Sacks, is homebound patients
chairman of a suburban Chicago hospital, put with multiple and complex chronic diseases.
another piece of the puzzle in place by getting local It sounds altruistic and it is, but it also saves a ton of money.
hospitals to back the program. A demonstration project for the most frail and costly Medicare
The need was clear. The population was aging. beneficiaries showed that over a five-year period home-based
More than 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every primary care resulted in an average $1,840 savings per beneficiary.
day. Of that group, the age 85-plus segment is Florida has become a recent focus. To no one’s surprise, our
increasing the fastest and will quadruple by 2050. state has a high percentage of elderly, many over 85 and many with
Many have chronic diseases, draining 86% of U.S. multiple illnesses.
healthcare costs, according to the Department of Health and To serve these people, HCCI started the Florida House Call
Human Services. project with support from the RFF Foundation for Aging. A
And of some 7 million housebound patients, only about 15% new network of providers was identified, and 12 primary-care
have access to primary care. specialists have stepped up to recruit and train others across the
That’s where HCCI comes in. “We work with local hospitals state.
and physician groups to ensure a range of home care is available,” I asked Peter Whinfrey, who helped start it all, what this meant
said Julie Sacks, CEO and Chief Operating Officer of HCCI. This to him.
is, she said, the modern-day version of the physician house call. “I’m glad to have played a small role,” he said. “It’s my
HCCI identifies primary care practices and promotes the fondest wish to see more home-care practices up and running in
Southwest Florida.”
To learn more about HCCI, go to www.hccinstitute.org.

72 Life in Naples | April 2022