CHICAGO—The challenges and needs of rural care are well documented, but what too often goes overlooked is how in-home care models can provide proactive and urgent access to care for the frailest seniors. That's why WellBe Senior Medical said it is honored to expand its services into Oregon, including rural areas, to tackle that very issue. This move brings the total number of states WellBe Senior Medical operates within to seven, with the company announcing earlier this year it had entered Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia.
Access to the right care in many rural areas can be difficult. According to the National Rural Health Association, "Nearly 11 million rural residents age 65 and older must leave their residences in order to access health care and other related services and activities geared to their overall well-being." For many of the frailest of seniors, often living with multiple chronic health conditions, leaving home isn't an option.
Now, rural seniors in western Oregon who qualify under their insurance will be able to have WellBe serve as their home-based medical provider at no added cost. This access is not out-of-pocket concierge medicine. WellBe enables seniors who are frequently overlooked by the healthcare system, to receive the 24/7 responsiveness and care they deserve.
How it works: WellBe delivers comprehensive, patient-centric care to seniors in the comfort of their homes through collaboration with health plans, health systems and provider groups. Care is available 24/7 through medical professionals specially trained in complex medical situations, chronic condition management and patient-centered geriatric care; it includes:
- Personalized acute care visits at home
- Around-the-clock urgent medical response
- Vaccinations and screenings
- Medication management and prescriptions
- Social work care including connections to community resources and therapy
- Post-hospitalization transitional care
"In-home rural care is immensely complex and it requires melding together a wide array of care offerings — you can't rely on telehealth alone, for example," said Mike Stuart, chief growth officer, WellBe Senior Medical. "The WellBe team is well-versed in this and we are eager to improve the health outcomes of seniors across rural Oregon beginning today, all while continuing to provide a human-centered connection — this makes a huge difference."
