In small but significant ways, Amanda Henning is helping bridge the gap between children and the elderly.
And she’s doing it through house calls.
Henning, RN, MSN, NP-C, GS-C, based in Flemington, N.J., often asks children at the daycare facilities her kids attend to make something for the patients she sees when caring for them at their homes. “They’ll make something for fall; they’ll do something for Christmas, for Valentine’s Day,” Henning said with a huge grin.
It’s a small thing, but it’s the sort of connection that makes house calls a powerful healthcare tool.
Henning was an ICU nurse for 10 years before becoming a nurse practitioner. At first, she worked out of a small primary care office treating 10 to 12 patients. Then she began taking referrals from a local hospital, Hunterdon Medical Center. “Last year they brought me in-house,” she said, “and I have 120 patients.”
House call patients tend to make an impression.
“I’m thinking of [a patient],” she said. “He’s famous. He was a World War II veteran. He’s 96 and was there on D-Day. He was an actor in New York, and his wife was a model.”
But not all are elderly, she said. Henning recounted stories of a couple of 20-somethings who suffered from terminal diseases. And then there was an ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease) patient who was in her 30s. “She was an artist. Because of ALS, she has lost the use of her hands and arms, “so she paints with her feet now,” Henning said. “She’s the coolest person I’ve ever met, but she’s entering the last stages of her life. That’s hard for me since she’s close to my age. Her art is all over her house.”
This was the patient who sparked Henning’s daycare connection. “I’m trying to link up the little kids in our community with the elderly because it helps both. It got a little off-track with Covid, though.”
What’s a typical house call like for Henning? “First thing, we kind of set up with small talk. My medical assistant goes with me; it’s a safety thing. We run through things, like how are they doing, how are they eating, sleeping, any shortness of breath? Are the [home healthcare] aides still coming in or not coming? I coordinate everything,” she said.
Henning said she has the benefit of a health system with a portable lab she can call on for testing.
But just as often, house call success falls to the observation capabilities of the provider.
“I am the nosiest person you’ve ever met,” Henning said. “I’m checking everything, the refrigerator. And I’m constantly thinking about what’s the most cost-effective, if that’s a big issue with them.”
House calls seem to bring out a special sense among medical professionals. “I definitely feel like I’ve really found my life’s work and my life’s passion.”
Henning also said information and advice from the Home Care Centered Institute “has been so helpful; they’ve helped me as I built this thing from the ground up.”