When the doctor comes calling

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Northwest resident Etta Weaver is quick with a smile and even quicker with a kind word. Around her home, however, the 86-year-old isn't as swift.

Age and arthritis make moving a chore, and she needs considerable care to keep various life-threatening ailments at bay.

The Washington Hospital Center's geriatric division understands that some seniors can't just pick up and go to see their doctors.

So the doctors come to them.

House calls may seem like a relic from another, less-paperwork-intensive age, but the hospital in Northwest hopes the visits bring comfort and dignity to seniors in their twilight years.

And, its proponents hope, save the taxpayer money in the process.

The hospital's Medical House Calls Program began in 1999 under the guidance of Drs. George Taler and Eric De Jonge and in recent years has expanded in both staff size (17) and talent (social workers have joined the team). The program reaches roughly 150 to 170 patients a week.

Dr. De Jonge, director of geriatrics at the hospital, says the program took off with the addition of social workers.

"You need to have more than just medical staff," he says.

The biggest obstacle remains reimbursement concerns, although the District's Medicaid program is "very progressive" in helping assuage expenses.