Recently, the group of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health professionals at Erickson Health held their annual meeting. The focus of this group of is on people 65 and older. You see, they truly understand the natural aging process and the potential affect this has on getting and treating chronic conditions such as asthma, hypertension, diabetes and more. Erickson Health is not a thing….it’s physician designed services and people that create a “live life to its fullest” lifestyle.

I wanted to take parts of what Dr. Narrett said at this meeting and put it on our health blog because it is important to understand the heart of who we are and why we do what we do. This is part one, with more to come, to serve as an introduction to Dr. Narrett’s blog, and to Erickson Health. Feel free, as always, to leave your comments.

We provide outstanding care everyday. It’s really because of 2 fundamental reasons: first and foremost, it’s all the folks (Medical Providers) in this room. Everyday you bring your skills, expertise, and compassion to work and provide care; the other reason is the 4 guiding principles we practice everyday. 

We practice evidence-based medicine and look at the whole person and how that person functions in their environment. We focus on geriatric (aging) medicine. We understand the impact of aging and conditions or diseases and how all this impacts the person. We never lose sight of the person.

Accessibility and convenience: we are right down the hall from the residents (people who live at Erickson Communities). Very few physician practices are that available. We’re available for same day appointments. How many of you in this room have had the experience for your children or even yourself where you wanted to see the doctor or have your kids be seen and they tell you: fever of 103, okay we’ll see you in 2 weeks? We see the person the same day and that makes a difference!

Individual attention and communication: this piece is really, I think, the most critical in a way. It represents why this country has such an enormous challenge in getting to quality care. You cannot get to quality care if you don’t spend time with the patient- with the resident. If you don’t have the time, you can’t get to the problem. You can’t have the discussion. You can’t make the individual decision. We take care of the individual and sift through the data to get to the solution.

And, finally, we really are all about wellness and prevention, and we’re becoming more and more so every year. We do a lot better than the rest of the nation on giving flu shots but it goes beyond that simple immunization. By screening for osteoporosis, by reducing fall risk, and much more, we prevent the hip fracture and other outcomes that are often seen as a result of aging.

We apply these principles everyday, with everyone we see. Our mission is to maintain the independence and integrity of each person we see, through prevention, education and individual attention.

To be continued. Watch for Part 2 of Dr. Narrett’s blog

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