The urban Pacific Northwest is rather fond of healthy living and
using bicycles for transportation. It should come as no surprise, then,
that Bellingham, WA, has a group of nurses making house calls by bike.
House calls were once commonly made by doctors, nurses, and midwives,
and have recently fallen out of use, but Bellingham has brought it back,
to the delight of residents.
The program is called Mobile Medicine. It was founded by Jody Hoppis two
years ago and organizes patient visits at homes and workplaces.
Specially designed bike trailers were made to carry the necessary
supplies so she can transport herself on calls.
"You learn so much about a person by being in their home," Hoppis said.
"I love my job."
Patients share Hoppis' enthusiasm. Mobile Medicine saves patients the
time, hassle, and expense of going to a healthcare clinic. Hoppis keeps
her overhead low so she can spend up to an hour with patients. They
appreciate the personal care they get. House calls are commonly thought
of nostalgically as part of a time when doctors and other healthcare
workers had personal relationships with their patients and thus gave
more knowledgeable care. Today, medical treatment is given in only a few
scattered minutes and most healthcare facilities see too many patients
to develop relationships with them or recognize them.
"Most doctors treat test results, they treat numbers," said Phama
Woodyard, one of Hoppis' patients. "Jody treats symptoms."
"She biked over and saved us a trip to the ER," another patient, Sean
Hall, said.
Dana Brandt, a patient who was injured with a herniated disk in his back
on Superbowl Sunday, also praised Mobile Medicine. "I found myself in
excruciating pain and needed someone on short notice," Brandt said. "It
was a huge help to me."
Hoppis is from Ferndale and earned both her bachelor's and master's
degrees in nursing at Seattle Pacific University. She is a nurse
practitioner and can perform physical examinations, diagnose and treat
illnesses and chronic health problems, prescribe medications and
physical therapies, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and refer
patients to specialists. She's lived in Bellingham for the last 10 years
where she originally worked part time at a family practice clinic.
Wanting to find work that better fit her family's schedule, enabled a
stronger connection with patients, and allowed her to ride her bike,
Mobile Medicine was born.
Hoppis uses a German-made Kalkhoff bicycle that has a small electric
motor and a lockable, waterproof bike trailer like the ones used by
postal carriers in similarly rainy Scotland. Most of her house calls are
made on this rig, but she uses a car when there is snow on the ground or
when she visits patients in neighboring Lynden.