Expanding Portable Medical Services in Atlanta

Recently, Jewish Home Life Communities (JHLC) held a pop-up flu clinic inside our independent living communities to provide in-home access to vaccinations for all residents. This convenience is just one of the ways we have begun to expand our portable medical services so more seniors can access the care they need to stay out of the hospital and maintain independence for as long as possible.
Open to people of all faiths, JHLC offers a full spectrum of care solutions for older adults through our residential communities and at-home services. As the only organization in Georgia certified as an I’m Still Here Dementia Care Center of Excellence, our residents enjoy leading-edge, research-based engagement programs that provide purpose and enhance dignity.

But access to geriatricians continues to challenge older adults in Atlanta due to waiting times for the limited number of physicians, as well as the ability to get there. To address this need we opened JHLC Medical Services, a walk-in clinic open to the community and a coordinated house call service for residents within our own system.
The clinic, staffed by geriatric board-certified nurse practitioners, accepts Medicare and offers primary and urgent care services to residents living in the independent living communities on our nursing home campus. Though currently only open two days a week, the clinic sees 8-10 patients a day for routine and chronic medical care. The clinic is also able to treat JHLC staff members as an employee benefit.
For the house call service, we expanded our existing service for the nursing home and hospice patients to include dedicated clinic days at our two assisted living (AL) communities. Residents can choose to use our geriatric nurse practitioners for all their primary care needs or simply as needed. This enhances our service for these residents, reducing wait times for lab orders or prescriptions.
The care team also provides much-needed services for families, including: • Facilitating smooth transitions in care • Encouraging important discussions about care goals • Helping families make smart choices about curative care, palliative care and hospice options
By opening JHLC Medical Services and pairing that with an integrated care delivery management system, Point Click Care, we have improved our ability to holistically treat our residents as they move through our system regardless of the entry point. The increased access and convenience of the clinic, and the increased coordination of care with the house call service