The Wichita Eagle
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 11:15 AM, UPDATED 3 HOURS 18 MINUTES AGO
Oklahoma-based Physician Housecalls has entered the Wichita market, but not under that name.
That’s in part because there’s already another business here called that, says co-owner Cindy Longanacre.
Second, she says, the company has purchased Wichita-based Mobile Medical and is “going to keep that name because it has such a good reputation in that area.”
Mobile Medical already serves 1,400 patients a day in the area, and Longanacre says Physician Housecalls is bringing significant resources to help grow the business.
“We do what’s called home-based primary care,” Longanacre says.
She says there are a lot of people, particularly older ones, who are frail and have multiple medical issues and can’t make it to the doctor for regular care.
Those people often wind up having to call an ambulance and end up in the hospital because they didn’t receive basic care, which is what Mobile Medical provides.
“That helps bring down the health care costs for everybody,” Longanacre says.
She says nationally, Medicare estimates there are 6 million people who qualify for in-home care, but less than 2 percent of those people receive it.
“We’re looking at a regional footprint and then hopefully (will) take it much further than that in the next five years,” Longanacre says.
The company serves 1,500 people daily in Oklahoma where it covers two thirds of the state.
Longanacre says the company is bringing a lot more back-office support to Mobile Medical and bringing what she calls a more robust record system.
“It’s just a lot easier to access and utilize.”
Previous Mobile Medical owner Angie King, a nurse practitioner, is remaining at the business.
“She’s a great addition to our team,” Longanacre says.
King had run the business from her home. With the new office support, Longanacre says the company needs an actual office and has signed a lease at 530 N. Ridge Road.
Stephanie Wise of John T. Arnold Associates handled the deal.
Longanacre says the space is only about 2,500 square feet.
“It’s not like a clinic. We take the clinic to them.”
https://www-1.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article235384747.html