HouseCalls nurse practitioner serves members far from her home

Melissa Frantz begins her day in a hotel nearly 3,000 miles from her home in Florida. Unlike a typical business traveler passing through, she has lived here for the last 60 days — turning a temporary stay into a home away from home.

As a HouseCalls nurse practitioner, she volunteered to make the cross-country trek to help meet the needs of Medicare Advantage members in Washington state. Despite the long distance, Melissa is able to make connections and, after several years of doing this schedule, has recurring visits with some of the same members in the state. 

“They ask us if we’re interested in helping out in other states,” Melissa said. “And it's really fun to be able to come to a place that's not your home, to stay for a short amount of time and then be able to go back to the comfort of your home, but then to actually meet the needs of people in another area.”

In order to serve members across the country, Melissa has seven medical licenses, including for Florida.

Unlike a traditional doctor’s appointment, a HouseCalls visit brings clinicians into a member’s home. HouseCalls does not replace regular care from a primary care provider. Instead, it provides an additional opportunity to discuss health needs and share information with the member’s provider.

That can provide important context about their overall health, safety and daily challenges.

“On any given day, I can have six or seven visits where I visit them in the comfort of their home, where it's most calm and unrushed, and we try to meet their needs individually,” she said.

The visits are also a good opportunity to help members stay on track with preventive care, making important connections to their primary care providers. For many older adults, staying healthy involves more than an annual checkup. It means having the time to ask questions, discuss concerns and understand what steps to take next. That is where HouseCalls can make a difference.

“Preventive care is the key to really everything in my opinion,” Melissa said. “When we can ask the right questions, they can really feel free and open to discuss their care and truly get to the root of things that are going on.”

For example, Melissa saw a member who had moved from Seattle to a more rural area. He still had a primary care provider in Seattle but because of the distance, was only doing virtual visits. When Melissa saw him for a HouseCalls visit, she detected a significant heart murmur. She immediately called his provider to recommend prompt follow-up.

The member messaged her to let her know that he had been referred to a surgeon. 

For UnitedHealthcare member Patricia Scoville, the HouseCalls experience offered something she felt was often missing from traditional medical appointments.

"I thought it was great because it was much more personal and much more focused than running to the doctor's office," Patricia said. "She was more interested in hearing details."

The impact of HouseCalls is often measured in moments like these — when members feel heard, supported and empowered to take charge of their health.

"I feel like I've had a successful visit when the member says, 'Can you please come back next year?'" Melissa said. "They always say, 'Thank you so much. I learned something today that I didn't learn at my doctor's office.'"