By LORI TUCKER
6 News Anchor/Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - UT Medical Center's Department of Family Medicine is one of few facilities still training residents on how to make house calls.
Patients like Clyde Howell say that's a good thing.
For Howell, getting out and about is tough. He's been using a wheelchair for several years after a falling tree limb left him with devastating injuries.
House calls make life a lot easier for Howell, and his wife, Joyce. "It saves me from getting out, which I can't stand in this heat," he said.
His wife says it saves her the stress of getting her husband to a myriad of medical appointments.
Enter Dr. Anthony Wilson, a faculty member with the Department of Family Medicine. He enjoys the hands-on experience of training medical residents in the field on how to make a proper house call.
And he says home visits are still relevant to good medical care.
"You have a lot more one-on-one time because the home visits typically are scheduled for a couple of hours," Dr. Wilson explained."It gives you a better understanding of where they're coming from on a lot of their daily needs."
Second year medical resident Aimee Battaglia finds the whole experience fulfilling, and says she plans to include it in her own practice in the near future.
"The true reward is getting to come see these patients, Mr. Howell in his home, and get to share a little bit of their life and that's really the privilege of medicine," Battaglia said.
She knows doctors cannot base their entire practices on house calls, but they can make time for a few.
The goal is to make private time with patients meaningful for everyone.
As far as Clyde Howell is concerned, Battaglia has done her job. "It's just an all around good thing," he said with a smile.
For more information, contact UT Medical Center's Department of Family Medicine at 865-305-9350.
House calls make life a lot easier for Clyde Howell, and his wife, Joyce. "It saves me from getting out, which I can't stand in this heat," he said.
