BY JASON COHEN
Every morning, an army
of cars line up on Halperin
Avenue in the Bronx. Like
clockwork, a steady stream of
doctors, with medical bags in
hand, come out of the 2641 address
and jump into the awaiting
cars.
They are off into the neighborhood
for a day of “house
calls” for the underserved in
the area. The program, “Essen
House Calls,” ran by Essen
Health Care, the largest
health care provider in NYC,
saves lives by bringing the
doctor’s offi ce to homebound
patients that are 21 and over.
Many of these patients are at
their homes with poor access
to health care, may live alone
or are unable to leave their
setting. And in many cases,
they get most of their care in
the emergency room, which
puts them at risk and is an
enormous strain on the health
care system.
With this program, patients
can schedule most visits
within 24-48 hours and
will receive the same highquality,
comprehensive services
that you would normally
seek in a primary care physician’s
offi ce, including routine
care, immunizations, prescriptions,
physical therapy,
chronic disease management,
x-rays, etc.
Dr. Sumir Sahgal, founder
and chief medical offi cer at
Essen, told the Bronx Times
that in 2005 fi ve of their patients
were found dead at
home. Knowing these patients
lived alone, he began to wonder
how many seniors under
Essen’s care were not seeing
a doctor every three to six
months. After doing some research,
he discovered that 80
patients had been missing appointments
frequently. As a
result, Essen House Calls was
launched that year.
“This is the invisible population
in this country,” he said
about seniors. “Our model is
we bring the doctor’s offi ce to
you.”
According to Sahgal, he
was surprised so many people
had not been seen by doctors
and what made matters worse
is that many of the patients
lacked food and weren’t taking
Will my child have side
effects to the COVID-19
vaccine like I did?
For children ages 5-11, the dose is only a
third of the amount that is given to adults
and side effects appear to be milder.
COVID-19 VACCINES SAVE LIVES. GET YOUR CHILD VACCINATED.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine or call 212-COVID19.
BRONX TIMES R 22 EPORTER, JAN. 7-13, 2022 BTR
medication.
“They depend on everybody
else for help,” Sahgal
said. “This is the Bronx; a
lot of people live alone and
don’t have families. A lot of
them don’t have connection to
kids.”
Sahgal said since the
launch of the program 16
years ago it has had a tremendous
impact on the senior population
in the borough. Essen
hired someone who sets up
the home visits and the staff is
now more attune to the needs
of their patients.
Additionally, the doctors
are in constant communication
with the families of the
patients. Eventually, word
spread, and the program garnered
quite a reputation. Today,
Essen has 13,000 patients
in the Bronx House Calls program
and 440 who are centenarians.
“Every year we start getting
more people who want
them to do house calls,” the
doctor said.
At the house calls doctors
check blood pressure, weight,
draw blood, take x-rays, sonograms
Dr. Nikolaos Migias, medical director of the Essen House Calls Program,
visits a patient at her home. Photo courtesy Essen Health
and, if needed, arrange
for the patient to see a specialist.
Sahgal said the program
has saved countless lives and
improved the health of many.
Essen House Calls has been
quite impactful during the
pandemic, as the medical staff
has helped patients get tested
and acquire any medicine
they needed.
“It’s an honor to go to their
home and take care of them,”
he said. “We want to change
the way health is delivered.”
House call program shines light
on needs of senior population
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
Pediatricians recommend
the COVID-19 vaccine
for 5-17 year olds.
/covidvaccine