On Course

To be our community’s medical home“Home is love, security and a sense of peace” said Pauline McEachernof Bass Harbor. These are also a few of the characteristics that defineher medical home at the Community Health Center in Southwest Harbor.As part of the Maine Patient Centered Medical Home Pilot project,the Community Health Center is working to redefine the notion of adoctor’s practice. Instead of a place where patients see their physicianand then fend for themselves, a medical home provides an integrated,team approach to care where a broad range of services are providedor coordinated in one location.A heart problem has required that Pauline be on Coumadin, a bloodthinner, for the past four years and she’s grateful to have someone tohelp her manage her medication. Nurse Care Manager Catherine Bunker,RN, meets with Pauline to help her stay on top of her medication. “Icouldn’t do it alone,” said Pauline. “She monitors me and helps me.It’s very reassuring.”therapy, and check ups. “It was a lot of extra driving and time,” saidPauline. She’s pleased that she’s now able to undergo PT and haveher regular check ups under one roof. “They make it easy to scheduleappointments one after the other,” said Pauline. “I think it’s wonderful.”Goals for the program are many, but a main objective is a reduction inunnecessary hospital visits. Another goal is to eliminate the stress anduncertainty of health care for patients – to make the doctor’s office feelfamiliar, like a home away from home. For Pauline, that’s the feelingshe gets when she walks through the door at the Community HealthCenter. “They make you feel very well cared for. If you feel comfortable,you’re going to get better quickly.”As part of the Medical Home Model approach, patients like PaulineMcEachern (left) of Bass Harbor are cared for by a team of clinicians,including Nurse Care Manager Catherine Bunker, RN (right).Before the new Community Health Center opened in 2008, Pauline hadto drive to three different locations for help with her Coumadin, physical6