Patient Stories

Bringing Care Where You Live – Even When It’s Unexpected

Ken Miller’s first meeting with his primary care provider was unconventional, to say the least.

“I live at a senior living community in Marblehead,” Ken explains. “One morning, I didn’t wake up.”

The nurse’s aide who checks on Ken each morning found him unresponsive in his apartment. She stepped into the hallway to look for help – and found Kristin Chouinard walking by.

Kristin is a nurse practitioner with HomeMD, which meets patients where they live to provide primary care services. She was there to visit some of Ken’s neighbors, but when she heard what was going on, she immediately came to help.

“In that moment, I believed Ken’s life was in imminent danger and took action to save him,” recalled Kristin. “Once the ambulance arrived, I called Ken’s son Rick. I introduced myself, told him that Ken was in acute heart failure, was minimally responsive, and needed emergency intervention. The resident care assistant Kasie is the hero of this story. She knew Ken was not himself and did not hesitate to call for help.”

Ken doesn’t mince words when describing the quick thinking of both Kasie and Kristin: “The two of them really saved my life.”

After a trip to the hospital, he returned home with a new perspective – and soon after, a new primary care provider.

Making Routine Care More Accessible

HomeMD is a service of Care Dimensions designed for older adults who have difficulty leaving home for medical appointments. The model is straightforward and even a bit old-fashioned: doctors and clinicians make house calls.

Patients receive services like routine check-ups, blood draws, vaccinations, and healthcare planning conversations – all in the comfort of their home.

“When you’re visiting people where they live, you really get to know them on a very personal level,” said Kristin. “While we’re delivering medical care, we’re also building trust. Patients like Ken and I have open and honest conversations about how his care plan lines up with his personal goals.”

For Ken, now in his 90s, the difference is practical and significant.

“The availability of having care right here is just a big selling feature,” he said. “Instead of traveling to my old primary care office in Beverly, my care is right here. And Kristin is fantastic. She’s very easy to talk with, but also very professional.”

A Life Well Lived

After graduating from Bowdoin College, Ken joined the Army and was stationed in Germany from 1954 to 1956. When he returned home and began graduate school, a blind date at a Harvard-Tufts football game introduced him to Lin, the woman who would be by his side for the next six decades.

The two raised three sons and later welcomed grandchildren. Lin passed away in 2017 after living with Parkinson’s disease and a heart complication.

“Sixty years is not a bad run,” Ken said with a smile.

Professionally, Ken spent three decades in human resources with a manufacturing firm in Worcester. He likes to tell a story of when one of the company’s board members – astronaut Neil Armstrong – visited for a corporate meeting.

Today, Ken remains close to family, even as they’ve settled in different parts of the country. Since moving into his senior living community two years ago, he has built new friendships and routines.

He understands that age brings health challenges, though he hopes not too many mornings like the one when he didn’t wake up. When it comes to his healthcare, he’s happy it’s close by.

“As you get older, you don’t make these doctor’s visits quite as easily. Having someone come to us makes all the difference.”

Click here to learn more about HomeMD and how it might be able to support you or a loved one.