John A. Moran Eye Center outreach teams travel several times a year to schools and health clinics to provide eye care on the Utah strip of the Navajo Nation, one of the most isolated and underserved areas in the Lower 48.
Every now and then, they go even further with a house call.
That was the case this past fall when a team led by Theresa Long, MD, loaded equipment into a car and drove miles down a red dirt road at the base of Navajo Mountain to reach the home of a 95-year-old mother of eight who has lived on the remote homestead her entire life. Stevens’ home nurse had recently noticed a rapidly growing abnormality in the eye of her homebound patient. When the nurse heard about Moran’s planned outreach clinics in the Navajo Mountain area, she reached out for help.
The Global Outreach Division team didn’t hesitate to set up a house call. In the patient’s living room, Long provided an in-depth eye exam and offered the family various options depending on the ultimate diagnosis.
“I haven’t done a house call since medical school; they’re rare today,” said Long. “Bringing care and hope directly to [the patient] and her family was truly meaningful.”
