On-site primary care is now being offered to residents of The Verandah Retirement Community.

The facility has collaborated with Curana Health to become the first retirement community in the region to provide physician-led care for residents, staff and family members of staff in one place without the need for travel or scheduling.

“We can serve as primary care or as an urgent care for the residents here,” Bonnie Dupre, director of clinical operations for Curana, said during the clinic’s open house Tuesday afternoon. “We can be their (primary care physician) and see them for day-to-day management, net patient management, labs — whatever the case may be — or they can keep their outside PCP and we can see them when they have a sore throat or they cough or they have a fall. We can see them either or.”

Residents also have to the option to receive care in their apartments or see the advanced practice provider within the new clinic space.

Dupre said Curana Health’s medical team specializes in delivering concierge-style senior health care services, and coordinating routine preventive care — such as blood pressure checks, ear cleanings, medication management and preventative care for pneumonia, urinary tract infections and congestive heart failure —as well as comprehensive care coordination, palliative care, 24/7 access to care teams, and coordination of on-site phlebotomy and imaging services.”

There is no charge to The Verandah for the services to be on site; everything is billed to the patient’s insurance.

Verandah Executive Director Tammy Friesen said the collaboration “makes sense because it allows us to provide a continuum of care for our residents by adding this level of service.”

“It gives them the opportunity to stay in one place and much more successfully,” Friesen said. “They don’t have to worry about going out to a doctor’s office now so for those people who don’t drive anymore it’s generally a convenience and people can stay healthier longer because we can get on top of things faster this way.”

Curana Health Vice President of Operations Tara Jones said the clinic can also sees staff members and their family.

“The biggest thing is getting them well and getting them back to work so they can keep these residents as healthy as possible and keep them living in their community for as long as possible as they age,” Jones said.

She said the clinic also helps alleviate the burden on the family caregivers.

“I’ve been on that side as a family caregiver in assisted living and trying to coordinate getting them to a doctor while me and my husband are trying to work plus we have kids,” Jones said. “It can be very difficult and very stressful. If I had been able to just call up and have a provider see them in their home then what a huge difference that would have been.”