A Doctor Brings Healing To Patients in Their Homes

A Doctor Brings Healing¹ To Patients in Their Homes

Ernest Brown is a unique doctor. Unlike most doctors, he does not work in a clinic or hospital. He works² out of a black Toyota truck. Patients do not come to him. He comes to their houses.

Dr. Ernest Brown is a doctor who makes house calls.

In 2008, Dr. Brown received his first phone call asking him to make a house call. Almost eight years later, this is the only method Dr. Brown uses. But, he says, this method is not unusual or even new. 

"It's not anything new, because it’s really just the roots of medicine. You know, when you go back in time, when communities were smaller and people were part of a community... there used to be a good old doc down the street… That's really been, kind of, lost."

Dr. Brown was born and raised in Washington, DC. He is 47 years old and a graduate of Howard University College of Medicine. His first interest was in emergency medicine. However, in his third year of medical school he studied under Dr. George Taler. Dr. Taler only treated patients by visiting them in their homes.

Dr. Brown saw a special relationship between Dr. Taler and his patients. Most doctors stand over their patients and do not touch them, Dr. Brown says. Dr. Taler sat down beside on of his patient’s hospital bed and said, "Mary, I think you're doing great. I'll see you at home in a week."

Several months later, Dr. Brown took a trip to Cuba. In Cuba, he witnessed a festival honoring³ a member of the community.

"There was this little old guy… He had a red scarf, suit, and a cane⁴, and he was twirling the scarf and popping the cane. And people would come up to him and dance with him, hug him, and he would smile… It was so nice to see this elderly gentleman in his community and people engaged with him. And I was like, 'you know, that's really cool. Who is he?' 'He's our family doctor."

From that moment, Dr. Brown decided⁵ to become a family doctor. This means he treats men and women of all ages. Family doctors are usually the first doctor a sick person contacts. He chose family medicine because he believes it brings him closer to his community.

"When you slow things down and do what I think is appropriate, [and] really interact⁶ with patients, and follow patients, [then] you really know the true benefit of healing. Of being a physician, and caring."

The American Academy⁷ of Family Physicians reports that fewer medical students are entering family medicine. Dr. Brown says that this is because of the increasing cost of medical school. This increase forces students to seek specializations in medicine. These specializations will get the students better paying jobs in the future.

Meggie Chochol is a third year medical student at Georgetown University. She is interested in Dr. Brown’s work and follows him on house calls. "There’s so much insight⁹ you can gain just seeing somebody in their home and in their natural environment versus¹⁰ in [the clinic]," she says. However, Mrs. Chochol says she will finish medical school with half a million dollars in debt.

The Health Care Cost Institute is a non-profit organization based in the United States. The organization collects data from private insurance companies to measure the current cost of healthcare in the country. According to the HCCI, privately¹¹ insured¹² people under the age of 65 increased their healthcare spending by 3.9 per cent in 2013.

Dr. Brown refuses to work with any health insurance organization. He only requires patients to pay him when their health improves. He makes money from what he calls "concierge¹³ services."  Concierges from upscale hotels would contact him when hotel guests are feeling sick. Dr. Brown collects fees from these wealthy patients so he can provide free treatment to people who cannot afford it.

Three years ago, Dr. Brown received one of his first concierge service calls. A high level politician from Greece was in Washington, DC for a meeting. He fell ill before the start of the meeting. Dr. Brown helped improve the politician's health. As a reward, the politician gave him and his family a free vacation to Greece.

During Dr. Brown’s vacation, the politician asked him to renew¹⁴ his professional vows¹⁶ on the island of Cos. Cos is the island where the physician Hippocrates taught medicine thousands of years ago. Hippocrates is considered the father of Western medicine.

Dr. Brown says moments like these inspire him to continue his work. Patients want peace of mind. He says that the way to achieve this is "to care, end of story."

Words in This Story

unique – adj. very special or unusual

graduate – n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

engage with – phrasal v. to give serious attention to

appropriate – adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation

specialization⁸ – n. business or area of study limited to one specific subject

insight – n. the ability to understand people and situations in a very clear way

versus – prep. used to indicate two different things, choices, etc., that are being compared or considered

vow¹⁵ – n. a serious promise to do something or to behave in a certain way

1 healing   

n.康复，复原adj.有治疗功用的v.（使）愈合( heal的现在分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• miraculous powers of healing 神奇的治病能力
• She seems to have a vocation for healing. 看来她具备治病救人的才能。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

3 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

4 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

7 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

8 specialization   

n.特别化；专门化；（意义的）限定；特化（作用）

参考例句：

• The production line involves a high degree of specialization of labour. 生产线要求工人高度专业化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There has been increased economic specialization throughout the country. 整个国家的经济专门化程度越来越高。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 insight   

n.洞察力，洞悉，深刻的见解

参考例句：

• Good teachers have insight into the problems of students.好的教师能洞察学生的问题。
• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

12 insured   

被保险人

参考例句：

• Was the vehicle insured? 那辆车上保险了吗？
• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently. 原来他没有给房屋投足保险。

13 concierge   

n.管理员；门房

参考例句：

• This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
• As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。

14 renew   

vt.使更新，复始，使恢复，补充；vi.更新，重新开始

参考例句：

• The most important thing is to renew your health.最重要的是恢复你的健康。
• We must renew our supplies of coal.我们必须补充煤的储备。

15 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

16 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。