People are surprised I make house calls. Then they do a double take when I arrive on my bicycle, pulling a waterproof trailer of medical paraphernalia behind. But it’s all part of the pedal-powered Mobile Medicine, which I created to serve the Bellingham, WA community.
An avid cycler anyway, I wanted work that better fit the schedule of my family — three children ages 6, 8, and 10, and husband Joe — than employment in a traditional family practice clinic.
It's such a different experience to be on people's turf. To see a patient's environment firsthand gives me vital information about family dynamics, nutrition, and safety issues. This allows me to look at the whole person, a ‘holistic’ focus on patient care which was a valuable lesson from my SPU education.
What exhilarates me most about my job is when I can keep an elderly patient out of the E.R./hospital because I see them quickly with little hassle.
— Jody Bauer Hoppis '93, M.S.N. '98
