"Where There’s Rarely a Doctor in the House - Assisted Living" - Paula Span
Most assisted living facilities have no doctors on site or on call; only about half have nurses on staff or on call. Thus, many symptoms trigger a trip to an outside doctor or, in too many cases, an ambulance ride, perhaps followed by a hospital stay. However, The Lott Assisted Living Residence in Manhattan, on the other hand, relies on a single geriatrician, Alec Pruchnicki, MD, assistant professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine, medicine, and general internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, to provide medical care for most of its 127 or so residents. The Mount Sinai Hospital employs him and provides emergency services when needed. “In 2005, Dr. Pruchnicki reported at medical conferences, he decreased hospitalizations by a third. “I can’t be in the only place in the country where this would work.”
— Alec Pruchnicki, MD, Assistant Professor, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai