Nathana Hall witnessed changes in the field of nursing, as well as changing rules for insurance and medical transportation, and decided to find a better way to meet patients needs with “At Home Visit PLLC” – offering house calls instead of office appointments.
“It’s Crazy – the restrictions on homebound patients.” – Nathana Hall
Hall anchors her work from a new office inside Horton Bros. & Brown Pharmacy on Main Street in Grayson, although she does most of her job in her patients’ homes – the old fashioned “house call”.
“When I started, pre-Covid, I knew a lot of elderly people lacked transport or are physically homebound,” Hall said, adding local residents also faced new reimbursement rules and restrictions regarding the use of ambulances. People who are bedbound are particularly difficult to transport without an ambulance, she notes.
“Nobody wants to be transported. And, that’s where I come in,” she said, later adding first-time patients “are sometimes a little bit skeptical when I come in, but they warm up.”
Local Roots
Hall lived in Carter County as a young girl, when her dad worked on the Grayson Spur and she attended East Carter Middle School. It was during that time she would meet her future husband, Lloyd Hall II, although she giggles and explains she used to “run and hide from him” back then. They were later reintroduced on a blind date, she said.
Her family moved and Hall became a member of the Morgan County High School Class of 1995. The daughter of Norman and Francis Elam then studied at Maysville Technical College where she graduated with honors with an LPN degree and was recognized with a Presidential Scholarship for the state of Kentucky.
“I always wanted to be a doctor,” Hall said, explaining she instead went to work for a metal fabrication company in Morehead, where an engineer recognized her diagnostic and solutions skills and encouraged her to further her education. Determined, Hall graduated at the top of her class at Morehead State University with a Registered Nurse degree.
“I’m still paying for school,” she said.
During her time working as a hospital nurse (which included additional education including a BSN degree in 2012) Hall said she witnessed a dramatic shift in her job and patient care.
“I decided I’d had enough hospital work,” she said, noting she then obtained a Masters degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 2018. It was a time of great personal change for Hall, including the adoption of her son, Jacob Keeton.
“I told my husband if I had to do it again, I would be a teacher.”
Making House Calls
Hall initially began providing home health care visits as part of a local doctor’s practice, and later with another organization, although that position was eliminated as part of the Covid 19 pandemic response. Knowing there was demand for her services, Hall put plans for “At Home Visit, PLLC” into motion.
Hall said she is able to provide tests and “common things that people go to urgent care for” during home visits, with resources including ultra sound and X-ray testing available.
Due to Covid, Hall said “almost everybody qualifies” for her services.
Hall said she finds home visits allow an excellent degree of patient interaction and care.
“I don’t know why others don’t do it. I mean, I know I could make more money with a packed office, but money is not my goal.”
“I do this because I love it. It’s what I always wanted to do. It’s my life goal. It’s my universal reason.”
Hall has a three year plan to hire additional nurse practitioners and have each work within one local county, although she is a one-person operation at the moment. Those without health insurance are offered a discounted list of rates, with an initial house call for $60 ($30 for established patients). Lab work for uninsured patients is also discounted and a variety of procedures ranging from wound care and ear wax removal to joint injections and nail trimming cost from $10 to $30.
While Hall is able to offer an impressive variety of tests and services during home visits, people having chest pain or severe abdominal problems are still urged to seek emergency treatment, she said.
“I would suggest going to the E.R for those,” she said.
At Home Visit, PLLC is located at Suite One, 201 East Main Street, Suite 1, Grayson. For more information call 606.475.0014 or 606.483.6021.201
