In 2007 the HSA Foundation was awarded a Home Visit grant on behalf of the Stanislaus Family Medicine Residency Program by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation   The Family Medicine Residents were expected to see homebound patients as an overall strategic plan to have the residents become more engaged in the environmental health determinates of patients and to foster an interest in domiciliary care as a feature of their future practices. Supervision and role modeling was provided by family physician educators and a licensed clinical social worker faculty teacher. It was through the research and efforts of David S. Sandoval, LCSW the grant funding was used to purchase and organize equipment needed by the doctors during these visits into an accessible travel bag.

In January 2009, two years after the program began we received this message:   “I performed a home visit today and asked for the home visit bag. It is wonderfully equipped with an O2 sat monitor, various BP cuffs, a thermometer, odoscope, gloves, etc.  It was instrumental to me today when I visited a 90 year old home bound man with fever, chills and cough.  He looked fine until I found his O2 sat to be 70%.  Then upon further observation, he appeared to be quite pale. I would not have known to send him to the ER without the aid of the O2 sat monitor.  I would like to thank all involved in the assembly of the home visit kit.  Thanks!”  Peter Gaines, M.D.