ArchWell Health, a comprehensive senior primary care provider, is expanding into the Wisconsin market.
The Tennessee-based company recently opened four centers in the Milwaukee area — three in the city and one in West Allis.
Operating in 14 states, ArchWell Health aims to expand access to high-quality medical care for seniors 60 and over. The greater Milwaukee area has approximately 193,000 (21%) residents aged 60 and over, according to the Census 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimate.
The locations opened in the River Bend West Shopping Center in West Allis and in Milwaukee’s Harambee, Capital Heights and Mitchell West neighborhoods.
“Milwaukee has been an area of interest for the company for quite some time,” said Dr. Kate Lichtenberg, ArchWell Health’s Market Medical Director.
The centers are in areas underserved by primary care services and have higher concentrations of seniors 60 years and older, Lichtenberg said.
Traveling to seek primary care can be challenging for this population, she added.
“Our model is to put our centers into the neighborhoods where people live,” Lichtenberg said. “If it’s more difficult to get to the doctor’s office, they may skip it.”
The new locations are:
The new facilities feature reception and waiting areas, up to 16 exam rooms (depending on the center’s square footage), diagnostic lab for EKGs and blood work, and conference rooms for educational events. Patients will also have options for same day and next day appointments as well as tele-health visits.
Insurance accepted include United Healthcare, Anthem-Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, and Medicare Advantage.
The centers will provide preventative care, but also treat a range of health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, or emphysema, also known as COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The company also plans to pilot an in-house eye exam program for diabetic patients where results are interpreted by an ophthalmologist and eye specialist. Other services ArchWell Health plans to offer include nutrition classes, summer safety tips and a Medicare primer. Until fully staffed each center will have one physician, one nurse practitioner and the educational classes will be virtual.
ArchWell Health has patient-to-doctor ratio below the national average — allowing physicians to spend more time with its patients or see them often. Lichtenberg said new visits are typically an hour long and follow-up visits can range between 20 and 40 minutes.
This allows doctors to address the patient’s medical needs and their well-being. The goal, she said, is to keep people out of the hospital or the emergency department, but help them maintain their lifestyle, whether it’s walking every day, exercising or gardening, Lichtenberg said.
“We try to spend a lot of time understanding what it is that our patients want to be doing and then figure out a plan to help them get there,” Lichtenberg said.
To address isolation that often comes with growing older, each center will offer activities such as bingo, crafts and chair yoga. Lichtenberg said it is important for seniors to stay active and interact with others. The Surgeon General in 2023 declared loneliness and social isolation a public health epidemic.
“It can have such a huge impact on their health as well,” Lichtenberg said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ArchWell Health opens senior care centers in Milwaukee
Reporting by La Risa R. Lynch, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
