A woman in Philadelphia shares her tragic story about a personal care home.

A woman in Philadelphia shares her tragic story about a personal care home.

Sherry Bridges has a history with house doctors since her father who could no longer take care of her because of her mental illness in 2002 placed her in the personal care home (PCH) system. She reported before moving into this system that she had a doctor in an office “like normal people do”.

I was living at Bowen and Bowen PCH; it was closed down by the state. I was seeing Dr. Levey there; he was OK, but when I moved, I had to change doctors. I moved to Spears PCH in 2006 and that is when I met Dr Swartzman and Dr Bill. (Dr Bill is a physician’s assistant)

Sometime in early 2006, I got sick and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. My diagnosis was lung cancer; they started chemotherapy. I was sent back to the personal care home and started back seeing the house doctor. When I told him things were not right and I needed medicine for pain, he said I had too many things wrong and I needed to get another doctor if I was not happy. I told Ms. Wilson, the administrator at Spears, who said if I did not want to use the House Doctor, I had to find another doctor on my own. I got sick again in October 2007, and was taken back to the emergency room. Ms. Wilson said I could not come back to Spears. I am now in a nursing home.”

I don’t think House Doctors are good. They don’t have the right equipment; they only check your blood pressure and write prescriptions.