ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Dr. Mark Sanphy, a podiatrist in Lynn, carries a black bag to all of his house calls.
By MICHELE DURGIN
LYNN — Lynn podiatrist Dr. Mark Sanphy has been practicing medicine on the North Shore for 25 years, but he also is truly a welcome throwback to an older era. Sanphy, who heads the four-physician practice of the Sanphy Podiatry Group, still makes house calls.
“We all make house calls a priority here,” Sanphy said. “It’s important to be able to service patients who struggle to leave home and are in need of a doctor’s care. Housecalls can prevent many patients from being hospitalized. I am lucky to have a team around me who believes in the value of home visits, as well.
“I chose this particular field because it’s a geriatric-based specialty and I love my senior citizens,” Sanphy said. “They’ve held a special place in my heart for as long as I can remember.”
Sanphy went on to say that he finds it rewarding when he sees his patients, who sometimes have been in pain for years, feel better after a visit or two.
“Sometimes the answer is a medication or a brace. And sometimes it’s the combination of a listening ear, along with a smile and a hug. And my senior patients are always so grateful and happy when their health improves.”
Sanphy’s practice, located on Nahant Street, includes partners Robert Uhrich, Steve Yamadjako, and Lauren Fisher. They are all DPMs (doctors of podiatric medicine).
He chose the field of podiatry, which is devoted to the treatment of the foot and ankle, because he found the mechanics and structures of those body parts interesting.
“I am fortunate to have so many warm and friendly patients and I am glad to have such a wonderful staff that goes above and beyond the call of duty to treat them, each and every day,” said the 51-year-old Lynn native.
“Technology and state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and treatment centers are great, but sometimes senior citizens have a hard time making their way to those facilities. A home visit is convenient for them and helps us decide if they do indeed need further treatment at a local hospital or treatment center. Getting people healthy, whether it’s in my office or their living room, is the No. 1 goal.”
Sanphy said that he enjoys making house calls because it gives him an opportunity to get to know his patients on a more personal level, which he believes helps him in terms of decisions about treatment and goals for the homebound patient.
“I get to know a patient in a unique way when I visit him or her at home,” Sanphy said. “ It’s a different level of trust that can’t be anything but helpful when treatment plans need to be made.
“One of the biggest intentions is to keep patients out of the hospital, and if visiting them at home helps us to achieve that, then I am happy to do it.”
Sanphy looks to the future with the same positive attitude he has today. He plans to continue seeing patients at his office, along with those he treats in their homes. He said there is a waiting list for home visits and he hopes that he and his partners can ,at some point, accommodate each and every one of those requesting a house call.
Michele Robinson, 48, is a medical secretary and has worked for Sanphy for almost four years. She is impressed with Dr. Sanphy and his partners’ dedication to their patients.
“House calls are so unheard of these days,” she said. “ But the doctors in this practice believe it is an important part of the job and have no problem getting out there and visiting patients in their homes.
“They are a dedicated group, led by Dr. Sanphy, and coming here every day feels more like spending my time with family, rather than co-workers at a business.”