Out of the Uniform: 446th Reserve Citizen Airman, husband make house calls to flatten the curve

  • Published
  • By Maj Candice Allen
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Staff Sgt. Geri Poston, a 446th Force Support Squadron services sustainment technician, fights COVID-19 with house calls to flatten the curve.

Founded in September 2018, Poston and her Army medic-trained husband, Joseph, formed their company, Remedy Urgent Mobile Medicine.

“We both really saw a need to improve the quality of healthcare for patients,” Poston said. “Oftentimes, parents need to take all their kids in to an urgent care because they don’t have someone to provide child care while they run their sick child in to be seen.”

They researched their business idea for almost three years before starting their company. The Postons designed a model of care that would eliminate these problems for patients and their families. In June 2019, they began seeing patients. Patients range from children to families to working professionals to busy business owners.

“This is the ‘why’ behind us building this delivery model of healthcare,” Poston said. Joseph, a nurse practitioner with more than 15 years in the medical field, sees the patients, while Geri manages billing and assists her husband during appointments, as needed.

This method seems to aid uniquely during the pandemic. Though the mobile company is not a replacement for the emergency room or a large-scale urgent care, they do assist with headaches, ear pain/infections, sore throat, common cold, rash, and flu.

Joseph explained that their business method is uniquely fit to fight COVID-19. Joseph said, “If someone is ill, the directive is to isolate at home. If sick individuals need healthcare, we come to them, evaluate them, discuss treatment options, and prescribe medications if indicated. Secondly, if we have an individual who is actively ill and is suspect for active COVID-19, we are screening patients with a quick nasopharyngeal swab. The turnaround time for these swabs are 1-3 business days. All this without the patient leaving their home, and sometimes their bed or couch.”

Each appointment lasts an hour, which affords 45 minutes of face-to-face time and 15 minutes of travel time. Over the last two months, they have also begun offering telemedicine for specific appointments.

“Many people are scared to go anywhere, we hear this all the time that they are so glad that we do this, because they would not go in or take their loved one in otherwise,” Poston said.  

The company serves the Tri-cities area in Washington.

As for how Poston relates building the company to her service in the Air Force Reserve, Poston says, “I get to not only serve my country, but also help my community – both things I love to do.”