Daily Action Plan Leads to Positive Health Outcomes for Little Porter Lorenzen.

When Porter Lorenzen (pictured above, right) was just four months old, he contracted and was treated for a respiratory infection. After a course of antibiotics, he recovered, but recurring sinus infections continued to plague little Porter off and on for months. He couldn’t sleep through the night and felt generally unwell, tired and cranky.

No surprise, his parents, Jeff and Jenny Lorenzen of Hood River, were growing very concerned. The medical recommendation they received was to treat Porter with saline rinses. In spite of that, Porter’s issues persisted and even worsened. He started to develop other alarming symptoms—wheezing as well as eczema in a number of places. Porter’s immune system was under attack.

“It was scary,” Lorenzen recalls. “He would wake up seven times a night, and we’d have him sleep propped up because he couldn’t breathe well. We had lots of visits to the doctor and even went to the ER.”

In response to all this and, in particular, to the wheezing, the parents sought a second opinion from Corinda Hankins, MD, a Hood River-based pediatrician who, at that time, did not work at One Community Health (OCH). Dr. Hankins immediately recognized what was going on. Porter, now two years old, had significant allergies and asthma. An aggressive treatment plan was in order.

“We followed the plan, and the first year was really rough,” Lorenzen recalls. “But we started to see improvements, so stuck with it. He was getting nebulizer treatments, steroid shots, oral allergy medication and, for his eczema, a prescription cream.”

During that time, the Lorenzens continued to take him to Dr. Hankins every three months to monitor his condition. They also followed her to OCH when she joined our health care team in fall 2017.

“This was important to me because she’s very personable and knowledgeable—I really came to trust her,” says Lorenzen, who, being a nurse herself, also knew Dr. Hankins through the health care community. “Believe me, at first, I was nervous about giving him all those medications, but she knew what Porter needed to do to get better, and her plan worked. Eventually, we were able to cut way back on the medications and avoid urgent trips to the doctor or ER.”

In continuing care with Dr. Hankins at OCH, Lorenzen says she and Porter also found an entire team of staff members who were remarkably personable, coordinated and consistent in their care. On the rare occasion Dr. Hankins was not available to see Porter, Lorenzen found it was always easy to make an appointment with another provider. When she did, she was delighted to discover the provider knew exactly what was going on with Porter’s asthma plan and didn’t miss a beat. In addition, Lorenzen says she has always appreciated the accommodating personalities of those who’ve helped her make appointments, not to mention the bedside manner of the medical assistants, who have been very engaging and efficient.

“It’s been fabulous,” Lorenzen says. “Access has been great, and everyone on the team—no matter who we’ve seen—has been on the same page. I don’t get conflicting information.”

Over the course of that second year of treatment, Porter’s health vastly improved. Currently, his asthma and eczema are under control, and he’s taking just one allergy pill a day. Given this, he sees Dr. Hankins every six months instead of every three months.

With the right factors at play, Porter’s condition is now a positive prognosis. Lorenzen says the continuity of care and close follow up has certainly addressed Porter’s condition, helping make his quality of life better and empowering the Lorenzens in the process.

“Over time, we—as parents—have become more in tune with what’s happening with him, so we’ve been able to address things before they become scary or a major concern," she says. "Porter’s body is on track with healing. Today, we’re managing this condition versus chasing a problem.”