For the most part, medical house calls have become a thing of the past.

But not for David Kasprzak, a certified nurse practitioner and founder of the nonprofit Valley Primary Care of Tamaqua.

Kasprzak, of Summit Hill, goes on the road to visit area patients in their homes.

“It’s a needed service,” he said, especially for those who don’t have transportation.

Kasprzak has been involved in the medical field since 1976, and in the nursing profession since 1987.

“We’re here to do our job. We’re here to take care of the sick people,” he explained.

When he was starting his career, he said, he worked with many “old-fashioned” doctors.

“They took me by the arm, and I’d go with them and see how they were doing things,” he recalled. “There was a lot of learning. You learn the old way without the machines on how to do things and how to diagnose your patients.”

He keeps the lessons with him when he’s visiting folks at their homes, or seeing them as walk-ins or through appointments at his Tamaqua office.

“I think people need to go back. They’re too reliant on lab, X-rays, ultrasound. They can’t even look at a patient and make a diagnosis sometimes,” Kasprzak said. “You need to look at your patient and listen.”

He said that Valley Primary Care can treat an array of medical problems in those ages 14 and up.

“We can do what they do at an urgent care,” he said.

Valley Primary Care charges a flat fee for appointments, whether or not a patient has medical insurance. And through an agreement with Blue Cross, Medicare and Geisinger insurances, Kasprzak said home visits are charged as office visits.

“When people call and they’re sick, we like to get them in the same day,” Kasprzak said. “You shouldn’t have to wait when you’re sick.”

He spends at least 30 minutes talking to each patient, he noted.

“I want to listen, I want to do a good (medical) history,” Kasprzak said. “I think the history of the patient is the most important part.”

Asked what he enjoys most about the profession, he said it is the “caring.”

“Taking care of sick people,” he explained. “My mom (the late Joan Kasprzak) was a nurse. She brought us up with the compassion.”

He began the practice a few years ago as a 501 (c) (3) charity as a way to “give back,” he said.

The 229 W. Broad St. office opened in November, however, the site offered testing when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. It is open for walk-ins from 9 a.m. to noon weekdays.

“We don’t have any ties, so we can refer to any hospital chain,” Kasprzak explained.

In addition to home and office visits, Valley Primary Care can draw blood for lab work, write prescriptions, offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy and hydration therapy.

Valley Primary Care may be reached at 570-810-2442 or patient@valleyprimarycare.org.