Personal attention seen as antidote to rising health costs

Kevin Wiehrs is a nurse at a busy doctor's office in Savannah, Ga. But instead of giving patients shots or taking blood pressure readings, his job is mostly talking with patients like Susan Johnson. Johnson, 63, a retired restaurant cook who receives Medicare and Medicaid, has diabetes, and she already met with her doctor. Afterwards, Wiehrs spends another half hour with her, talking through her medication, exercise and diet. Wierhs, 51, was a hospice nurse for 15 years and a social worker before that. Now, he is one of five new care coordinators at Memorial Health, a medical system based in Savannah. He was hired to pay special attention to patients with poorly controlled chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.