Dr. Abigail Holley Houts, MD

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Get to know Geriatrician Dr. Abigail Holley Houts, who serves patients in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dr. Houts is a highly trained geriatrician serving as the Medical Director for Ambulatory Services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has strong partnerships with counties, tribes, health care providers, other state agencies, consumer groups, advocacy organizations, community-based services, and other partners in human services to address Minnesotans’ needs. It operates an array of residential and treatment programs serving people with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and chemical dependency. 

A 2004 graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Dr. Houts performed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in 2007. She then went on to complete a two-year clinical and research fellowship in geriatrics at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where her research focused on the development of a home-based palliative care program for seniors living on the South Side of Chicago.

Prior to her current endeavours, she served as a physician at Hennepin County Medical Center (2010 – 2018), and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School (2010 – 2018). She founded Wraparound House Calls after over ten years of doing home visits in Baltimore City, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At Wraparound House Calls, Dr. Houts created a new treatment model that combines in-home primary care with professional geriatric care management services. There are a few doctors that still make house calls, and there are care managers for hire, but Wraparound House Calls is the only company in the Twin Cities that combines expert medical treatment with matching expertise in communication among medical professionals, insurance care coordinators, community service agencies, and family members. By pairing in-home primary care with professional care management services, Wraparound House Calls allows a loved one to stay at home for as long as possible, typically offering a great cost savings and improved quality of life. 

A member of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine and the American Geriatrics Society, Dr. Houts is board-certified in both internal medicine and geriatric medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a specialty that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. Geriatricians are physicians who work primarily with the elderly. Although they address their patients’ multiple medical problems and chronic illnesses, they focus primarily on quality of life and functional ability. Geriatricians also determine when it is no longer medically safe for seniors to live alone and counsel them on alternative living arrangements, as well as counsel patients and families on end of life care.

Dedicated to excellence, Dr. Houts was recognized as “Top Doctors: Rising Stars” by Mpls. St. Paul Magazine Recognizes (2016, 2017, 2018) and as “Top Doctors” by Minnesota Monthly Magazine (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). She was awarded the Tideswell National Leadership Development Award in 2016 by the American Geriatrics Society.

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