At 75 and suffering from congestive heart failure, Marvin Pomerantz is staring down the enemy with the same tenacity he used to make his company, Mid-America Group Ltd., one of the most recognizable and respected names in commercial real estate development. Retirement? Not yet. Maybe never.

“Most people keep working into their 70s,” he said offhandedly, as if his daily appearance in the suites in the office complex his company built at 4700 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines is no big deal. Keep in mind, though, that gastrointestinal bleeding a couple of years ago plummeted his blood pressure to a dangerous 60-over-40 level and nearly claimed his life.

“I think I can be productive and contribute to society as well as business,” Pomrantz said.

Deb Cosgrove, a private-duty nurse at Iowa Health Home Care – InTrust and the agency’s executive director, helps makes that possible. Two or three times a week, she or one of her colleagues arrives at his office between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. to take his blood pressure, listen to his heart and draw blood.

Pomerantz knew he would need some nursing assistance when he was released from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after his life-threatening illness. He wasn’t ready to sit back and just let life happen. Though he’s in the office before 9 most mornings, he mostly leaves the running of his business to the professionals he’s hired and devotes his time to community and education initiatives, “things that make Iowa a better place to live,” he said.

Pomerantz argues that reporting to the office daily is important to his overall physical and mental health, and he bets his doctors would agree. The frequent monitoring keeps him out of the emergency room and allows for the treatment of symptoms before they require hospitalization, but there are intangible benefits as well. “Being active causes me to live a better life,” Pomerantz said.

Cosgrove is careful not to diagnose, but said the close personal contact gives her an advantage. “I can walk in and know immediately if he feels well or doesn’t feel well,” she said. “Working this closely, you get to know the signs.”

Though Pomerantz chose home care – in this case, office care – because having health-care professionals report to him better fit his busy schedule and saves a him a couple of hours every few days waiting in his doctor’s office, it has the added benefit of “extending the reach of the physician,” he said.

“Physicians are burdened with tightening reimbursements and other issues, and we are able to take some of that pressure off,” said Tim Hackbart, a spokesman for the agency. “It’s an extension of the physician, not a replacement of the physician.”

Cosgrove and Pomerantz remain in regular contact even when Pomerantz is at his home in California, a frequent destination in winter, using the Iowa Health Home Care telephone monitoring system. A device in his home collects his vital signs daily and then transmits them back to Des Moines, much like a facsimile transmission. If his vital signs are outside established parameters, Pomerantz can expect a phone call from Cosgrove and his physician can be asked to make modifications in medication if necessary.

Cosgrove said she and the nurses she supervise work with other executives in Central Iowa, offering services that range from flu shot clinics to monitoring chronic illnesses like Pomerantz’s. Iowa Health Home Care even offers pediatric care, a service people don’t always associate with a home-care agency.

“People don’t have a clue how easy this is,” she said. “It really is patient-oriented and a lot easier for the patient to receive first-class medical care.”