UnitedHealthcare Invests $1.5 Million to Expand School-Based Health Care Services across Iowa
04 Juni 2024 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
Funding provided to school-based telehealth provider Hazel
Health, who will partner with school systems across Iowa to enable
access to mental health support for approximately 100,000 K-12
students
UnitedHealthcare Community & State of Iowa has announced a
$1.5 million investment in school-based telehealth to expand access
to mental health care for K-12 students in Iowa.
This funding will give Hazel Health, a telehealth provider that
focuses on school-based solutions, the resources needed to partner
with school systems and build the technological infrastructure
required to bring quality mental health services to where students
spend most of their day — school and home.
“Helping students achieve good mental health is essential for
their overall wellbeing and influences their ability to succeed in
school and life,” said Dr. Brian Masterson, senior behavioral
health medical director of UnitedHealth Group, parent company of
UnitedHealthcare. “Providing virtual mental health services in
schools supports access to care for children who need it, while
removing obstacles such as transportation and appointments
scheduling difficulties.”
The investment will impact approximately 100,000 students in
historically underserved and rural communities, which represents
nearly 21% of all K-12 students in Iowa.
When the technological infrastructure is installed, schools will
have Hazel Health therapists available to create personalized,
evidence-based, age-appropriate programs for each K-12 student they
serve.
In recent years, there have been significant increases in
certain mental health disorders in youth, including depression,
anxiety and suicidal ideation. In fact, suicide is the second
largest case of death among Iowans ages 5-24.
“Ninety-five percent of kids spend most of their waking hours at
school. To support young people where they are, we must forge
cross-sector partnerships that integrate health care access points
directly into the K-12 education system,” said Josh Golomb, CEO of
Hazel Health. “Amid today’s growing youth mental health crisis,
schools can play a pivotal role in identifying unmet mental health
needs among our children, connecting them to timely interventions
before they reach a crisis point, and bridging their families to
the broader health care ecosystem.”
After the first phase of infrastructure building, therapists
will start providing mental health services to students in August.
Confirmed districts where the services will be provided include Des
Moines, Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids. Additional districts in
urban and rural areas of the state will be added throughout the
summer.
UnitedHealthcare employs over 1,400 people in Iowa. The company
serves more than 450,000 people across the state enrolled in
employer-sponsored, Medicare Advantage and Dual Special Needs plans
with a network of 126 hospitals and approximately 21,483 physicians
and other care providers.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier
lives and making the health system work better for everyone by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full
spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with
more than 1.6 million physicians and care professionals, and 8,000
hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also
provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned
and operated health care facilities in South America.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC
on Twitter.
About Hazel Health
Hazel Health is the nation’s largest and most trusted provider
of school-based telehealth. By partnering with districts and health
plans across the country, Hazel transforms schools into the most
accessible front door to pediatric healthcare. Today, Hazel’s
licensed providers deliver teletherapy and virtual care (in school
or at home) to over four million K-12 students, regardless of their
ability to pay. Hazel aims to remove all barriers to the mental and
physical health care that children need to thrive: in school, at
home, and in life. www.Hazel.co.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240604508411/en/
Urko Lapedriza UnitedHealthcare 952-251-6342
urko.lapedriza@uhc.com
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