Throughout the U.S., many kids dwell with out their well being wants being met. In reality, greater than half of American kids aren’t linked to any kind of team-based healthcare supply mannequin, in accordance to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And analysis exhibits that simply 39% of schools have a full-time nurse that college students can come to.
San Francisco-based Hazel Health has been targeted on addressing this downside because it was based in 2015. It has come a great distance in seven years — on Thursday, the corporate announced it had deployed its telehealth companies in additional than 3,000 colleges. Across the 14 states the place Hazel operates, greater than 10% of Okay-12 college students now have entry to bodily and psychological healthcare.
The firm additionally introduced that it closed a $51.5 million Series C1 funding spherical with participation from Children’s Memorial Hermann, Tao Capital Partners, Owl Ventures, Firework Ventures and Fiore Ventures. The spherical brings Hazel’s complete funding to date to $112.5 million, in accordance to CEO Josh Golomb.
“We partner with schools to essentially turn them into virtual care delivery sites,” he mentioned in a current interview.
Once a faculty companions with Hazel, the corporate units up telehealth clinics of their constructing so college students can entry main care visits. Hazel additionally takes psychological well being remedy referrals from lecturers, college counselors and fogeys. Once Hazel receives a referral, college students have a psychological well being evaluation and may obtain remedy from a licensed supplier.
Hazel’s goal prospects are colleges that need to enhance the well being of their college students and well being plans that need to enhance the well being of their members, Golomb mentioned. The firm’s companies are lined by a mix of payer reimbursement, college districts and federal funding to help school-based healthcare. The firm has achieved a close to 100% Medicaid protection price in key markets, in accordance to Golomb.
Some of the varsity districts that work with Hazel embrace Denver Public Schools in Colorado, Broward County Public Schools in Florida, and Clark County School District in Nevada.
But Hazel just isn’t the one pediatric care startup elevating tens of millions this yr. For instance, Brightline, a telehealth firm for pediatric behavioral well being, raised $105 million in April. And former Hims and Hers exec Ellen DaSilva launched pediatric telehealth startup Summer Health in August with $7.5 million in seed funding.
Hazel differentiates itself from different pediatric telehealth corporations due to its school-based method, Golomb claimed.
“Beyond the fact that kids are at school 180 days a year, there’s transportation, there’s trust, there’s adults that kids already know and are connected to. So it’s a great place to bring healthcare to kids,” he mentioned.
The firm’s concentrate on well being fairness additionally helps it stand out, in accordance to Golomb. He mentioned that by Hazel’s mannequin, all college students can entry care no matter their insurance coverage or lack thereof. He additionally identified that greater than 50% of the corporate’s suppliers are individuals of colour, and greater than 30% fluently communicate a language apart from English.
Along with the announcement of its Series C1 funding, Hazel additionally launched an impact report sharing information on its mannequin’s skill to enhance kids’s entry to healthcare.
The report discovered that 8% of Hazel visits lead to a referral to join college students to a main care doctor, dentist, therapist or different supplier. It additionally discovered that greater than 15,000 psychological well being classes have been carried out by Hazel therapists. Nearly three-quarters of Hazel dad and mom and guardians mentioned their little one’s relationships with household and associates have gotten higher since starting remedy.
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