Employees of The School District of Palm Beach County now have access to convenient, cost-effective telemedicine services with the HealthSpot® station, a health care kiosk at the Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center, the district’s main administration offices.
The HealthSpot station is a private, 8-foot-by-7-foot enclosure outfitted with touchscreens, medical screening devices and videoconferencing capabilities that enable Nicklaus Children’s Hospital medical providers to see and treat adults and children age 2 and older. It has two-way, high-definition video screens that deliver a unique face-to-face experience between patients and care providers, and features digital medical devices, including a stethoscope, scale, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, thermometer, otoscope and magnascope, that stream medical information to the care provider and patient.
School District employees can make an appointment or walk into the administration office and use the HealthSpot station to seek treatment for minor common conditions such as fever, colds and flu, skin conditions, earaches, sore throat, sinus and upper respiratory infections, and seasonal allergies.
The HealthSpot station is launched through a partnership between Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of Miami Children’s Health System, and UnitedHealthcare.
“The partnership between UnitedHealthcare and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has made it possible for our employees to take advantage of a convenient and cost-effective option as part of their total health care package,” said Dr. Robert Avossa, superintendent of The School District of Palm Beach County. “Many of our employees will benefit greatly from this resource, and I encourage them to learn more about the options and capabilities it can provide to them and their families.”
“At Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, we continuously seek opportunities to serve children and families wherever the need arises,” said Dr. Narendra Kini, president and CEO of Miami Children’s Health System. “Through our program MCH Anywhere, which includes initiatives such as the Healthspot station, we offer convenient access to board-certified clinicians capable of serving adults and children. We believe that this unique service will be a valued convenience to employees of The School District of Palm Beach County.”
For School District employees enrolled in UnitedHealthcare benefit plans, the cost of a visit at the HealthSpot station will come with significant savings when compared to costs for similar minor medical needs treated at a doctor’s office, urgent care facility or emergency room. UnitedHealthcare plan participants pay a portion of the cost, subject to deductibles, copays and out-of-pocket expenses based on their specific benefit plan. UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest health insurance providers in the state with more than 3.1 million people enrolled in employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare and Medicaid health plans.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with The School District of Palm Beach County and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. These community leaders are embracing innovative options for providing people with convenient and cost-effective access to health care,” said Nicholas Zaffiris, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of South Florida. “We believe The School District of Palm Beach County employees will appreciate the HealthSpot station and the technology and quality care it provides.”
Consumers are taking advantage of mobile health and telemedicine services in greater numbers each year. More than 10 million people benefited from using telemedicine services last year, according to the American Telemedicine Association, and a recent Harris Poll survey found that more than a quarter of consumers (27 percent) would choose a telemedicine visit if the option was available to them.
“HealthSpot’s patient-centered platform will help control costs for employers and employees, while enabling better health and wellness for the workforce of The Palm Beach County School District and their children,” said Steve Cashman, HealthSpot founder and CEO. “The HealthSpot station brings convenience to the employees while uniquely connecting them to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital care providers for the highest quality care.”
In 2013, Miami Children’s Health System launched MCH Anywhere, the first pediatric program of its kind in South Florida. Miami Children’s Health System telehealth access helps eliminate barriers of time and distance to support families in receiving timely health care guidance. The program is supported by a state-of-the-art Telehealth Command Center, located at the hospital’s main campus and designed by doctors and consumer experts to support review of diagnostic information by board-certified clinicians through sophisticated videoconferencing.
About the School District of Palm Beach County
The School District of Palm Beach County is the 11th-largest in the nation and the 5th-largest in the state of Florida, with 187 schools serving more than 183,000 students who speak
145 languages and dialects. As the largest employer in Palm Beach County, the School District has more than 21,000 employees, including more than 12,000 teachers.
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital – part of Miami Children’s Health System – is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015-16, by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the Southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
About HealthSpot®
HealthSpot® is healthcare, reimagined. A pioneer in connected care, HealthSpot has built a comprehensive healthcare delivery platform that combines cloud-based software with the award-winning HealthSpot station, digital medical devices and mobile applications. HealthSpot’s platform radically transforms today’s healthcare system by enabling the delivery of quality, affordable medical care through a diverse professional care network for patients in efficient, convenient locations like pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, employer and community sites, universities and the home. For more information on HealthSpot, go to www.healthspot.net.