UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Mexico invests $250,000 to provide integrated health care services to K-12 students

Collaboration with school health provider Goodside Health to provide integrated physical and behavioral health to 50 K-12 schools in New Mexico

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Mexico today announced a $250,000 investment in school-based health care provider Goodside Health to expand access to integrated physical and behavioral health care services to 50 New Mexico schools.

Grants Cibola County Schools – which serves more than 3,000 students across 12 schools – and Bloomfield School District – which serves more than 2,500 students across seven schools – will be the first districts to offer school-based health care services this school year as part of the collaboration. Both districts are located in communities with provider shortages¹.

“Expanding access to primary care and mental health services for our school children is vital to building a healthier New Mexico,” said Andrew Peterson, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Mexico. “This collaboration helps students access the care they need, where they are, to help maintain their health and succeed in the classroom.”

Participating schools pay no start-up costs and students from participating schools are eligible to receive services, regardless of health insurance status. This funding will enable Goodside Health to provide school-based health care services including:

• Physical and behavioral health screenings, as well as referrals for follow-up care and social care services.
• Well-child events offering sports physicals, annual well-child visits and state-mandated screenings.
• Virtual acute care and primary care.

"We are thrilled to offer integrated health care services to schools in New Mexico, responding to the critical demand for enhanced pediatric care throughout the state," said Peter Morrison, Chief Strategy Officer, Goodside Health. “By delivering high-quality care directly to students, we eliminate common social barriers faced by many New Mexican families, simplifying access to health care which results in improved health and academic outcomes.”

Goodside Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMHealth) and the New Mexico Alliance for School-Based Health Care are collaborating to identify schools in communities that have barriers to care, provider shortages and low well-child visit rates for participation in the program.

“Through this collaboration, we are helping to advance health equity in our community and surrounding areas. This program will allow us to bridge the gap between social drivers of health and social determinants of learning that will influence and affect the health and well-being of our students and children," said Kevin Summers, superintendent, Bloomfield School District.

School-based health care services promote improved attendance, attention and learning among students and help reduce barriers for parents that may not be able to easily access transportation or leave work for appointments. According to NMHealth, 29% of students have only received care from their school-based health center, and 32% of students would have gone to an urgent care or emergency room if not for a school-based health center.

This collaboration is part of a multimillion-dollar commitment from UnitedHealthcare to expand access to primary care and mental health services in schools across the United States. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 250,000 members enrolled in employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare and Medicaid plans in New Mexico, with a network of over 40 hospitals and 11,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

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 1.7 million physicians and care professionals, and 7,000 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 UnitedHealthcare on LinkedIn.

About Goodside Health

Goodside Health is advancing the delivery of pediatric care by partnering with communities to provide access to physical and mental health services at school, at home, and in the clinic. Relentless advocates for expanding access to care and promoting health equity, Goodside Health leverages a whole-child approach to care and lives its mission of closing gaps in children’s health care through innovation and execution. To learn more about Goodside Health, please visit www.goodsidehealth.com or follow @GoodsideHealth on social media.

¹ https://ciceroinstitute.org/research/new-mexico-physician-shortage-facts/