PARKLAND COMMUNITY HEALTH PLAN TO OFFER PYX HEALTH LONELINESS SOLUTION TO AT-RISK PREGNANT MEDICAID
AND CHIP ENROLLEES
Parkland Community Health Plan (PCHP), the locally owned and operated provider of STAR and CHIP services, has partnered with Pyx Health to deliver an innovative solution to combat social isolation for Dallas-area, at-risk pregnant Medicaid and CHIP enrollees.
“Pregnancy is potentially fraught with risk, particularly for women with limited resources and especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic,” says PCHP Chief Executive Officer John W. Wendling.
“A guiding principle here at PCHP is to bring better solutions to populations that need it most,” Wendling continued. “We’re intent on using the best tools available to make and keep our members healthy and on exercising fiscal responsibility with the resources we are given.”
To help counter loneliness, PCHP will provide high-risk pregnant Medicaid and CHIP enrollees access to the Pyx Health digital platform, via a mobile app, through which they will interact with Pyxir, a digital “friend” who will provide insight into the user’s mood and degree of wellness, while sharing humor, health tips and companionship. When the technology identifies an urgent need, this triggers a call from a Pyx Health professional to check in and offer help. Importantly, through its unique Support Center, Pyx Health will link users to their health plan resources and provide critical services at those moments when intervention can have the greatest positive health impact. These resources, or social determinants of health, might be food, housing, transportation, access to prescriptions, or simply a connection with someone who will listen and offer support.
Pregnancy in this time of pandemic is made even more dangerous when a woman suffers from loneliness — the emotional condition caused by the difference between the number and quality of relationships that one desires, and those one actually has.
“Loneliness costs, and loneliness kills,” says Pyx Health Founder and CEO Cindy Jordan.
Research shows that loneliness can increase one’s risk of mortality by 45 percent, making it more dangerous than obesity, excessive alcohol use or smoking 18 cigarettes a day. The National Institute for Health Care Management advises that patients who report feeling lonely or having poor social relationships are at heightened risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and “progression of frailty,” resulting in a $6.7 billion impact in annual federal healthcare spending.
Wendling notes that while underserved populations are often the last to benefit from technological innovation, PCHP is proud to be the first Texas health plan to offer Pyx Health as a wellness aid to Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. “Staying healthy and navigating the healthcare maze can be challenging in the best of times; with COVID-19 upending our lives, it is particularly important to ease access to vital services for our at-risk pregnant neighbors. With Pyx Health, we’re introducing a more accessible and proven care solution to keep our community healthy.”
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About Parkland Community Health Plan, Inc.
Parkland Community Health Plan (PCHP) was started in 1999 by Parkland Health & Hospital System and offers health insurance services for low-income children, teens, pregnant women and adults.
PCHP is dedicated to serving the needs of this population by offering insurance programs that cover doctor visits, regular checkups, immunizations, lab and x-rays tests, hearing and vision tests, hospitalization, surgery, emergency services, urgent care services, home health care, DME/medical equipment and more.
PCHP has more than 6,000 physicians and more than 40 hospitals and medical centers in its network to provide healthcare to members that qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. The health systems in network include Parkland Health & Hospital System and Children’s Health, among others. The in-network physicians include pediatricians, specialists and primary care physicians who offer routine checkups and immunizations. For more information, please visit parklandhmo.com.
About Pyx Health
Pyx Health offers the first loneliness and social isolation technology focused on helping our most vulnerable populations. Combining a digital platform with a Support Center and timely human interventions, Pyx Health provides patients and healthcare providers an innovative, scalable solution that effectively addresses the nation’s critical loneliness epidemic. Pyx Health is improving lives and lowering Medicaid and Medicare inpatient costs for healthcare systems by 46 percent. Founded by Cindy Jordan, Pyx Health is based in Arizona, with headquarters in Tucson and a satellite office in Phoenix. More information is available at https://www.pyxhealth.com.
Media Contacts
Justin Skerbetz, Chief Marketing/Communications Officer, PCHP
888.672.2277
Matt Russell, Russell Public Communications for Pyx Health
520.232.9840
