ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alere Health, LLC, a leader in personal health support solutions (a division of Alere Inc.), and the largest U.S. provider of specialized, patient-centered health management services, today announced a contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) to launch statewide programs for Maternity and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Care Management for Texas Medicaid fee-for-service clients.
The Maternity program helps physicians identify risk factors, educate mothers and families, prolong pregnancies, improve birth weights and minimize hospitalizations. It also includes multiple risk assessments in order to identify and case manage women at risk for preterm birth and other complications. A nurse line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide a source of support for women with questions about their pregnancies or newborn babies.
The NICU Care Management program works closely with hospital staff to promote improved outcomes for infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or other specialty care units. By providing care management support services for infants and their families throughout the NICU stay, the program results in high family satisfaction and lower healthcare costs. Alere NICU care managers interact closely with the family -- both onsite and with 24/7 telephonic availability -- to provide education and support, promote their engagement with hospital staff, help them prepare for NICU discharge, facilitate the coordination of resources, and provide on-going support following hospital discharge.
“Our NICU program is URAC accredited, and our database of more than 180,000 NICU patients forms the basis of our proprietary clinical guidelines, which have been vetted by national neonatology consultants,” said Gregg Raybuck, President, Alere Health. “In addition, participants have 24/7 access to NICU nurse care managers, and they receive detailed educational materials to enhance program and infant care knowledge.”
About Alere
Alere Health is the health management services business of Alere Inc. Alere, a Latin verb, meaning “to care for” or “to support,” offers the most patient-centered health management services available from a single provider in the industry. Alere provides health interventions that cover an individual’s entire lifespan, from pre-cradle to end-of-life care, and the company’s services range from wellness and prevention to the total health management of individuals with chronic illnesses. Alere’s continuum of services begins with preconception, pregnancy, NICU and first year of life; it continues with lifelong programs focused on health, wellness, the management of such conditions as heart failure, COPD, and asthma, and the complex management required for end-of-life care.
For more information go to www.alere.com and click on the relevant link.