Telemedicine Partnership includes UnitedHealthcare and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital JACKSONVILLE - Crowley Maritime Corp., in partnership with UnitedHealthcare and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, recently unveiled a new HealthSpot® walk-in telemedicine station to provide employees with convenient access to healthcare. The station is the first its kind in Northeast Florida. The HealthSpot® station, located at Crowley’s corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, offers real-time, convenient and cost-effective video visits with board-certified clinicians from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, part of Miami Children’s Health System. Appointments are available for adults and children age two and older to seek treatment as well as prescriptions for minor common conditions such as sinus and respiratory infections, fever, cold, ear and eye pain, skin conditions and allergies.
The private, eight-foot-by-seven-foot enclosure has two-way, high-definition video screens and features digital medical devices, including a stethoscope, scale, blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter and thermometer that stream medical information from the patient to the care provider. A Nicklaus Children’s attendant is on site to help patients with appointments and technical assistance. “Crowley is truly excited to be able to offer such an innovative health and wellness benefit that will tangibly contribute to employee health,” said Crowley’s Bryan Lee, vice president, human resources. “Our company’s Live Well goal is to promote the well-being of our people by creating a work environment that nurtures all dimensions of wellness, including physical health. This is just one more way that we’re working to keep the Crowley population healthy.” During the grand-opening event, employees had the opportunity to learn about how telemedicine offers more choices to obtain care for themselves and their families. Live demonstrations of the station allowed employees to test the equipment and experience an interactive visit with a Nicklaus Children’s Hospital care provider.
“Telemedicine will play a key role in meeting consumers’ health and wellness needs in the future, led by companies such as Crowley taking the initiative to provide their employees with greater access to quality, cost-effective care,” said David Lewis, president and CEO, UnitedHealthcare of North Florida. “Our telehealth program is designed to offer children and families access to quality healthcare wherever they are, whenever they need it,” says Dr. Narendra Kini, CEO, Miami Children’s Health System. “It is our hope that this unique service will be a valued convenience to employees of Crowley.” Statistics published by the American Telemedicine Association show that more than 10 million consumers used telemedicine last year. The number is expected to grow: a recent Harris Poll survey found that 27 percent of consumers would choose telemedicine visits if the option was available to them. UnitedHealthcare has provided medical coverage for Crowley employees since 1996.