BY JASON COHEN
With a confirmed 25,000 coronavirus cases in New York, health plans, community organizations and provider networks are collaborating to keep people safe.
This pandemic, which has numbers and deaths increasing every day, has disrupted everyone’s lives. People are out of work, home from school, strapped for cash, having difficulty finding food and having limited access to healthcare.
In order to ensure that people stay healthy and receive proper medical treatment, two organizations are working together.
Essen Health Care, a Bronx-based medical practice providing primary, specialty and urgent care, house calls for home-bound elderly and care coordination to more than 80,000 patients in the borough, has mobilized their staff to offer clinical services via “virtual visits” and established a COVID-19 screening program.
“Essen is working to deliver virtual access to healthcare professionals who can assess their patient needs, order medications and diagnostic tests, monitor conditions, triage for emergency services, and consult with specialists,” said Essen Health Care Chief Medical Officer Sumir Sahgal. “We will also support the Bronx community — patients, family members, healthcare and homecare staff — who need screening, testing and monitoring for coronavirus infection.”
Essen is working with community partners, including health plans who serve individuals and families covered by Medicare and Medicaid, and community service organizations. VillageCareMAX, a New York City-based managed care plan has provided its community outreach vehicles to allow Essen to continue to extend their COVID-19 screening efforts to the Bronx.
“Our VillageCareMAX community outreach vehicles will play a critical role in these amazing services that Essen is providing to the Bronx community,” said Emma DeVito, president and chief executive officer at VillageCare. “We are proud to partner with Essen in battling this unprecedented virus and ensuring that all New Yorkers in the Bronx have access to a trusted resource in these critical times of uncertainty and anxiety.”
Anyone seeking healthcare services or COVID-19 screening in the Bronx can call their health plan, any of the list community organizations or go to www.essenhealthcare.com
Essen Health Care is one of the largest, independent comprehensive physician networks, incorporating care management and related services in New York City.
VillageCareMAX is a managed care plan sponsored by VillageCare, a non-profit organization with more than 40 years experience in delivering health care in New York City. VillageCare offers managed care as well as post-acute and community-based programs.
