A recent Penn graduate has launched a startup to help patients receive the care they need from home.
Motivated by her interest in health care disparities across the nation, 2014 Nursing graduate Jessica Divanno co-founded Statum Health to help patients arrange for a licensed nurse practitioner to treat them in their homes. Launched two weeks ago, the company aims to provide on-demand health care and eliminate time spent either traveling to the doctor’s office or sitting in the waiting room.
“What I really like about this startup is that we have the ability to go back to the way health care originally was,” said Divanno, who also earned a master’s degree in Nursing from Penn in 2016. “We’re bringing providers to people.”
Some of the services offered by Statum Health include last-minute physical assessments, testing for pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, immunizations as well as intravenous hydration, which is used to treat severe cases of dehydration. Patients can request these services by scheduling an appointment on the company’s website.
The company provides services to 11 ZIP codes throughout Philadelphia, including the neighborhoods of South Philadelphia and University City. One of Statum Health’s target groups is Penn students. Divanno said she hopes the company will become a resource for students who are unable or unwilling to walk to Student Health Services on campus.
Statum Health has started hiring nurses to take shifts so that coverage is available throughout the day, Divanno said. She added that the long-term goal of the group is to market the network to hospitals that can use these services to check in on patients who need a check-up but might not be willing or able to travel to the hospital for followup care.
This move towards personalizing health care is a shift throughout the industry, the Wall Street Journal reported. Doctors often struggle to ensure that every one of their patients sticks to their health care regimens and receives the specific treatment they need. As a result, more people are looking to personalize the treatment process.
Divanno's model of health care also gives nurse practitioners more freedom to determine their schedule. By signing up for shifts, they are able to choose when and where they want to work.
Divanno plans to publicize Statum Health’s services through a pop-up clinics in places such as businesses, apartment complexes, hotels and college campuses.
The company charges a flat fee of $199 for one visit and services are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. Insurance is not currently accepted, Divanno said, but it is possible for patients to be reimbursed through their insurance providers.
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