June 4, 2020 – IMC Health Medical Centers has created a calling service, called TeleAmigos, to check in on elderly members and provide them with an opportunity to talk to IMC Health staff on a regular basis about everything from healthcare needs and questions to more social topics relating to friends and family.
“We noticed that the majority of our members are struggling with loneliness because they miss their families and their daily routine of coming into our activity centers,” said IMC Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mayda Antun. “That is why we created TeleAmigos. We wanted to give our members an opportunity to not only talk to us about their medical needs, but to also have someone to talk to and feel that, even though we can’t come together in person, they’re not alone.”
At the start of this program, during regular medical follow up calls, a trained group of staff asked each senior if they wanted a routine phone call from TeleAmigos and how frequently they would like a call. More than 90% of IMC Health members have signed up for this program and the TeleAmigos staff is now making more than 4,000 calls a week.
“Our IMC patients are happy to hear from us either every week or every 2 weeks. Patients appreciate those few minutes we are talking to them about their day to day life, their families and friends, the things they like to watch on TV or books they like to read; in addition to solving their healthcare needs,” said Ismael Caicedo, V.P. of Quality Improvement. “We believe this is a great way to be closer to our patients.”
Medical professionals stress the importance of staying connected during social distancing, especially for mental health reasons.
“The fact that more than 90 percent of our members have opted into this program is quite telling,” said Dr. Antun. “Although we encourage everyone to check up on their elderly family and friends, it’s very easy get caught up in one’s own day-to-day family and work and forget to call; especially with the stresses this crisis has brought. At IMC Health, we’re not only giving seniors someone to talk to, we are giving their family members some peace of mind knowing that we are looking out for them.”
About IMC Health Medical Centers
IMC Health Medical Centers, licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) as a health care clinic, has provided a place for excellence in healthcare services in South and Central Florida since its founding in 2014. IMC Health offers state-of-the-art medical care led by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, working together to meet each patient’s unique physical, mental and social healthcare needs. Its comprehensive medical home model focuses on preventative, acute, and chronic healthcare delivery, resulting in improved patient outcomes for adults and children. Members have access to 13 state-of-the-art locations designed to meet a wide-range of healthcare needs through its three different types of centers; medical centers, activity centers and access centers. IMC Health accepts Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Medicaid Dual–Eligible, Medicaid, Florida Healthy Kids, ACA Exchange and Commercial insurance patients. For more information, visit imchealth.com and connect with IMC Health on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
