Managed Care’s Hidden Opportunity: Child Life Services

Health Equity is frequently used as managed care organizations add and improve programs to support their members.

Educating and empowering parents/caregivers is an essential step in achieving Health Equity.

What if your MCO was committed to empowering every parent/caregiver to be a confident and effective advocate for their child and your member? 

During my 40-year career, I have worked for some amazing managed care companies including Kaiser Permanente (22 years), AmeriGroup (9 years), UnitedHealth Care (7 years), and a few others. My accountabilities included Clinical Operations, Network Contracting, Business Development and more. Yet, only after becoming Chief Strategy Officer of Child Life On Call in 2021, did I discover the remarkable value of Child Life Services in Children’s Hospitals and top tier Pediatric units across the country.

What are Certified Child Life Specialists?

Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) are essential resources who are dedicated to supporting parents and kids receiving medical services and treatments for acute and chronic diagnoses. They work in NICUs, Emergency departments, PICUs, specialty clinics and general pediatric units. They save health resources by empowering parents to be confident caregivers, reducing child anxiety, lowering sedation/anesthesia costs, helping the hospital stay “on time” for high-volume surgical and diagnostic services, and facilitating discharges.