Hazel Health, a pediatric telehealth provider known for delivering care through school systems, has announced a $33.5 million Series C raise headed by Owl Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures. Uprising, Centene and UC San Francisco also invested in the round.

WHAT IT DOES

Through partnerships with school districts, Hazel Health operates virtual care clinics inside the school nurse's office. Its pediatric, family practice and emergency medicine deliver two-way video visits through an iPad-based telehealth station. The company trains school nurses and staff on how to launch a visit and take a student's vitals. It also provides other equipment, such as thermometers and over-the-counter medications.

Hazel said in its announcement that the service has grown 400% in the last three months alone, and now reaches 1.5 million kindergarten and grade school students across the U.S.

"The response from districts and families has validated the need, with 90% of families choosing to enroll in the program," CEO Josh Golomb wrote in a blog post. "Engagement has been incredibly high at 70% in the first year, well above the industry standard for telehealth of 10%. More than 40% of our families indicated that they do not have a primary care physician – most typically relying on costly ER and urgent care." 

Recently, the company also partnered with payers and school districts to launch its Hazel at Home offering for families without a primary pediatric care provider, and who may have lost in-school health resources due to COVID-19 shutdowns.

WHAT IT'S FOR

In the blog post announcement, Golomb said the funding would help Hazel "better serve our communities and provide preventative healthcare to more students," and highlighted insurance provider partnerships intended to increase access to the service.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

In-school telehealth programs have been several years in the making, and in recent years the conversation has turned to consistent standards and smooth, scalable deployments. Alongside specialized vendors such as Hazel, local medical systems have also emerged as potential partners for school systems – especially those looking to address socioeconomic disparities in care.