This funding will enable the new Multi-Assistance Center at Morgan’s Wonderland to implement a Practice Without Pressure program and an Employment Support Center for individuals with disabilities

UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas announced a $5 million investment in The Multi-Assistance Center at Morgan’s Wonderland (The MAC), a new one-stop-facility offering medical and non-medical services for individuals with disabilities. With UnitedHealthcare’s investment, The MAC will offer an Employment Support Center and a Practice Without Pressure program as part of its integrated service approach to remove two socioeconomic barriers for people with special needs: access to health care and stable employment.

The Employment Support Center’s goal is to increase sustainable inclusive employment. By offering a collaborative home for multiple agencies, including the Texas Workforce Commission, and community-based organizations, the Employment Support Center will provide education, counseling and coaching to help individuals with disabilities become and stay employed. The center will simultaneously assist employers with the hiring and retention of individuals with disabilities.

Additionally, this investment will allow The MAC to offer Practice Without Pressure (PWP), a methodology that enables individuals with disabilities to participate in their own health and personal care without restraint and with a reduced need for sedation. Working with the individuals, their caregivers and the clinicians, a PWP Practice Specialist helps desensitize the individual with a disability while humanizing services such as dental care, blood draws, OB-GYN services, or MRI/X-ray.

See related article: Walmart and UnitedHealth Collaborate To Deliver Access to High-Quality, Affordable Health Care

“This is a unique opportunity for UnitedHealthcare to help break two significant barriers to equity for people with disabilities — access to health care and stable employment — through a single partnership,” said Donald Langer, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas. “It is at the core of our mission to help people live healthier lives by giving them the support they need, and better care and employment outcomes are big components of that.”

According to the CDC, disability affects approximately 5.4 million, or nearly 1 in 4 (26%) people in Texas. People with disabilities experience specific health disparities and additional unique problems in accessing health care, and frequently report difficulty finding appropriately trained and willing providers.

“Individuals with disabilities often get very fragmented and uncoordinated health care, which causes many barriers to well-being,” said Allan Castro, CEO, The Multi-Assistance Center at Morgan’s Wonderland. “Through this collaboration, we are helping ensure that special-needs individuals of all ages have a place where they can find the integrated medical and non-medical services that they need.”

This investment is part of UnitedHealthcare’s long-term commitment to eliminating health disparities and helping people live healthier lives. In Texas, UnitedHealthcare serves more than 4,430,000 people enrolled in employer-sponsored, individual, Medicare and Medicaid benefit plans, with a network of 988 hospitals, and over 114,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

Source: UnitedHealthcare