The government schools in Jacksonville have adopted a health care service for students that has aroused suspicion in other parts of Florida.
Hazel Health is a Silicon Valley telehealth company that provides primary, urgent, and mental health care services to “historically under-served communities.”
One of the services is “virtual visits.”
During Hazel’s virtual visits, students can receive treatment for common ailments (such as stomach aches and headaches), as well as mental health counseling. Hazel offers on-demand physical health services that include medical treatments for issues like asthma or headaches, as well as prescribing drugs and advising on over-the-counter medications. Hazel’s mental health services include therapy visits to discuss anything from anxiety to family relationships and bullying.
In Polk County Public Schools “when a student is in school, the school nurse or designated staff uses an iPad to help him or her talk directly with a medical professional over live video. Parents are notified when the consultation will take place, but if the parent is unable to attend, the video call proceeds without them, and they receive a written summary of the consultation afterward. The call is not recorded.”
Earlier this year, Hazel launched its Early Assessment Response and Treatment protocol (Hazel Heart) to expand its mental health services with the goal of connecting students directly to licensed therapists at school for evidence-based counseling, according to County Citizens Defending Freedom – USA.
The providers, medical and mental health professionals, and medical resources that Hazel uses to treat students raise questions.
On Dec. 7, 2021, Hazel announced a collaboration with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in South Florida to provide streamlined pediatric specialty care to more than 500,000 K-12 students in Florida. One of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital’s specialty departments is the Gender Variant Program, a program that focuses on providing “comprehensive psychological and medical support for children with gender variance.”
Keyunda Washing, a member of Hazel’s healthcare team, is a mental health counselor who is licensed to provide online care in the state of Florida. She has indicated online that her practice is friendly to the alphabet soup currently known as LGBTQIA and offers a transgender “safe space.”
In addition, Hazel joined with 40 other cross-sector health care organizations to participate in the Health Evolution Forum’s “Health Equity Pledge” program. This program is committed to collecting, stratifying, and reviewing data about race, ethnicity, language, and sex with the “ultimate goal to more effectively identify disparities, diagnose the root causes, and instill accountability for eliminating them.”
That goal raises red flags for some parents.
The obsession government schools have with race and gender is a major reason parental rights groups have heightened their efforts to monitor schools and object when those rights seem threatened. In some schools, officials promote and encourage the absurd idea that boys can become girls and vice versa. Some also, even without using a specific curriculum, promulgate the racial hatred embedded in Critical Race Theory.
Administrators in the local system say the district is implementing Hazel Health as a telehealth service for families. Parental consent is required, and parents are remotely connected to telehealth interactions involving their children. Families can also access telehealth services from home through Hazel, they say. The system provided this link:
Local watchdog organizations such as Moms for Liberty should closely inspect and monitor this new service to make certain that it is not yet another liberal effort to intervene in family matters.
