PEAL Helps PA Families Navigate Health Care Systems
Many people know PEAL for our work with families, youth and young adults related to understanding rights and inclusive education – but PEAL has another role that may surprise you!
The PEAL Center has served as Pennsylvania’s Family-to-Family (F2F) Health Information Center since 2007. As the F2F, PEAL helps families, youth and young adults who have questions or need assistance with physical and behavioral health care issues. PEAL can provide resources, information and support to families who have a child, youth or young adult with special health care needs.
What does PEAL do as PA’s Family to Family (F2F) Health Information Center?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funds an F2F Health Information Center in each state to help families navigate healthcare systems. PEAL staff understand the challenges that families face because they have first-hand experience navigating health care systems and services.
How can PEAL F2F help me?
PEAL F2F provides one on one support and referrals, training for families, youth and young adults, as well as advocating for and connecting families to health care resources. PEAL can help answer questions about family participation in health care, medical home practices, insurance coverage, screening, navigating systems, and transition to adulthood.
PEAL can assist families of children and youth with special health care needs when they:
- → Are learning about a new diagnosis
- → Need help in figuring out where to start in the maze of health care services
- → Need assistance, support or direction with how to find, coordinate, and/or pay for needed services.
- → Are having difficulty with an existing service or getting a new service
Even experienced families encounter new challenges – insurance plans change, service definitions change, families move to another county. Figuring out all of the pieces can be challenging; PEAL connects you with family members who have tackled these things and figured them out — this experience can be invaluable.
PEAL Center staff are knowledgeable about many issues related to children and youth with special health care needs. PEAL also partners with other organizations and can connect families with others if we aren’t able to assist. If you have a child with a disability or chronic health condition, call PEAL so we can help you get answers to your questions and connect you to valuable resources.
Read the rest of our 2018 Winter/Spring Newsletter here.