Summer Health adds messaging-based pediatric care for the RSV, flu, and COVID

The company wants to offer parents relief and insight as pediatric offices are fully booked and emergency rooms are experiencing 6 to 8-hour wait times

Summer Health Messaging-Based Pediatric Care

Summer Health, the first text-based pediatric care provider designed to offer parents support, prescriptions, and referrals within just 15 minutes, launched free trials to combat the U.S. tripledemic plagued by the rise of RSV, Flu, and COVID cases amongst children.

Amid a growing pediatric-care crisis that has caused an overflow in emergency rooms and doctor’s offices across the country, Summer Health aims to help relieve the overwhelming burden and be the first point-of-contact for parents assessing which illnesses are truly urgent.

How does it work?

At Summer Health, parents can now sign-up for a free trial and Summer Health will connect them via text to licensed pediatricians in all 50 states. The pediatricians will use photos, videos and texts to assess and affirm what may be afflicting the child, if the child needs an in-person visit, and where clinically appropriate, provide a prescription. In addition to managing care and health around the Tripledemic, Summer Health knows that there is a shortage of amoxicillin and Tamiflu, two of the remedies for RSV and the Flu.

The brand is proud to partner with Photon Health to help parents find stock in their area and ensure that they receive the prescription their child needs.

On the record

“Summer Health was born out of my own experience dealing with the healthcare system for my two young sons, and over the past month I have experienced firsthand how this tripledemic is affecting pediatric care today,” said Ellen DaSilva, CEO and Co-Founder of Summer Health. “I firmly believe that no family should have to wait several hours to receive necessary care for their children. So many children can get assessed and cared for virtually, thus easing the wait times in emergency rooms and clinics for those who truly need in-person care. I’m excited to offer parents access to Summer Health for RSV, Flu and COVID, beginning today, and truly supply them with a doctor at their fingertips available on-demand.”

“Nationwide, RSV diagnoses are already 30 percent higher than last year’s peak. At Summer Health we are experiencing a surge in visits for respiratory concerns – in fact, we’re seeing a 400 percent increase from summer and early fall,” said Dr. Ali Alhassani, Head of Clinical at Summer Health. “Parents often ask us if they need to go to the clinic or the emergency room, but the reality is that Summer Health is able to help manage care at-home 85 percent of the time – saving parents time and money while also delivering peace of mind.”

The context

Summer Health launched in July 2022 with $7.5M in funding led by Sequoia and Lux Capital with a mission to radically simplify access to care. In addition to care for RSV, Flu, and COVID, Summer Health is able to handle any forms of child health and development questions a parent may need answered in 15 minutes, 24/7.