Laguna Health Recruits Behavioral Change Expert Jeff Rubin as VP of Behavioral Health and Clinical Integration

DENVER, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Laguna Health, a digital-first home recovery platform, today announced that Dr. Jeff Rubin has joined as VP of Behavioral Health and Clinical Integration. Rubin brings more than four decades of behavioral health experience working with private practice patients and major healthcare companies, including Cigna and Accolade. An expert in building custom tech-enabled engagement and influence models to address conditions like anxiety, depression, and obesity, Dr. Rubin has now set his sights on home recovery.

Hospitalization negatively impacts patients' anxiety, stress levels, and overall mental health. These feelings can become intensified when the patient is discharged from the hospital and is solely responsible for their recovery, sometimes equipped only with a packet of discharge papers. Many patients experience mental fatigue during a hospital recovery. This makes it difficult to follow a strict set of medical instructions, monitor physical progress, manage medical devices on their own, and navigate the emotional implications of a physical setback. As a result, more than one-third of all home discharged patients escalate to higher cost settings, such as being readmitted back to the hospital. Readmissions strain the patients' mental health and sadly, half of these readmissions are preventable.

At Laguna, Dr. Rubin will oversee all clinical and behavioral health operations and is responsible for codifying the home recovery journey. There are predictable and well-known emotional barriers to recovery. 50% of cardiac hospitalizations and 75% of stroke patients experience severe bouts of depression as a result of loss of physical functioning. Dr. Rubin's custom-built patient engagement model for Laguna takes these signals into consideration to help circumvent potential pitfalls. The model will improve clinical outcomes, drive patient engagement, and pave the way for a smoother recovery journey.

"It's a precarious moment in a patient's life when they are discharged from the hospital and have to recover at home," said Dr. Rubin. "The physical repercussions of recovering from a major health event are difficult enough, let alone when they are compounded by stress, anxiety, or depression. A patient's state of mind has the ability to dictate how quickly they are able to recover, and yet it is often overlooked. I'm looking forward to bringing this critical component of the care recovery journey to Laguna and treating the whole person, not just their physical ailment."

Dr. Rubin's decorated career spans more than four decades, in which he has treated patients and developed advocacy models for companies to use. He most recently consulted for a variety of care management organizations, across healthcare, finance, and pharmaceutical, that all use a version of his engagement and performance model. Before that, Dr. Rubin was an early member of Accolade, the health care benefits platform that Laguna Health's CMO and President, Dr. Alan Spiro co-founded. At Accolade, Dr. Rubin created the LEARN2 model, a behavior change model that focuses on determining a patient's barriers and emotional motivators through critical listening, and helps the patient change unhealthy behaviors. Dr. Rubin also held a clinical leadership role at one of the largest health insurance organizations, Cigna. Earlier in Dr. Rubin's career, he spent a decade at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center at Ward's Island where he was the Director of Psychology for the majority of his tenure. All throughout his career, Dr. Rubin has maintained his private psychotherapy practice and treats individuals and families.

"We cannot help patients successfully recover and expect them to return to their happy, healthy, and productive life if we ignore their mental and emotional wellbeing," said Dr. Alan Spiro, President and Chief Medical Officer at Laguna Health. "Health should be viewed holistically, and having Jeff bring his behavioral health experience to the table is a huge win for the Laguna team. I've had the pleasure of working with Jeff for many years, since our days at Accolade, and have seen firsthand how his patient engagement model improves clinical outcomes. We're thrilled to have him on board to design a custom solution for Laguna patients."

About Laguna Health
Laguna is a digital-first home recovery platform that leverages digital care and multi-disciplinary clinicians to reduce costly readmissions and shorten recovery time. Laguna assures successful post-hospitalization recovery by combining data, digital care tools, and proven behavioral health interventions to radically reduce negative outcomes. From employers to health plans to providers, the entire healthcare ecosystem now has the ability to ensure every patient recovers with confidence. To learn more about Laguna, visit www.lagunahealth.com

Media Contact:
Nate Hermes | 646-828-9172
Kimberly Dreisinger | 805-350-4421
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SOURCE Laguna Health