For so many independent patient advocates, it can be a scary proposition to go it alone.
In this episode, we hear from two good friends from Omaha, Nebraska who joined
forces and combined their unique individual skills to create a rewarding, impactful, and
fun patient advocacy practice.

Nicky Wik has a long history working on the administrative side of healthcare, learning
the business of medicine and overseeing quality control for physical therapy clinics. She
was awakened to the need for advocacy when nobody followed up with her father after
he was tested following chest pains. She learned that you can never assume the
healthcare system is going to do their job. She met Becky Korinek, a teacher who was
serving lunch Nicky’s kindergartener. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out how
they connected.

In our discussion, Nicky and Becky describe how they started their practice, who they
serve, what they do, how they get the word out about advocacy in Omaha, and the
importance of staying connected with other advocates. Most importantly, Nicky and
Becky are in lock step when it comes to the need for effective communication with
physicians. That’s why their clients become part of the family. Establishing client trust
ensures that advocates are best able to help them inform to healthcare teams what they should know.

Claudia is a clinical pharmacist by training and patient advocate by passion. After over a decade of working inside the healthcare system, she faced her father's cancer diagnosis and later passing. This experience provided her with a deeper understanding of how difficult it is to navigate our modern healthcare system. She decided to do for others what she did for her father and founded Peace Advocacy Group in 2017.

Claudia’s approach to advocacy is in line with her philosophy: “Health is a state of body. Wellness is a state of being.” But, Claudia’s life passion and mission is for every individual who crosses her path to leave with a heightened state of wellness. 

We had a lot to talk about with Claudia including her career, her vision, her podcast, and her upcoming book! Enjoy this jam-packed interview with Claudia Cometa, PharmD. 

In this episode, Dr. Nancy Taylor discusses her journey into patient advocacy, stemming from her background as a pharmacist with a passion for personalized healthcare. Dr. Taylor emphasizes the importance of pharmacists as patient advocates and highlights her transition from behind the pharmacy counter to independent patient advocacy, driven by a desire to establish deeper connections with her patients beyond corporate demands. She shares personal anecdotes and experiences that shaped her approach, illustrating her commitment to providing relief, confidence, and control to individuals navigating the healthcare system.

As an advocate, Dr. Taylor specializes in designing personalized healthcare action plans for various clients, including busy professionals and individuals facing healthcare crises or preventive care needs. She stresses the significance of hope as a foundation for these plans, which encompass diverse elements such as medication management, lifestyle changes, and disease education. Dr. Taylor's approach is tailored to each client's unique goals and circumstances, aiming to empower them with confidence and control over their healthcare journey. She emphasizes the importance of regular medication reconciliation and collaborative communication among healthcare providers to mitigate risks associated with polypharmacy and ensure optimal patient outcomes.

In this episode of the Patient Advocacy Now podcast, we sit down with Sandra L. Washington, founder of the C.H.L.M.S. Medi-Helpz Foundation, an organization committed to patient advocacy and empowerment. Sandra L., with a background in public policy and healthcare administration, shares her journey and the impetus behind her advocacy work. Motivated by the tragic experiences of losing two sisters due to mismanagement of medical care, Sandra discusses the foundation's mission to provide support and resources for vulnerable communities that often lack access to proper healthcare. She delves into the challenges faced by patient advocates, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, education, and engagement to empower patients and improve overall healthcare outcomes.

Sandra also provides insights into the foundation's approach, combining a for-profit model under Medi-Helpz with a non-profit arm, C.H.L.M.S., to ensure that advocacy services are accessible to all, regardless of financial constraints. She reflects on the three essential components of patient advocacy: education, empowerment, and engagement, stressing the need for patients to be informed and active participants in their healthcare journey. Sandra L. shares her vision for expanding the impact of C.H.L.M.S. Medi-Helpz nationally and even globally, highlighting the significance of collaboration and community involvement in addressing healthcare disparities. 

In this short preview we share some snippets of the exciting interviews we have in store for Season 2 of the Patient Advocacy Now Podcast 

In this episode we take a look back at some of our most memorable moments from our inaugural season of the podcast and even get a bit of a sneak peak of what's to come in season 2. 

In this Season 1 finale, we speak with Ilene Corina, a patient advocate with over 25 years of experience. Ilene shares her personal journey, which began with the tragic loss of her three-year-old son after a tonsillectomy due to medical errors. This heartbreaking experience motivated her to become an advocate for patient safety. She also highlights her work with various communities, including those with disabilities, transgender individuals, and homeless patients, shedding light on the biases and challenges they face within the healthcare system. Ilene emphasizes the importance of advocacy in ensuring patient safety, reducing medical errors, and improving communication between healthcare providers and patients.

Ilene discusses the training and certification process for patient advocates, including the board-certified patient advocate (BCPA) designation. She emphasizes the need for empathy, effective communication, and a focus on patient safety in advocate training. The episode touches on common medical errors, such as medication mix-ups and wrong-side surgeries, and Ilene provides valuable tips on how patients and their advocates can address these issues.

In this episode, we talk with Sylvia Reisman, whose passion for patient advocacy began in 1998 when she was researching treatment options for her father who was a five year survivor of stage III pancreatic cancer. ​In 2006, she became mysteriously ill and ran from doctor to doctor, consulting with a long list of specialists in multiple states before  finally being properly diagnosed with Lyme Disease several years later. She became convinced that if she had a knowledgeable professional patient advocate to help her 15 years ago, it would have saved her thousands of dollars, unnecessary suffering, and a timely diagnosis.

​Following her Lyme Disease diagnosis, Sylvia became an avid researcher and discovered functional medicine, a treatment approach that goes outside traditional boundaries to identify the root causes of a medical condition. After experiencing the benefits of functional medicine, she felt a sense of obligation to help people with chronic medical conditions like hers.

She started Purity Patient Advocates LLC, a patient advocacy service that replicates the navigation process she learned from her own personal experiences. Please enjoy this engaging interview with a self-made advocate who started her advocacy practice i8n order to help prevent others with complex medical conditions find answers when the formal health system simply is ineffective.

In this podcast episode, we sit down with Emily Bernstein, who shares her journey into patient advocacy. Emily's advocacy work began when her mother was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2019. Her mother's challenging path to diagnosis and treatment inspired Emily to get involved in helping others navigate the complex healthcare system. Emily's experience as the eldest daughter and her background in international education and customer service equipped her with the skills to negotiate with medical professionals, work with billing departments, and provide support outside the medical system.

As an advocate, Emily has specialized in medical billing advocacy, aiming to bridge the gap between patients and billing departments. She also works with refugees, primarily Haitians, helping them navigate the U.S. healthcare system and connect with vital resources. Her ultimate goal is to create a center that offers comprehensive support to those in need. Emily also discusses her certification as a community health worker, which complements her patient advocacy work, and the importance of cultural sensitivity when assisting individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Emily's story underscores the vital role that patient advocates play in helping people overcome healthcare challenges, and her work with refugees adds an important layer of cultural competence to her advocacy efforts.

In this episode of the Patient Advocacy Now Podcast, Terry McLellan, a seasoned patient advocate, shares her journey from nursing to becoming an independent patient advocate. Her transition was fueled by her experiences as a travel home health nurse, where she identified a significant need for patient advocacy, particularly among older individuals in RV parks. This realization, coupled with the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired her to establish her own advocacy practice in December 2020.

Terry emphasizes the importance of patients having access to information about their medical treatments and medications. She also discusses her efforts to work with local lawmakers to create legislation allowing patients to have independent advocates, particularly in hospitals where information sharing can be problematic. Building strong relationships with hospital staff, such as nurses, is a key component of ensuring patients receive the best possible care.

Terry further highlights the growing role of patient advocates and the need for stronger advocacy in the evolving healthcare system. She mentions the significant growth in attendance at the Healthcare Advocate Summit, underscoring the rising recognition of the need for patient advocates