Patient Advocacy Now

In this insightful interview, Andrew Gill, LPC, shares his unique approach to counseling clients with chronic pain, emphasizing the profound intersection between physical suffering and mental health. Drawing from years of experience, Gill highlights how anxiety, depression, and even trauma often accompany long-term physical pain, especially in patients navigating fragmented and impersonal medical systems. He advocates for a holisti...

 Dr. Linda Bluestein shares her extraordinary medical and personal journey through the underrecognized world of connective tissue disorders, particularly hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD). Initially trained as an anesthesiologist, Dr. Bluestein faced a lifetime of unexplained symptoms—ranging from joint pain and allergies to abdominal issues and severe fatigue—before being properly...

In this episode, Shelbey Arevalo shares her powerful mission as a national dental advocate and consultant. She has spent over 15 years in the dental industry and now dedicates herself to bridging the communication and access gap between patients and dental providers. Through her nonprofit, National Dental Advocacy, she offers services that include virtual consultations, billing and coding support, and direct advocacy in complex den...

Kristen Miller is a healthcare delivery researcher with nearly two decades of experience working with MedStar Health. Her work focuses on improving how care is delivered across all phases of the patient journey, from preparation before appointments to follow-up after visits. Unlike traditional bench science, her research emphasizes real-world tools and systems designed to help providers and patients make safer, more informed decisi...

In this compelling interview, Kayla Thompson-Riviere, RN and Board Certified Patient Advocate, shares her journey from burned-out ICU nurse to the first and only independent advocate on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Confronted with the confusion surrounding the term "patient advocate"—often associated with hospital employees or free services—Kayla rebranded herself as a personal medical strategist. The new title not only clar...

In this episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we sit down with Teri Frykenberg, a nationally recognized leader in patient advocacy and patient safety. With a background as an ICU nurse, a three-time author, a newspaper columnist, and a serial entrepreneur in the patient advocacy space, Teri brings a wealth of experience and insight into the evolving challenges of healthcare.

Teri shares her personal journey into patient advocacy, which b...

In this powerful episode of Patient Advocacy Now, Lisa Berry Blackstock, founder of Soul Sherpa, shares her remarkable journey from estate administrator to trailblazing patient advocate. Lisa opens up about her personal battle with misdiagnosis and debilitating chronic pain, culminating in life-changing brain surgery that transformed her perspective on healthcare. 

Drawing from her legal and medical advocacy expertise, she discusses...

In this heartfelt episode of Patient Advocacy Now, Dr. Chris Price, a retired cardiologist turned patient advocate, shares his incredible journey of resilience, service, and transformation. Known for his calm demeanor during medical emergencies, Dr. Chris discusses how his health struggles, including autoimmune challenges, inspired him to deepen his commitment to patient advocacy.

Drawing from over two decades in cardiology, he offe...

In this thought-provoking episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we sit down with Nancy Ruffner, a trailblazer in patient advocacy and a passionate advocate for solo agers. Nancy shares her inspiring journey from social work to private patient advocacy, reflecting on how personal caregiving experiences shaped her mission to guide others through the complex healthcare system. 

With a sharp focus on aging without traditional caregivers, Nan...

In this enlightening episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we explore the vital intersection of healthcare, legal expertise, and patient advocacy with Barbara Gaynor, a seasoned registered nurse and Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC). With over 25 years of experience spanning various medical disciplines, Barbara offers a unique perspective on how LNCs can bridge gaps in patient care and legal processes. 

From advocating for vulnerable patients...

Christy Snodgrass is a registered nurse, turned healthcare reformer and patient advocate. While working in the hospital she witnessed firsthand how the complexity and lack of transparency in healthcare placed a huge burden on healthcare workers and patients. She has since built a social media platform of over 800,000 followers where she sheds light on these issues and provides the public with resources to help them navigate our dif...

Rachel Westlake was a teenage kid with long, curly, red hair when she was diagnosed with large cell lymphoma at the age of 15. During more than a year of experimental treatment protocols, Rachel began to understand her own mortality, something none of her peers had any concerns about whatsoever. She beat the cancer and learned the importance of self-advocacy along the way. In 2015, she received another cancer diagnosis while living...

Listen in as we sit down with Karen Curtiss, a Board-Certified Patient Advocate whose journey into patient advocacy started with her quest for a lung transplant to save her dad's life. Karen was working in advertising and marketing at the time, but she dropped everything to advocate for her dad who was near death from pulmonary fibrosis and beyond the transplant cut-off age in most hospitals. Karen was relentless in her determ...

On this episode, we talk with Nan Wetherhorn, a South Florida Independent Patient Advocate and nurse since 1976, who learned the importance of advocacy during her mom’s battle with cancer. Nan’s mom was a pharmacist and was more than capable of understanding her diagnosis and her treatment options. But patients can rarely effectively advocate for themselves, so Nan was the one who discussed all the health issues with her mom and he...

This week, we’re joined by Rajitha Bommakanti, an Independent Patient Advocate and lifestyle coach.  Raji was a practicing nurse for more than 30 years, and she now combines her clinical skills with holistic coaching to help change habits and achieve lifestyle goals. During our conversation, Rajitha delves into her utilization of evidence-based practices in coaching and how she empowers her clients to embrace lifestyle changes to a...

In this episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we speak with Nicole Broadhurst, the founder of Tennessee Health Advocates. Nicole's practice is focused on medical billing, and she provides her clients with the tools needed to decode their healthcare charges, empowering them to take charge of their medical expenses and enhance their quality of life. Join us as Nicole Broadhurst shares her journey from a former Practice Administrator ...

Dr. Alan Feren is a former MD who is now practicing as an Independent Patient Advocate. In this episode, Dr. Feren shares his long and impressive journey of perseverance, integrity, and advocacy. As a general surgeon, Dr. Feren was always an advocate for his patients. He took on the tough cases that nobody else wanted to touch. His approach from day one has been to demystify medical jargon, making information accessible and compreh...

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 qual...

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.

Cl...