The Healthcare Advocate Summit recognizes that advocates working directly with patients/clients and healthcare staff can provide critical insights for improving the patient journey and outcomes.

In 2023, the organizers of the Healthcare Advocate Summit partnered with the Coalition of Health Care Advocacy Organizations (CHCAO) to offer the Independent Patient and Health Care Advocate Education Track during the September 2023 Healthcare Advocate Summit held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana!

This event brought the independent advocate national community together in person for top-notch programming aimed at building skills and setting the tone for the future of Professional Patient and Health Care Advocacy. In addition, the Summit served as a prime opportunity to grow and spread awareness of independent advocacy and Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA).

It has been one month since I began navigating life with an uncommon form of laryngitis. The great news is my voice is improving daily. I am getting closer and closer to sounding like myself (without the need for voice cloning). The challenge is to not overuse my voice, re-injure it, or damage it further. Whenever possible, I need to stay silent and utilize alternative methods for communication. I must admit that part is very hard.

To continue on a path of healing with the goal of returning to using my voice again to advocate for myself and others, I have spent time creating solutions for every day and a plan to navigate all parts of an upcoming national conference.

As an independent board-certified patient advocate, solo aging advocate, and community educator, I devote a lot of time to encouraging/assisting clients and community education presentation attendees to create a variety of plans.

Planning is needed to navigate the wide array of complexities of the healthcare system. Solo agers (older adults 55+ without the reliable support of adult children or family members) need to intentionally craft a plan for aging well that includes carefully chosen support system members, healthcare management, financial and legal plans, housing plans, and advance care plans.  Every adult needs to plan for emergencies – medical, financial, natural disasters, etc.

All plans should ideally include backup plans.

There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI) these days – the pros, the cons, and everywhere in between. Discussions regarding its impact on work life, healthcare, education, aging and more permeate the internet.

Like many of us, I use AI tools for personal and professional purposes:

As an independent board-certified patient advocate and certified senior advisor, I spend my professional life helping clients navigate the complexities of our healthcare system. Not only do I work with clients one on one, but I also offer educational talks on a variety of topics.  Throughout my work week, I use my voice, literally and figuratively, to amplify the voice of others and make sure they are heard, and their needs met.

As I was driving home on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 2nd, after a presentation at a fantastic event for solo agers in NYC, I somehow