Dena Piquette-Garcia
B.MSc.
Ask Dena
Dena Piquette-Garcia
B.MSc.
Ask Dena
Advocate Location
Oxnard , CA 93030
Specialty
Medical Guidance
Other Services
Wellness & Lifestyle
TeleAdvocacy Available
Offers FREE Initial Consultation
*Greater National Advocates Terms of Use Apply
How I Can Help
I advocate for patients and families throughout the United States, with particular expertise in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), HSD & hEDS, EDS+, Neuro-EDS, and related conditions. These include craniocervical instability (CCI), Chiari malformation, tethered cord syndrome, dysautonomia/POTS, MCAS and complex neurosurgical and spinal care.
My patient advocacy services include:
• Medical record review, organization, and detailed medical timelines
• Appointment preparation and development of focused questions
• Communication among patients, families, physicians, hospitals, and insurance representatives
• Care coordination across multiple specialists and healthcare systems
• Hospital advocacy, transfers, discharge planning, and continuity of care
• Surgical preparation, postoperative support, and recovery planning
• Insurance authorization, medical-necessity documentation, appeals, and disability navigation
• Nervous-system regulation, and whole-person strategies to reduce overwhelm, strengthen patient self-advocacy, and support surgical preparation and recovery
My Metaphysical Sciences degree adds a whole-person dimension to my patient advocacy work. When desired, I help clients explore non-pharmacological wellness practices including, breathwork, mindfulness, relaxation techniques and mind-body-spirit approaches and more to help regulate the nervous system, reduce stress and pain, build emotional resilience, and feel more centered while navigating complex medical care.
My goal is to help clients create the most supportive conditions possible for coping, confidence, and recovery while continuing to follow the treatment plan established by their healthcare professionals. This support is educational and complementary; it does not replace medical treatment, mental health care, or prescribed medication.
I have developed an established nationwide advocacy network and trusted community relationships extending from California to the East Coast. My network includes EDS-informed specialists, nonprofit organizations, community partners and government offices. When appropriate and with permission, I can help communicate with the constituent-services offices when insurance delays or administrative barriers are preventing access to medically necessary care. I have been very successful in doing so.
Medical travel is a significant part of my work. I have accompanied medically complex patients on dedicated medical flights with medical crews and traveled commercially with patients before and after major surgical procedures. I can assist with medical-flight coordination, hospital acceptance and transfer requirements, insurance documentation, commercial airline planning, rental cars, accessible lodging, Ronald McDonald House options when eligible, surgical preparation, discharge logistics, recovery accommodations, and return-travel planning.
I have particularly extensive practical familiarity with the New York metropolitan and Long Island areas, including Queens, Oceanside and Mount Sinai South Nassau, where patients may travel for specialized Neuro-EDS neurosurgical evaluation and treatment, including care with Dr. Paolo Bolognese. I provide these services independently and am not employed by or affiliated with any particular physician, hospital, government office, airline, or lodging organization.
My advocacy also extends beyond the medical setting. I assist families with Section 504 accommodation planning, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), school meeting preparation, documentation of disability-related needs, and communication with educational teams. I also provide tenant and disability-access advocacy, including help preparing reasonable-accommodation requests, documenting accessibility or health-related housing concerns, communicating with landlords or property managers, and connecting tenants with appropriate fair-housing, disability-rights, or legal resources.
My patient advocacy services include:
• Medical record review, organization, and detailed medical timelines
• Appointment preparation and development of focused questions
• Communication among patients, families, physicians, hospitals, and insurance representatives
• Care coordination across multiple specialists and healthcare systems
• Hospital advocacy, transfers, discharge planning, and continuity of care
• Surgical preparation, postoperative support, and recovery planning
• Insurance authorization, medical-necessity documentation, appeals, and disability navigation
• Nervous-system regulation, and whole-person strategies to reduce overwhelm, strengthen patient self-advocacy, and support surgical preparation and recovery
My Metaphysical Sciences degree adds a whole-person dimension to my patient advocacy work. When desired, I help clients explore non-pharmacological wellness practices including, breathwork, mindfulness, relaxation techniques and mind-body-spirit approaches and more to help regulate the nervous system, reduce stress and pain, build emotional resilience, and feel more centered while navigating complex medical care.
My goal is to help clients create the most supportive conditions possible for coping, confidence, and recovery while continuing to follow the treatment plan established by their healthcare professionals. This support is educational and complementary; it does not replace medical treatment, mental health care, or prescribed medication.
I have developed an established nationwide advocacy network and trusted community relationships extending from California to the East Coast. My network includes EDS-informed specialists, nonprofit organizations, community partners and government offices. When appropriate and with permission, I can help communicate with the constituent-services offices when insurance delays or administrative barriers are preventing access to medically necessary care. I have been very successful in doing so.
Medical travel is a significant part of my work. I have accompanied medically complex patients on dedicated medical flights with medical crews and traveled commercially with patients before and after major surgical procedures. I can assist with medical-flight coordination, hospital acceptance and transfer requirements, insurance documentation, commercial airline planning, rental cars, accessible lodging, Ronald McDonald House options when eligible, surgical preparation, discharge logistics, recovery accommodations, and return-travel planning.
I have particularly extensive practical familiarity with the New York metropolitan and Long Island areas, including Queens, Oceanside and Mount Sinai South Nassau, where patients may travel for specialized Neuro-EDS neurosurgical evaluation and treatment, including care with Dr. Paolo Bolognese. I provide these services independently and am not employed by or affiliated with any particular physician, hospital, government office, airline, or lodging organization.
My advocacy also extends beyond the medical setting. I assist families with Section 504 accommodation planning, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), school meeting preparation, documentation of disability-related needs, and communication with educational teams. I also provide tenant and disability-access advocacy, including help preparing reasonable-accommodation requests, documenting accessibility or health-related housing concerns, communicating with landlords or property managers, and connecting tenants with appropriate fair-housing, disability-rights, or legal resources.
Important Information About Me
- I offer a FREE Initial Consultation
- I offer TeleAdvocacy Service
- My geographical area of practice is United States
Why I Became A Professional Health Care Advocate
I became a patient advocate because another advocate once stepped into our lives when my family desperately needed help. My daughter was critically ill, her medical situation was extraordinarily complex, and I was trying to navigate a healthcare system that did not understand what was happening to her. That advocate helped us find information, reach the right physicians, ask better questions, and keep moving forward when doors were closing. I genuinely do not believe my daughter would have survived without that person’s knowledge, guidance, and willingness to stand beside us.
That experience changed the direction of my life. I learned what it means for one informed, determined person to enter a frightening situation and help a family find a path forward. I also knew that other families were facing the same confusion, isolation, and disbelief and that many of them did not have an advocate helping them.
More than a dozen years ago, my family made the decision to be transparent about our medical journey. We began sharing what we were learning through an awareness page: the diagnoses, specialists, surgeries, setbacks, resources, and lessons that might help another family feel less alone. That sharing connected us with people who were searching for the same answers, and it eventually led me to establish a local EDS and related conditions support group. More than twelve years later, that group remains active and continues to provide education, connection, and support to patients and families.
As the need grew, so did the work. I founded EDS West Connect, which became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2023, to expand our community education, advocacy, provider awareness, resource navigation, and patient support. In addition to leading that nonprofit work, I pursued formal patient advocacy education and became a Certified Patient Advocate so I could bring together lived experience, professional training, ethical advocacy practices, and years of real-world systems navigation.
I also live with hEDS and related conditions myself. I understand the fear and exhaustion of being the patient who is trying to be believed, the parent fighting to keep a medically fragile child safe, and the family member attempting to hold everything together while learning an entirely unfamiliar medical language.
The advocate who helped my daughter showed me that knowledgeable support at the right moment can alter the course of a person’s life. I now strive to be that person for others... to bring clarity into chaos, help patients use their voices, and make sure families know that they do not have to face an overwhelming medical system alone.
That experience changed the direction of my life. I learned what it means for one informed, determined person to enter a frightening situation and help a family find a path forward. I also knew that other families were facing the same confusion, isolation, and disbelief and that many of them did not have an advocate helping them.
More than a dozen years ago, my family made the decision to be transparent about our medical journey. We began sharing what we were learning through an awareness page: the diagnoses, specialists, surgeries, setbacks, resources, and lessons that might help another family feel less alone. That sharing connected us with people who were searching for the same answers, and it eventually led me to establish a local EDS and related conditions support group. More than twelve years later, that group remains active and continues to provide education, connection, and support to patients and families.
As the need grew, so did the work. I founded EDS West Connect, which became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2023, to expand our community education, advocacy, provider awareness, resource navigation, and patient support. In addition to leading that nonprofit work, I pursued formal patient advocacy education and became a Certified Patient Advocate so I could bring together lived experience, professional training, ethical advocacy practices, and years of real-world systems navigation.
I also live with hEDS and related conditions myself. I understand the fear and exhaustion of being the patient who is trying to be believed, the parent fighting to keep a medically fragile child safe, and the family member attempting to hold everything together while learning an entirely unfamiliar medical language.
The advocate who helped my daughter showed me that knowledgeable support at the right moment can alter the course of a person’s life. I now strive to be that person for others... to bring clarity into chaos, help patients use their voices, and make sure families know that they do not have to face an overwhelming medical system alone.
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