Lara Tobin

LMSW
Lara

Lara Tobin

LMSW
Advocate Location
Roscoe , NY 12776
Specialty
Medical Guidance
TeleAdvocacy Available
Offers FREE Initial Consultation
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*Greater National Advocates Terms of Use Apply
How I Can Help
My hope is to support you, outside of the confines of insurance company navigators, in how you want to handle your healthcare.

I can provide information and resources to navigate your care, and can help analyze the systems to see what you can get now, and map out what else might be possible.

I can also offer a space to discuss death and dying, what resources are available, and education on what to anticipate happening, whether you are aware that it might happen soon, or if it's down the road a bit.

Some things we can figure out:
-Having conversations around care needs and wishes
-Understanding what "Advance Directives" and "Living Wills" are.
-How to prepare for home care, hospice, or skilled nursing facilities
-Exploring options for home care or medicaid CDPAP (getting paid through medicaid to care for a loved one, or to have a loved one care for you)
-Identifying, inviting and building a supportive community
-Advocating with medical professionals to get care that honors your culture, your needs and your values
-Creative activities to make legacy art, or memory books for you or loved ones

I promise to respect how your trans experience, queerness, culture, age, race, disability, mental illness, neurodiversity, and/or previous medical experiences affect your current healthcare decisions.

I have experience working and loving folks with diagnosis of HIV, COPD, Cancer, Brain Injury, Trauma, Dementia, and a variety of mental health diagnosis, as well as folks with experiences of neurodiversity, blindness, cognitive disabilities, and so many other things that make involvement with medical care necessary.
Important Information About Me
  • I offer a FREE Initial Consultation
  • I offer TeleAdvocacy Service
  • My geographical area of practice is New York State
Why I Became A Professional Health Care Advocate
Healthcare systems are constructed to be challenging for folks that need it. I have experienced and witnessed what feels like being steamrolled and smushed into a box to make it easier for the healthcare providers to dismiss complex situations, and insurance companies to say "no".

It feels like it's personal. But, It's not you. It's the way it's set up! Especially since many medical systems are set up in ways that are not built for LGBTQ folks, or folks with neurodiversity who think creatively and non-linearly.

I appreciate people who feel different, who think and communicate in their own way, and I have learned how to "translate" creative thinking to linear insurance and healthcare situations.
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Formal Education
Fordham Graduate School of Social Service, MSW, 2015
Smith College School of Social Work, Post-Graduate Certificate in Palliative and End of Life Care, 2018
Additional Skills
I am a part of the LGBTQ community, I'm non-binary, and I have a background in art, and creative crafts, and have done some work as an instructor and group facilitator.
Professional Affiliations
Smith College School of Social Work, Post-Graduate Certificate in Palliative and End of Life Care, 2018