Maura Lessard

RN, BSN, CCM, CDP
Nurse Advocates LLC
Maura
legacy member

Maura Lessard

RN, BSN, CCM, CDP
Nurse Advocates LLC
Advocate Location
Longmeadow , MA 01106
Specialty
Special Care & Aging
Other Services
Medical Guidance
TeleAdvocacy Available
Offers FREE Initial Consultation
Call Advocate Email Advocate
*Greater National Advocates Terms of Use Apply
How I Can Help
Nurse Advocates LLC is your "One Point of Contact" in an environment that is overwhelming, confusing and disjointed and that causes unnecessary stress. We are "Your Medical Mentor", and " Healthcare Guide" providing education, and empowerment to help navigate the healthcare system to improve our client's healthcare experience. Nurse Advocates LLC partner with individuals, families and caregivers to save them time and aggravation by assisting them to coordinate and facilitate healthcare related needs. We are liaisons to your healthcare network of providers, working on your behalf to solve problems and find solutions. We are available to assist families to feel supported and to give them a voice. We provide individual and care giver support for all ages, but mostly we are working with adults and Geriatric/Eldercare. Services very based on individual client needs but include such things as:
• Medical navigation
• Organize options and services
• Manage transitions of care
• Medication review and reconciliation
• Long Term Care (LTC) policy management
• Estate planning meeting preparation and guidance
• Guidance, coordination and oversight of: Nursing Home, Rehabilitation, Assisted Living, Hospital and Home
care
• Hospice and end of life decision support/Advanced Directives
• Prevention and wellness education
• Medical transportation
• Coordinate Medical Record
• Communication and collaboration support
• Coordinate and manage resources
• Medication management
• Navigate electronic medical records
• Accompany to provider appointments
• Supportive services around acute hospitalization & elective surgery or procedures; pre-operative
coordination, post-operative hospital, and post-discharge at current site of care
• Collaborate and partner with physicians and other healthcare providers
• Guide, assist and arrange for optimal living arrangements

Through adherence to ethical, legal, accreditation, certification, and regulatory standards my practice is guided by the Nursing Code of Ethics & The Nurse Practice Act and CMSA Case Management Guidelines.
Important Information About Me
  • I offer a FREE Initial Consultation
  • I offer TeleAdvocacy Service
  • I am insured
  • My geographical area of practice is Massachusetts, Connecticut and remote situations throughout New England and nationwide
Why I Became A Professional Health Care Advocate
Early on in my nursing career, when I was a new graduate, I took care of individuals who had multiple traumas, many of them with head injuries or spinal cord injuries. Patients and families who were in the Intensive Care Unit for weeks, sometimes months before coming to me. Due to the complexity of their medical, psycho-social, financial, and rehabilitation needs, to me, it was easy to go over and above the scope of the general nursing practice; but i did. I later found out that much of what I was doing daily fell under the role of a Case Manager, but to me it was just who I was, and am, as a nurse.



I coordinated care planning meeting between the ICU and our unit teams which had never been done before. Met with the patient and families several times prior to them being transferred to our floor, which was a new concept. I was young and could not understand why this never happening before. Clearly, in doing so, It had many benefits such as enhancing communication, decreased family/individual stress and allowed for an overall smoother transition to the next phase of care. I always loved doing thorough chart reviews/assessments, and often found incorrect or missed information. Doing these activities helped to establish a more comprehensive plan of care. I even toured rehabilitation facilities with families, sometimes hours away. And of course developed the list of questions for the family to ask and educated them on what to look for.



At that time, Case Management was just being recognized as a profession and when I left the hospital, I became the first case manager in the post-acute industry (then called sub-acute) in all of New England. I was already an Advocate as outlined in practice and ethics standards, but realized that I too was a natural case manager.



The Case Management Society of America's definition of Case Managers is to help provide an array of services to help individuals and families cope with complicated situations in the most effective way possible, thereby achieving a better quality of life. They help people to identify their goals, needs, and resources. The case manager and the client work together to formulate a plan to meet those goals. The case manager helps clients to find resources and facilitates connection with services. She or he advocates on behalf of a client to obtain needed services. The case manager also maintains communication with the client to evaluate whether the plan is effective in meeting the client's goal.
Address Line 2 (if applicable)
115
Contact Advocate
Formal Education
• Registered Nurse and Board-Certified Case Manager with over 25 years of experience, as well as an Aging Life Care Advance Professional & Certified Dementia Practitioner.
• BS Nursing @ American International College, Springfield, MA. Graduated Cum Laude, 1991.
• Lillian Solomon Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Excellence in Clinical Practice.
• Diploma / Registered Nurse, 1986 Baystate Medical Center School of Nursing, Springfield, MA.
Additional Skills
Provision 3 of the Nursing Code of Ethics states: The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.
Maura has been providing Advocacy and Case Management services, independently, for almost 20 years prior to staring Nurse Advocates LLC in 2017.
• Services are specific to the needs of the client and family.
• Our nationwide telephone consultation services are a nice way for clients who, for the most part, are managing well day to day, but need some guidance, education and assistance when they run into a situation for which they are not familiar, or if their loved one has an acute episode.
• We are flexible and accommodating.
• Nurse Advocates LLC Services are not covered by insurance, however there are some agencies that will
• Please call for a complementary consultation 413-237-5724 or email Maura@NurseAdvocatesLLC.com
Professional Affiliations
• Board Certified Case Manager since 1994 /Commission for Case Management Certification
• Board Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) 1991-2016
• Professional Affiliations:
Case Management Society of America & New /England Chapter
Alliance for Professional Health Advocates
National Association of Healthcare Advocacy
Massachusetts Health Care Advocates
National Association of Mental Illness
Western MA Elder Care Association
East of the River Chamber