A Personal Story: How Preparation Prevented a Crisis
Last month, my mom experienced a fall in our home that resulted in left-sided fractures of her shoulder and foot. As I ran to assist her, I tried to calmly assess the situation; I determined that she needed emergency care. That’s when I went from...
Healthcare and the Sandwich Generation
Sandwich generation was first coined in 1981 and is used to describe caregivers sandwiched between generations. One of every eight people between the ages of 40 and 60 in this country is caring for a parent and a child. Twenty-two million people...
Saying Goodbye
My next blog post was supposed to be about one of my favorite octogenarian clients who had the most amazing spirit. To know her was to love her. I could, and did, sit for hours with her. She never failed to put a smile on my face; her vibrant...
Burnout, Communication, and Understanding: How Advocates Advocate for Themselves
If you’ve found yourself at GNANOW.org, you must already know the important benefits that patient advocacy brings to everyone, but the side we don't often see or mention is the needs of individual advocates. In this blog, I will dive into three...
Which caregiver role fits you, right now?
Which caregiver role fits you, right now? 1. Hands-on— You are physically there, and you help with their daily needs: Dressing, bathing, toileting, brushing their teeth, meal preparation, feeding, etc. 2. Companion care— Your patient can do most...
Will you ever be okay with being wrong?
How many better decisions could you make IF, you felt it was okay to be wrong? December 29, 2021 Okay to be wrong? Nope, I can’t even think it, much less say it out loud. For those of us that are “recovering” perfectionists (Remember, I am a work...
Behavioral Health And The Law: What Is The Patient Advocate's Role?
Just recenly, I was involved with a client for over a year in Florida. She had been ill for an extended period of time, and she was moving in and out of psychiatric residential treatment programs. Her husband of 30 years used his power of attorney...
Who are you? Who are you helping?
I am the daughter of a dad with Alzheimer’s. I am the son of a mom with Parkinson’s. I am the wife of a man that has had a stroke. I am the husband of a woman that has breast cancer. I am the partner of one that has complications of diabetes. When...
The Mercereau Report Vol. 2 Ivermectin? What is the real story here…….
This is the second in a series of blogs written by patient advocacy pioneer and longtime educator, Karen Mercereau. Ivermectin?..........What is the real story here? There are many reports on the efficacy of Ivermectin in the early stages of...
More thinking is not always good thinking.
3 Things to do when you don’t know what to do. December 14, 2021 You are in a crappy situation. You don’t really know what the right decision is, but you know that you must make a decision. Your jaw gets tight from clenching, you start shallow...
What Pulse is About
A few times a year someone will call me and say they want to be a patient advocate because they want to help people who need a voice, or they see a problem with medical care in their local health system and want to be helpful. Some people have...
Wednesday Wonderings …Rules for “Vivi the Ventor” and “Lindsay the Listener”
Written December 1, 2021 Right off the bat … Let’s have an agreement for the “Ventor” and the “Ventee” (aka the Listener). What will this agreement do? It will get everyone on the same page at the same time. It will improve your communication...
Is Medical Speech Recognition a Health Care Hazard?
By now, I think we’ve all had the infuriating experience of calling our cable provider or any number of other oversized companies and being asked by a friendly but thinly disguised ‘robot’ voice to explain the reason for your call. It then...
Difficult Changes for the Advocate
Sometimes, things get worse. Sometimes it's not obvious. Sometimes it falls on you to make that call. In this blog, I will be talking about two kinds of difficult changes that an advocate will likely have to make at some point in their practice...
How can I tell people what I need? (Hint, you cannot be subtle nor can you use telepathy.)
Wednesday Wonderings Written November 17, 2021 It would be much easier if other people just knew what you needed and did it, but no one can read your mind. Only you can fully understand what you are going through. Even if they have helped take...