Podcast
Fighting for Answers: The Journey from Patient to Advocate
In this episode, Victoria Killian shares her decades-long journey navigating the medical system with chronic illnesses, beginning at age 12 with debilitating back pain. She describes her struggles with missed diagnoses, the eventual discovery of...
Caring Before Crisis: Planning, Advocacy, and Aging Well
Social worker and aging life care manager Amy McWilliams shares her journey from caring her aging parents to founding Not Your Average Joe, an advocacy practice where she provides Personalized Senior Advocate Care Management and Services that help...
Donna Sullivan on Rare Disease Advocacy and the Fight Behind Complicated
In this emotional and revealing interview, Donna Sullivan shares how her experience as a mother to children with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) led her into full-time advocacy. When her children faced chronic pain, misunderstood diagnoses, and...
Healing Chronic Pain: The Hidden Link Between Trauma and the Body
In this insightful interview, Andrew Gill, LPC, shares his unique approach to counseling clients with chronic pain, emphasizing the profound intersection between physical suffering and mental health. Drawing from years of experience, Gill...
The Truth About EDS: A Doctor's Experience with Medical Dismissal with Linda Bluestein
Dr. Linda Bluestein shares her extraordinary medical and personal journey through the underrecognized world of connective tissue disorders, particularly hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD...
Bridging the gap between patients and providers in the dental field with Shelbey Arevalo
In this episode, Shelbey Arevalo shares her powerful mission as a national dental advocate and consultant. She has spent over 15 years in the dental industry and now dedicates herself to bridging the communication and access gap between patients...
Kristen Miller: A Guiding MedStar for the Patient’s Journey
Kristen Miller is a healthcare delivery researcher with nearly two decades of experience working with MedStar Health. Her work focuses on improving how care is delivered across all phases of the patient journey, from preparation before...
Inside the World of a Personal Medical Strategist with Kayla Thompson-Riviere
In this compelling interview, Kayla Thompson-Riviere, RN, shares her journey from burned-out ICU nurse to the first and only independent advocate on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Confronted with the confusion surrounding the term "patient...
Why Nurses Are Leaving Healthcare – And How Frykenberg’s Been Filling the Gap
In this episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we sit down with Teri Frykenberg, a nationally recognized leader in patient advocacy and patient safety. With a background as an ICU nurse, a three-time author, a newspaper columnist, and a serial...
Navigating Solo Aging and Inspiring Elder Orphans featuring Nancy Ruffner
In this thought-provoking episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we sit down with Nancy Ruffner, a trailblazer in patient advocacy and a passionate advocate for solo agers. Nancy shares her inspiring journey from social work to private patient advocacy...
From Cardiologist to Advocate in Crisis featuring Chris Price
In this heartfelt episode of Patient Advocacy Now, Dr. Chris Price, a retired cardiologist turned patient advocate, shares his incredible journey of resilience, service, and transformation. Known for his calm demeanor during medical emergencies...
Guiding Lives Through Advocacy With Sensitivity featuring Lisa Berry Blackstock
In this powerful episode of Patient Advocacy Now, Lisa Berry Blackstock, founder of Soul Sherpa, shares her remarkable journey from estate administrator to trailblazing patient advocate. Lisa opens up about her personal battle with misdiagnosis...
Legal Nurse Consulting Meets Patient Advocacy featuring Barbara Gaynor
In this enlightening episode of Patient Advocacy Now, we explore the vital intersection of healthcare, legal expertise, and patient advocacy with Barbara Gaynor, a seasoned registered nurse and Legal Nurse Consultant (LNC). With over 25 years of...
Conversation With Patient Advocacy Influencer Christy Snodgrass @christyprn
Christy Snodgrass is a registered nurse, turned healthcare reformer and patient advocate. While working in the hospital she witnessed firsthand how the complexity and lack of transparency in healthcare placed a huge burden on healthcare workers...
From Surviving Cancer (twice) to Building Coalitions featuring Rachel Westlake
Rachel Westlake was a teenage kid with long, curly, red hair when she was diagnosed with large cell lymphoma at the age of 15. During more than a year of experimental treatment protocols, Rachel began to understand her own mortality, something...