Building Systems That Last: Rebeka Acosta on Collaboration and Change
In this heartfelt episode, we welcome back pediatric advocate Rebeka Acosta, BCPA, for a deeply personal and inspiring conversation. Rebeka shares the emotional decision to step back from her advocacy practice to focus on her son’s health, while reflecting on the tremendous progress made for pediatric healthcare in Nevada. From her early work helping families navigate fragmented systems to the upcoming launch of the state’s first freestanding children’s hospital, she discusses the power of persistence, collaboration, and community voice in driving meaningful change.
Rebeka also opens up about how advocates can build strong relationships with community organizations, turning shared goals into lasting partnerships that improve care for children and families. She explains the value of showing up in person, building trust, and creating connections that outlast any one practice or individual. Through her work with organizations like Gigi’s Playhouse, she has helped transform how local centers empower parents, volunteers, and staff to better support families with complex medical needs.
As the conversation turns to mentorship and the future of the field, Rebeka reflects on what new advocates need most: emotional resilience, community, and a clear understanding of their unique value. She shares candid lessons from her own journey and a vision for a more unified advocacy movement, one where independent advocates, healthcare providers, and community leaders work together to create a system that truly serves children and families.
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TRANSCRIPT
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Host
We are welcoming back to the podcast. Rebecca Acosta, thank you so much for coming back.
Rebeka Acosta
Thanks for having me, John. I'm excited to be here.
Host
So you have had an interesting advocacy journey and it's taking a turn again. And so let's catch everybody up and just kind of, you know, tell everyone what's going on in your life and where you're at.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah, thank you. It's a lot going on right now. As you guys may remember, I focus my advocacy work on youth and young adults and their families. And I'm in here in Southern Nevada, and my very first original client, my child, actually has had a turn with his health. And I am closing my advocacy practice for now to focus on his health care needs in the upcoming couple of years and procedures he's going to have. So it's super sad.
But I'm really grateful to be here with you today to talk to you about the progress that we made in pediatric health care in Nevada and around the country. And then a little bit about how it's going to continue, even though I'm not going to be providing services anymore.
Host
Yeah. Thank you so much for, mean, you're stepping away from doing advocacy for others, but you've been kind enough to make time and try and share your wisdom and you know what you've learned and that kind of generosity, I think speaks volumes of the advocacy community. Why don't we start with, and I hope your son does better with you and is going to be okay. thoughts or prayers are with you. Let's start with the progress you made locally.
Rebeka Acosta
Thank you.
Rebeka Acosta
Thank you.
Thank you.
Host
I think that's really interesting to talk about. you're in Southern Nevada with pediatrics and tell me about the work you've done.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah, so we're a little bit of a unique system, if you will, here in Nevada. We are one of the few large metropolitan areas without a freestanding children's hospital. And so it has been a journey learning how to help families cobble together the services their children needs to find those services and really then to go outside of the individual families and advocate in the community for those services that we don't have.
so I'm excited to say that there is a freestanding children's hospital in the works. You know, it's still obviously several years away. It's a huge financial undertaking, building a building, recruiting providers, and then opening to families. So, but it's happening. so that I count as a major win, just being a tiny piece of that, that voice advocating for those, services and, and the physical hub that we need for pediatric healthcare in Nevada. and then.
Really on a bigger scale, I'm so super proud of all of the other community organizations that I have the absolute pleasure to get to know and collaborate with. Disease-based organizations, family support groups, university medical schools and schools of public health, like getting to know them and teach them a little bit about what I do, learn about how we can work together to make the whole system better for everyone. I think that
as sad as it is that I'm closing my practice publicly. I know that work will continue because of all the relationships that we built and the work and the projects that we tried to find that common ground, where do we meet and how can we make all of this better for kids and families. That's gonna continue on and I think as sad as I am to leave our practice, this is.
the part that's making it okay for me to leave, that I know everything is not coming to a halt, and the progress that we made and the work that we did in the last five or six years isn't gonna stop. It's gonna keep going. It'll look different, but it's gonna keep going.
Host
That's amazing. Talk to me about the hospital or the Children's Center. What you know how long did that take to get off the ground? That's a huge win. I mean that's a humongous win.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah. It is. Yeah. So we have a health system that's based out of Utah that's coming into Nevada, doing amazing things in the community so far. They've really, been impressed with how they have embedded themselves in the community, learned about how Nevada healthcare currently is, what we do well, where we need to fill in gaps and that kind of thing. So it's been really exciting to see that coming slowly over the years.
I think they're aiming to break ground next year in 2026. And then it's a couple of years of building. And then the hospital will open in phases. Obviously you can't just build a building and then it's just magically filled. So I know that they will open initially with emergency care, outpatient type, primary care, pediatric providers, and then mental and behavioral health because we have a severe deficit of that in Nevada.
And then I think their goal is by 2039 or 2040, don't quote me that the full hospital will be functioning. So all the different divisions, specialists and yeah. So we have still a ways to go, but to know that it's in the works and it's coming and it will be changing the landscape for the next generation of children in Nevada. It's amazing.
Host
That's incredible. How long were you guys fighting for that? And how did you get involved?
Rebeka Acosta
there have been advocates coming and going in different spaces for decades asking for this in Nevada. I believe there was somebody as early as the late eighties that was publicly saying we need a freestanding children's hospital. and then for various reasons, it just had never come to fruition. it really, there was a couple of Hail Mary chances in the last decade or so that just didn't come to fruition, whether with financial issues or.
system issues. And so it's really been the last four years, I'd say that the family voice has really gotten involved. And especially the Organization Act for Kids in Nevada here formed in Las Vegas with the sole purpose to elevate the patient and family voice in pediatric healthcare. We felt that that voice and that need had been left out of the conversation. And that's why nothing really progressed.
I think once the families and the patients got involved that invited the rest of the community members to be involved because everybody knows a child, whether it's your own child, your grandchild, neighbor, if you're a teacher, you obviously know hundreds and hundreds of children. They all need care. They don't have to be critically ill or chronically ill to need access to a pediatric health system, right? Everybody goes to the doctor hopefully at least once a year. So having that actual system, the comprehensive care for kids that we all know kids need.
it has really been a big push in the last five years and families have been really, really strong and advocating for that, both in our community with, other families and in the medical space. And then of course, too, and then Nevada state legislature really just, even though we didn't have a specific ask for funding or something like that, we were just sharing with our legislators. This is a huge need. Here is the data here is family stories. We want to work together to make this happen. So.
over the last couple of legislative sessions, there was just a big outreach, a push just to bring awareness to the forefront that this is something that we must have. We are so far behind in pediatric healthcare in so many ways, despite having amazing facilities that do work in certain specialties and amazing physicians and nurses that do work here at a level of being under resourced and understaffed that I can't hardly comprehend.
Rebeka Acosta
but we need that comprehensive care for kids. Like kids don't have the ability to take off their illness and go to school or go to church or Boy Scouts or soccer practice, right? Their whole being goes with them everywhere. And so until we address them as a comprehensive whole person, we're really only putting band-aids on problems. So I'm super excited and I will definitely be at the ribbon cutting on the day the hospital opens.
Host
Talk to me about the community work. think this is some something that more advocates need to understand. You've talked about, you know, reaching out and working with community organizations and other people in the community. How did you do that? Were you cold calling and approaching people? What are those partnerships look like? Because there are a lot of people. Not only is it just better for the community, it's also a good thing for business. I mean, it helps market you and just.
Rebeka Acosta
Mm-hmm. Right.
Host
work you and whatnot. And think a lot of advocates don't take as much of an advantage of doing things like that as they could.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah, I think this is one of the great benefits of working in the pediatric space is that there are so many organizations and support groups and activities surrounding children, right? We as humans know that children need lots of support in all different areas of their lives. So really was not difficult per se to find an organization that I was like, I want to learn about them or what services do they provide? so
I definitely did not cold call anyone because I do not like to pick up the phone, So I know that's contrary to what you may think as an advocate. I will call for clients and get things done on the phone, no problem. But from my own self, I'm a little nervous. So I actually would look up local organizations, whether they supported families of children with autism or Down syndrome or other learning disabilities, just any kid-focused organization, and I would go to their events.
Some of them have like, you know, annual 5K walks and then they have resources that they want families to be. So I would sign up to be a table at their resource fair. Other health and wellness community events at parks and recreation centers or the cities that are hosting things like that. I would just go and then I would talk to everybody who had a table there. So before the event started or after we were kind of breaking up, I would take my business card and say, hi, I'm Rebecca. This is the work that I do.
what do you guys do at XYZ organization? How can I help you guys and what can I learn from you to be better for my patients and my families and vice versa? And it just kind of grew organically. You meet people and you chat with them and you get their business card and then you actually call them the next week and say, hey, can I come to your office and let's grab a coffee or lunch or something and I wanna see your location and your services and hey, I can come provide a workshop. If you have families that come here for this problem or
this type of support, I can come and bring knowledge about the health system that will help guide them or give them resources. I'm happy to, let's, how can we help each other? And that's really how it started. And over the years, it blossomed into me providing like one-off workshops and then to certain organizations speaking at their annual family conferences, teaching families how to advocate for their kids.
Rebeka Acosta
teaching young adults and teenagers with chronic illness that they are the expert in their health and their body and how to speak up and ask questions and to make sure that you're heard, which is always, I love working with young people the most. And then last year I actually worked with the director at GE's Playhouse of Las Vegas, which is a Down syndrome achievement center for individuals with Down syndrome from birth through adulthood and their families and loved ones.
And we, I sat with the director and said, what are the things that your families are coming to you with problems or challenges at the most around health for their kids? And so she was like, I could write a whole list. I'm like, well, let's go, let's write the list. And we kind of wrote the list and then we saw patterns like, know, families of toddlers and babies have these types of questions or challenges or don't know these things. And then school age children and their families have these challenges. And we kind of figured out there's a common theme and
And so we created a workshop that spanned a whole like school year almost. And it was geared towards families of a certain age group. And I hit all the highlights of what they should know in the community, how to advocate for their kiddos and the specific needs for birth to three, five to eight, whatever. And it lasted a whole, almost a whole calendar year. And it was once a month on a Saturday, I would go spend two hours and, you know, maybe five or eight families would come.
But then the next month, double that. And then the next month I had some families come back and repeat, even though they were not in that age group, their children, they just were like, but that's the next age group of my kid. I want to learn what comes next. And we were able to give them resources, printed materials, connect them with other professionals in the community where they were having challenges. And the director and all the volunteers at Gigi's Playhouse sat in and got to learn as well.
So now they don't have to call me every week and say, my gosh, we have a new family. They're panicked and struggling with the diagnosis. Can you help them? We don't know where to start. Now they know where to start. They know how to sit down with a family. They do their amazing work and they can actually speak to the local healthcare system and say, hey, this is the community you need to be involved in. will, their parents, a couple steps ahead of you that can be your mentors. And you know, this is Rebecca. She can help you if you have problems finding the right providers or coordinating everything.
Rebeka Acosta
This is, know, Michelle, she helps with whatever. We have over time kind of built that organic relationship and learned each other's profession enough so where we can use some of those skills on our own and then refer the big problems, right? And it's been super just cool. this is what humans are intended to be groups of people working together for the benefit of all. And I think that's most
patient and health advocates will say that's their core being, we want to help people. And being able to do that on a big picture systems level, like I know that now that I'm not gonna be providing one-on-one public advocacy, that community advocacy still continues, right? They're gonna have new volunteers at their Down Syndrome Center or the autism group is gonna have new staff come in, but they will be taught by the previous people and learned from their experience.
I think really that's how we affect change for everyone on a big picture scale is for all of us to kind of know a little bit about each other and work together. So I'm super, super proud of that. Looking back, still a little sad. It's like my baby, but I know that it will continue on and many more generations of kids and families will benefit.
Host
That's great. You mentioned to me, you know, off, off the interview that once in a while you'll talk to someone who's newer in advocacy and there's almost like a mentorship role that you take on. Where did those conversations usually go?
Rebeka Acosta
Okay.
Rebeka Acosta
I love that question. Thanks for asking. So earlier today I was on a call, somebody who recently started their practice as an independent patient advocate and they're focused in pediatrics. There are very few of us in the country. you know, on definitely less than 10. And so we kind of know each other and, know, I don't want to gatekeep information or experiences. If I figured out the lucky combination to something that works really well, I want to tell other advocates.
Cause that means more kids and families get the help they need. We can make more change on the systems level. So, it's kind of like an unkept secret that I love to help other advocates and I will get on zoom and talk to you. I'll get on the phone and talk to you. If you're close by, we can meet up. but I love building that camaraderie between advocates cause it's really hard to get started. It is a lot in the beginning that's unknowns and trial by error. And if I can let you know that, I made these mistakes and.
I actually am glad that I did it because I learned a lot. So you're okay or hey, I got, you know, this is a great way to do fundraising. If you have a nonprofit arm that you're raising, you go to these locations, they can, you know, learn a lot and help you. I think that's really, again, helping another advocate and being that sort of mentor only makes the system better for everyone. And we absolutely have a system that.
Operates on the bottom line and anything I can do to help move it forward for everyone all day every day. I'm here.
Host
Right. What are some of the common questions that new advocates do have that you've seen again and again?
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah. I think a lot of times it's how to market yourself, your business, how to explain to people what an independent advocate is. And even, let's see, since 2018, seven years in, I still, that's a hard question to answer because we do so much and we want for so much change and to be effective in so many ways. So a lot of times they're like, how did you even get out into the community when you only had a name, right? How did you teach people?
what an independent patient advocate was, how did you convince people that you were worth investing in or paying money for service? That's a lot. And I think that's common for anybody coming into a profession for the first time. You're not sure how you will be received and how to, where do you stand in the world? And so that's always a fun conversation. And I like to let new advocates know like, hey, I don't have all the answers either and I'm seven years in. There are advocates who have been doing this.
twice or three times as long as I have. And still there are questions and nobody knows, but being able to have that relationship where you know you can contact another advocate and be like, hey, I'm concerned. How does this sound? Like, does my flyer make sense for a patient? Like it makes sense to me as an advocate, but I'm giving it to patients. So I need to put different information on my flyer, my brochure, or when I go to talk to...
you know, the senior center in my community, what do I need to tell them? And, you know, how do I get insurance? Like all kinds of things, but when they're first starting, and then I think as advocates get further on and they get more experience, they get their feet wet, they're more confident in that, in the business type side of things. And then they're getting into the questions of like, how can I make this better? Like I love helping families and patients one-on-one, but how can I make the big picture better? And so I just...
adore those conversations because I think that's where big ideas and big shifts come from. They start somewhere. And if you're not having the conversations and you don't have that trusted group of people to bounce ideas off of, you know, it's not going to go anywhere. It's not going to get started. anybody listening, hey, give me a call. We'll chat. We can go up with some kind of good ideas, I'm sure.
Host
It sounds like the kind of the running theme behind what you're saying is there's, there's something to being the boots on the ground and making real relationships with people within your community who will have mutual clients. And it takes a little while to understand all the things that you do as an advocate. So it takes time for them to know, like, and trust you.
Rebeka Acosta
Mm-hmm.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah. Right.
Host
and understand what you can even offer. So to have some patience in building those relationships and to put some effort into it too, right?
Rebeka Acosta
Yes. Yes, absolutely. And that has been actually I have so much fun. Like in the beginning, I was scared to say this is fun because then it means it's not you're not working hard if it's fun, which is not true, especially in in working with kids and youth. It was so fun to go to Gigi's Playhouse while they were having their events or their classes for kids and seeing them have fun and be accepted for who they are despite
you know, the rest of the world sometimes looking at a different or treating them different because they live with Down syndrome or autism or whichever condition. Um, it was awesome to immerse myself in their community, see what's important to them, what they're working on and truly get them. Right. Cause if I want them to understand what I do and understand why I do that work and where it comes from personally and professionally, I have to understand them. And so getting to know lots of the families that use that center and go to their events and, oh my,
Like there are a couple of children that if I see them in the store, I can't help myself. I'm running over to them, squeezing their cheeks, pulling them out of the cart and giving them hugs and saying, hi, Miss Rebecca, you. But that to me is also part of the foundation of advocacy and systemic change. it has to be people working together, right? We're humans. I can't treat a child or a family that I'm trying to help as, there are people over there that I'm helping. I have to know them as people. I want to know your dog's name.
and that kind of stuff. So it has been a true joy and those relationships continue. Like I go to their events every year. I walk within the 5K and put on my silly tutu and cheer for them. And my kids and my husband have done it with me. It's so much fun. And I think it's an honor to be part of all the different communities in Southern Nevada that are focused on kids, whether it's mental health care, adolescent and teenage issues.
It's so much and it's such a rich community as a whole. And when we all work together, is just like fireworks, right? It's so amazing when all of the youth focused organizations come together to really do what's right for kids. It's just amazing.
Host
Yeah, I can imagine. So here's another question for you. What are new advocates not asking you that they should be asking you?
Rebeka Acosta
that's good. I will say that first year was particularly hard for me because I was one of two at the time focusing pediatrics and I felt like I didn't have anybody to go to because my practice was so different and also being a nonprofit, it was very, different than the most common form of practice for advocates. And I felt like
I internalized a lot of that and I didn't have anybody to tell me like, this is hard. This is emotionally taxing. It's mentally and academically logically taxing, but it's a very emotional hard work that we do as advocates. We see some of the worst cases that you could hear about on the news and healthcare. We see them every day, multiple times a day. And so I like to tell new advocates, I'm like, make sure you have your support system and set up, whether that's.
spouse, partner, friend, sister, counselor, mental health counselor, another advocate, like you're gonna need, you're gonna have those days where you're just like, this is terrible. I feel like I can't do anything right or the system is so hard. These poor families are never gonna get this done. Whatever it is, it's a lot and it's gonna come at you all of a sudden like a fire hose. And I wish somebody had told me that and to expect it and that it was
normal or okay and then some ways that they dealt with it. Because that was super, super difficult for me to figure out. Because it's not like we have a job as advocates where we can't go home to our spouse or partner and download our day. Like we can't share other people's private information. So a lot of that we have to keep to ourselves. And how do you manage the working part of it and then the emotional, sometimes it's emotional warfare, right? Just the emotional load of that.
It was hard for me to learn how to balance that. So I always make sure I let new advocates know to go ahead and figure out your support system now before you need them, because they're going to be needed.
Host
Yeah, that's not, I think that's something a lot of people do underestimate. You see it with therapists and physicians as well, where there's an emotional toll to the work when you're working with people who need help. And it's, you know, there's only two possibilities. Either it has no emotional toll and you're a robot, which, you know, or you're able to separate. And I've known some surgeons in that world, you know, and that's fine. But
Rebeka Acosta
and
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah.
Rebeka Acosta
Mm-hmm.
Host
But it's rare for an advocate or a nurse to not have this, an insane amount of empathy for these people. And then how do you release it? How do you process through it? So that you can make sure that you could still show up as a mom or a dad in your own family.
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah.
Rebeka Acosta
Right. Like I.
Right, right, right. And I definitely did not do that very well the first six months, probably or so. was like really, really hard work figuring out how to compartmentalize. Cause my nature is not to compartmentalize, it's to give my all when I'm with you to help whatever situation or problem that you're having. But then I wasn't able to let that go when I would leave the family's home or their meeting or whatever. I was thinking about it at night. It was keeping me up, you know.
this little kiddo needs XYZ and insurance is going to take three months to approve it. Oh my gosh, this poor family. It was really difficult to compartmentalize so I could still perform as an advocate and be there for them, but also be myself and my wife and a mom and a friend, sister, neighbor. It was definitely a huge learning curve.
Host
Why do you think there's such a big gap in the market for pediatric advocates? mean, there are more than enough parents who are willing to invest in their own children, especially if they're struggling. Why do you think it's something that is almost like a third rail for advocates coming into the space?
Rebeka Acosta
Yeah, I will. love that you asked this because I have an answer. I don't even have to think about it. So many people think that because a child has a parent that that parent can do everything the kid needs. They can be their advocate. They can be their teacher. They can be their driver, their cook, everything. That's not true. One person can only be so much, right? We all know if you're a parent, you know, there's no class. You know, you can read all the books and still not
have the information your child or your children are unique and they're going to need very different things. You only know what you've if you're this is your first time parenting a toddler you know only what happened today. You don't know how to pay. This is my first time parenting two teenagers. I told my kids last week I've never parented 15 and 16 year old boys before. I've also never been 45 years old before. We're doing this together. We're learning together right. I don't have all the answers.
Yeah, is so difficult. Parenting is a marathon. We know this. And then when you have a child that has any type of healthcare, medical needs, that's parenting on a whole nother level. You have to understand all the medical information, be the liaison between your kids, doctors and nurses and your child, teach them what they need to know, help them through blood draws and taking medicines that don't taste well.
medical equipment and appointments back and forth and making them feel comfortable in what their normal life looks like. And then as they get older, they become the experts in their body, right? You're not going to the restroom with them every time when they're 10. You don't know everything that happened to them at school and your role starts changing. it is, you're their case manager, you're making sure they're getting the proper nutrition, you're requesting medication refills.
You're speaking for them at the doctor's office when they're young. They ask you about their bowel movements and how much milk have they drank and all these things. And all of sudden, you finally get a grasp on it and your kid changes. This is how it is with a kid that's healthy and not have medical needs. And so your role as a parent of a child with medical needs is constantly changing. by the way, you have to go to work. have to put food on the table, pay the light bill, pay your car note.
Rebeka Acosta
Get the kids to school so they don't have a true that say no, right? it's a full-time job parenting a kid with medical needs on top of the other 900 full-time jobs you have as an adult human And then this is something that you have to learn as you go. There is no class for this There's no class to teach you You know most things about parenting but definitely parenting a child with medical needs There's not a class on how to navigate the health system. There's not a class that says call this Your insurance company and say exactly this and they'll do everything that you need
Host
Right. If you have other kids, you still have to raise them.
Rebeka Acosta
Right? These are all things that they spend hours and hours and hours of time, all the emotional energy to figure out the first time and then hope it works that way the next time. Right? And that's why there so many parents in the medically, child's and special medical needs family that help each other through these things, whether through social media or other in-person support groups, because you don't know what you don't know. And there is nobody out there giving, you know, classes to parents. Oh,
If you have a kid born with asthma, here's what you're going to do. Step one through a thousand and that'll get you to their 25 and then you're good. That doesn't exist. And so I think just the general public forgets how much parents already have to do. And then adding on parenting a medically needy child, it's just not feasible. Like we are human beings, we can only do so much. I have two children with medical needs and I am a professional pediatric patient advocate.
But when I go to my kids' medical appointments, I'm their mom. Like, the brain can only do so much. And so I have to write questions down and bring my notes because I forget things that I teach families every day. That's second nature to me. But I'm there acting as their mom. I am, you know, emotionally invested. This is my child. The logical things go out the window sometimes, right? And that goes for everybody. If your loved one is injured or in a car accident or
you know, whatever is going on. Like you are worried about them and maybe not thinking logically, okay, we need to call the insurance company about the car accident and get the other person's driver's license and all these things. You're emotionally worked up because your loved one is hurt or scared or whatever. so having an advocate that is an independent person from the family unit, and it doesn't have that emotional attachment. It allows me when I'm working with a family to look at the situation and think, okay, yes, they're
very worried about this, the real issue that we need to solve right now is one, two, and three. And then when those are done, we can start attacking four, five, and six. Being able to have that step back and see the big picture without that emotional involvement, it's world-changing for these families. And I have an advocate for myself that helps me think through things logically before a kid's big appointment and stuff like that too, because I know I'm going in as their mom.
Rebeka Acosta
I'm worried that my kiddo is gonna need a surgery and I'm like, what's recovery gonna look like? How are we gonna manage life? All of this is going on. And then my advocate, who's a friend and a colleague, will say, okay, Rebecca, let's look at this one, two, three, four, five. How are we gonna do this? What part is gonna be difficult for you? Where are you gonna need supports and all these things? Could I do that for myself? Yes. Did it even cross my mind as a mom? No, it really didn't. But I do this every day for other families.
Host
Right.
Rebeka Acosta
That's just to say that, you know, when it's your child, your parent, your loved one, that should be your focus is on them, their health, their safety, their well-being, as well as your own. You shouldn't have to be loving them through something very scary and also dealing with insurance bills, making appointments. it is just so much. I think that's because children have parents, they
Most people think, the parents are just going to do it. That's part of their job, which yes, that's true. But we also need help and support.
Host
What do you find that parents typically, if there is a pattern, hire you for first in terms of the services you
Rebeka Acosta
I think a lot of times they have either gotten a new diagnosis for their child or they were some accident, they fell and broke their leg and now they have surgery and recovery. There's some kind of, event that happened and they're usually calling me not in a great place, not necessarily in full crisis, but like, my gosh, this just happened. I don't know what, I have no idea what to do. They are thrust into the healthcare system in an emergency situation and it's just overwhelming and too much.
And then there's other times that they're having specific problems getting the support or the services that they need, whether that be for their child in school, for their child in medical therapy or what have you. And they need somebody to push the envelope, push the buttons, call the phone numbers and figure out what the heck we can do to get through this red tape to get the kid or the family, the service or the support that they need. It's usually one of those two things.
Yeah, they need specific help in a specific area or they're in crisis and have no idea they're drowning and they just need somebody to hold them up and help them get through. Yeah.
Host
Yeah, makes sense. Makes sense. Okay. last question for you and then I'll, I'll let you get back to your family and I can't thank you enough for, against sharing your time here. where do you think the advocacy world is headed? You know, from where you, from where it was when you started to where it is today and where, do you think it's going? What's changed?
Rebeka Acosta
you
Rebeka Acosta
wow. Okay. I thought this was going to be a completely different question. What's changed? I think it is. It's so different from seven years ago when I started. So different. There's so many more advocates. It's still a new baby profession, if you will, but it's not a complete unknown in the general public. People are understanding what advocates, what advocacy is and what it means. there, I think now that there's advocates in
so many different spaces. Independent advocates, there are advocates who work as more like navigators inside hospital systems. There are community health centers and outpatient clinics that have advocates that work within their clinic to make sure patients get through all of their process. Pharmacy companies have advocates that work within that organization or that industry. So think there's a lot more types of advocates, which is good. We need it everywhere.
The biggest change I think that we need to continue making going forward is just to really distinguish what independent patient advocates can do and how they are unique to other advocates and how we really can bridge the gap between all of those industries and all of those pieces of healthcare. We've done amazing work in that space in the last seven or eight years and I think we can only go up from here.
Host
Rebecca, thank you so much for your service to your community and the community of advocates at large. We can't wait to see you back at the helm of public services.
Rebeka Acosta
I'll be back. Thank you.
Host
Thanks again.
