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 advocate»often associated with hospital employees or free services, Kayla rebranded herself as a personal medical strategist. The new title not only clarifies her role but also subtly signals a paid, professional service. With deep roots in critical care, Kayla explains how her strategic, pattern-based approach to advocacy helps clients who are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or dismissed by their medical teams. Her Medical Roadmap service includes a 90-minute intake session, a written action plan, and a follow-up call, all for a flat fee, bringing much-needed clarity and predictability to a broken, opaque healthcare system.
Kayla also speaks candidly about the personal heartbreak that pushed her toward advocacy: the traumatic loss of her daughter due to medical mismanagement during pregnancy. That experience became the fire behind Heard for Life, her advocacy practice whose acronym stands for Health Empowerment through Advocacy for Patients’ Rights and Dignities. Rather than focus solely on “done-for-you” services, Kayla leans into a “done-with-you” model that empowers blue-collar, DIY-minded patients to take action with strategic support. From offering flexible follow-up plans to partnering with billing advocates, she has created a scalable, transparent, and highly personalized care model that resonates with clients and fills a major gap in healthcare.
***Resources & Links Mentioned
www.heardforlife.com
www.heardforlife.com/guide
***Advocacy Services & Frameworks Mentioned
Personal Medical Strategist – Kayla’s professional title reflecting a paid, strategic approach to navigating complex care
Medical Roadmap – A flat-fee service that includes a 90-minute Zoom intake session, written action plan, and follow-up evaluation
Flat Monthly Support – Optional ongoing strategy sessions with additional hourly services available as needed
Flex-Up Hands-On Support – A scalable option for clients who need more direct involvement with tasks like insurance calls
Heard for Life – Stands for Health Empowerment through Advocacy for Patients’ Rights and Dignities
***Free Tools & Downloads
Doctor Appointment Strategy Guide – A free two-part resource available at www.heardforlife.com/guide that includes a downloadable PDF and a bonus strategy call with Kayla
***Business & Marketing Insights
Kayla transitioned away from the term “independent patient advocate” due to public confusion and opted for “personal medical strategist” to better communicate her role and pricing
Her core client base includes people who are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or feeling abandoned by the system—what she calls “medical misfits”
Her model is designed to empower rather than enable, and her transparent flat-fee structure builds trust while offering flexibility based on each client’s needs
***Transcript
Host:
Kayla, thank you so much for being here.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Thank you for having me, John.
Host:
Yeah, always excited to talk to another advocate and you're in an area of the country where you're the first and only one of your kind in the area. Isn't that right?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yes, a pioneer, exciting and sometimes terrifying.
Host:
Yeah, for sure. The eastern shore of Maryland is where you're based out of and like most advocates, you help people kind of virtually as well. take it. Yeah. I wanted to kind of, I'm going to ask you about your history and how you get started because there's a lot of people who are interested in that. But even before that, I'm kind of curious, you know, the, one of the biggest challenges of the advocacy space is that people just don't know what it is or that it exists or that it's available.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Correct, yes.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Hmm.
Host:
or that it's a private pay service, and because you're the only one in your area, how are you finding that in your own kind of growth and your career? And how are you kind of, know, what are you doing to kind of overcome that challenge?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, well, I mean, it is certainly the biggest challenge I think I face every day with trying to grow my business. Certainly, I've spent a lot of time and continued attention with local networking efforts amongst the Community Chamber of Commerce has been really helpful for me. Health fairs, just continuing to try to get the word out. You know, I think we all say the same thing. We're like the best kept secret in health care.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Hopefully one day that will change. But you asked a second question there about the awareness of paying for services. And I have, I think, a little bit of a different take on that than a lot of other people that I've seen in the field. yeah. So typically across the board, we tend to operate under the title of independent patient advocate. And
Host:
Yeah, I'd love to hear it. That's why I'm asking.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
At least for me in my area, I've got a lot of kind of confusion around that title, partly because, you know, hospitals and insurance people now have, they have roles inside them called patient advocates. And what they do is definitely not what I do. Yeah, yeah, I've only ever met the patient advocate when a family was threatening a lawsuit. So
Host:
Yeah, they kind of work for the hospital, not the patient.
Host:
Yeah, that's a good tell that it's a different kind of rule.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right? And I also have got the feedback that the word advocate tends to be politicized. Additionally, across the board in other industries, an advocate is not typically somebody that you expect to pay out of pocket for. And I
Host:
Interesting.
Host:
When you say other industries, what do you, do you have specific verticals that you're thinking of?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
No, but I mean, even if you like think in the political realm, if you hear, that person so and so is an advocate for that cause, you don't pay them for that. Right, right. And that was honestly a lot of the feedback that I got. People thought that these services were free and, you know, I could understand that. So instead of fighting against that perception, I said, well, let's change it.
Host:
yeah, sure. almost sounds like a volunteer position of sorts or something.
Host:
Thank you.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
So I now call myself a personal medical strategist.
Host:
Right. And that I could see why you do that. There's a self-explanatory kind of element to what it is you do, the strategy being, well, the medical as well, but there's a component where it's like, I kind of get that. And I think strategists kind of connotes money as well. Like there's a fee tied to it. Not in a negative way, right?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, think it helps to subtly, right, I think it helps to subtly kind of lay that expectation for potential clients before we even have to have that interaction. But more than that, I sat and brainstormed one day, like, what does the the words patient advocate really mean? And to me, when you take it down to its core, to advocate means to amplify the voice. So to amplify the voice of the patient.
But one thing that I have found through my work is a lot of times patients don't know really what they need. mean, honestly, that's why they're seeking out this kind of support. so simply amplifying their voice isn't all that helpful. And what I found is the route to my work, it all comes down to strategy. There's lots of moving parts in healthcare and trying to throw the kitchen sink at somebody and see what sticks.
Host:
Right.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
isn't usually the best way to go about it. We need to be a little bit more strategic with our medical approach. And so that's why I decided to lean into that.
Host:
Yeah, I love that you're kind of staying flexible and bobbing and weaving and figuring it out. My hope is one day independent patient advocate is, you know, synonymous enough with what the actual services that people know to pay so that and maybe we can even get it to be like a protected term, like therapist or doctor or nurse so that you have to kind of go through some kind of qualification screening process. And I know we have the certification, there's, you know, the pack board and everything, but
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Host:
some kind of process where it's like, okay, yes, this person is an advocate and there's kind of an unexpected like fee range so people know what they're getting into. But until then, right, until then you do what you need to do to kind of keep the lights on and also communicate it easier. I bravo. I mean, like I think that's a smart kind of marketing piece, which is a title change is in my eyes a marketing piece.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Hahaha
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
It is truly. I mean, it hasn't it hasn't changed the work that I do. It just helps communicate what that is on the outside.
Host:
Thank
Host:
Okay, great. Now before I get into how you strategize and the way you work with your clients, because if everybody does it slightly different, walk me back and tell me where this kind of fascination with the body and helping people kind of started for you and how you ended up in this space.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Absolutely. So really two core things landed me where I am now. One of them being fascination with the human body. It's always been a hobby of mine to figure out how it works, why it goes wrong, and what we do next. One of my...
earliest childhood memories. I was five and my mom had fixed lunch on this pink plastic Barbie plate that I was obsessed with at age five, that's now how I know, and I begged her to let me eat lunch on the couch that day because I was watching the brain surgery on Discovery Health and I just had to finish watching it.
So there were signs that I was definitely gonna do something in the healthcare space. Yeah.
Host:
Wow. Yeah. A different kind of egg for sure. I never watched Discovery Health. Yeah, that was one of those channels you flip through very quickly as a kid, but you kind of went, no, let me watch that one.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
No, no, top three. Yeah, I've also probably seen every episode of Mystery Diagnosis.
Host:
Wow. Okay. Did you like house too when it was fictionalized or was that like too sensational?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
No, that was fun too. That was before I really knew all of the medical things. know, it's this crux. Once you get into healthcare, you know, I became a nurse. So once you become a nurse, it's hard to watch medical dramas because of all the inaccuracies. But my second big thing is I've always been a helper and I always knew that I wanted to help people.
Host:
Yeah. Sure. Sure. Sure. Absolutely. Okay. you.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
I didn't quite understand exactly what that would be. I thought initially, okay, love the human body, wanna help people, I'm gonna be a doctor. I spent my whole first year of college on a pre-med track until somebody pulled me into a nursing seminar, literally in like May of my first year. And it became clear to me that doctors treat diseases and nurses treat people. Now, of course, that's an oversimplification.
But I was like, you know what, I don't want to be tending clipboards and just prescribing and all the things that go around disease management. really want to treat the whole person. So that's how I got steered to nursing.
Host:
Mm It's interesting. And I think like, I don't know when you went to school, but it's that's become more true over time. And I think maybe if you go back far enough where there was like one town doctor in small areas, maybe they did have more of that holistic approach. But now as kind of hospitals are being bought by these big conglomerates, and doctors have no time to see the patients, that's there's more and more and more of that. And I think even nurses kind of have to kind of become that way in some
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Host:
in some settings as well. So what was your experience like as a nurse then?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
yeah, it's always do more with less.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Well, working for real as a bedside nurse in healthcare starting in 2015 up until 2024, it's not what they put in the brochure. I spent so much time, gosh, I would look around and I'm like, you know, I'm...
I feel used. Does anybody else feel used? Like I got into healthcare to help people. And I mean, there'd be some days I questioned if I really helped anybody.
Host:
Hahaha
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Host:
So when was the shift for you? How did you, how long did you, well, first of all, what kind of departments did you work on? What kind of rotations were you as a nurse?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, so I've had a few different things over my career, but mostly ER and ICU.
Host:
OK, so you were just back to back with kind of big, big bad things that were happening, right? OK.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. I kind of want to figure out the crisis and then move on.
Host:
Yeah, okay, interesting. And how long did you practice bedside for?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
nine and a half years.
Host:
Wow. And what, you know, were you disillusioned kind of from year one or was, was it like a slow burn for you? Wow.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
it was pretty quick. I don't even think I was off of orientation before I started to question what I was doing here. There's just, you know, the system, well, I used to say that the healthcare system is broken. Although I'm not sure it is. I think it's working exactly the way it was designed. It's just not designed for patients or the bedside providers.
Host:
Right.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
I have some ideas on who it is designed for.
Host:
Well, there's not many people left in that equation. So I got you.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
And I thought maybe I just need more of a challenge. So I had started on a step down unit in the hospital and I was pretty quickly recruited over to ICU. And that my friends is it's intensive care for a reason. Actually the orientation process into ICU I found to be just as difficult as nursing school.
Host:
Okay.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
There's just so many things that exist in the critical care environment that aren't in other areas of nursing.
Host:
Wow.
Host:
Wow.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
But then even then so, you know, the excitement of the new challenge started to wear off. And then you started to notice patterns amongst the patients and started to realize that some of the things, a lot of the things that are bringing patients back into the hospital over and over again, you know, I couldn't fix standing there at the bedside. And then there were also, then I started to...
Host:
Mm-hmm
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
keep track of the amount of times that my direct intervention on a case ended up being the difference between life or death for somebody.
Host:
Yeah, I see it on Instagram all the time. Nurses are still saying it and they don't always use the same language as the doctor, but then they and so they get laughed at sometimes and then when that ends up that they're right, there's no thank you. There's no apology. There's you. I mean, talk about burnout.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, yeah, that's so interesting. Yeah, I actually I had an experience where the hospital that the hospital I spent the bulk of my career at went through a buyout with another hospital and there were lots of changes that occurred afterwards. One of the changes happened to be my position. My position that I was in was getting eliminated. And they said, well, you have the option to move into this one or this one.
and they were structured in different ways, but both of them were going to be less pay and not a little bit less. And what's interesting is that conversation occurred.
The day after I came in on my day off to help in the ICU because they were totally overwhelmed. had floor nurses, so nurses from the regular floors had been pulled in to help with these critical care patients, but without the background and training. And I ended up taking over somebody's assignment for a patient who was really unstable and going downhill quickly. There were some things about her condition that had been overlooked prior to my arrival. And through
some swift interventions, we were able to get her stabilized, but she was on the brink of death. And my charge nurse actually went to my supervisor and was like, hey, I just want you to know if Kayla hadn't have come in today, that lady would have died. Like I can say that with certainty. And then the very next day is when they were like, hey, take this pay cut. Yeah. Yeah.
Host:
Yeah, that's brutal. What a kick in the pants. Jeez. OK, so when did you decide or when did you discover that there was a different path for you that might work better for you?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, so I spent years recognizing that there's limitations with my roles that I just couldn't shake this feeling that I was meant to do something more. But I didn't know what that would be. And I spent a long time trying to convince myself that
you know, plenty of other people are content with a career in nursing. Like, who am I to think that I should be doing something bigger or better? Really negative self-talk, but it's like, you can't figure out another option, like, what are you gonna do other than try to find peace in the situation you're in? But it was through taking care of a patient who had a little bit of a rare
diagnosis, who she went through like six years of bouncing around before she actually got a diagnosis, was getting written off by physicians, chalked up to anxiety. Nope, turns out she has an actual medical problem. You just didn't recognize it. But part of her story was finding and reaching out to an independent patient advocate. And as I was hearing the story, I said, I'm sorry, a what? I had never heard that phrase before.
And so that got me really excited. I was like, hold on. Advocate, I'm a great advocate. I was like, I've been fiercely fighting for my patients in between managing their life support. Wait a minute, you mean I could just do that? But I found it.
Host:
What's also, think, I think it's telling that you as a nurse with years experience had never heard of it either. Just shows. Right. Right. Right.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Well, as I mentioned, first in my area. But I was like, my gosh, that's literally I said, that is a job made for me. And so I went down to Google hole and found out very quickly, it's not a job. You have to start a business. And I was like, I know zero about that. So I thought to myself, you know, I'm just going to kind of put that idea on the back burner.
And then I got pregnant with our second child and I was like, okay. Yeah, now is definitely not the time to start a business. And, you know, that was all well and good until it wasn't. We went in for our first ultrasound at 11 weeks and found out that our very wanted daughter had passed.
And the medical mismanagement that I experienced with that was just horrific. And it was very eye-opening to really how bad the system is.
and how hard it is to fight for your care when you're the one in the stretcher, even when you know how the stuff works. And I would have given anything, had I known somebody at that point in time, to not have to fight for my care.
And once I recovered and healed physically, mentally, and emotionally, I told my husband, said, I have no idea what this is going to look like or what it's going to take, but I have to do this. I said, because nobody should be treated and have to go through what I went through. And that was the fire that gave birth to hurtful life.
Host:
And that's the name of your company, Herd for Life.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yes, HEARD is actually an acronym for Health Empowerment Through Advocacy for Patients' Rights and Dignities. But of course, you know, oftentimes what I hear from my clients is they want to be heard.
Host:
OK. Nice.
Host:
Yeah, there's a lot of feeling unheard for sure. Okay. And so how do you, how do you work with clients? Do you know, do you get into the weeds with coordination between providers with fighting for pharmaceuticals? Like where do you find, is it like whatever they need and what kind of population do you find yourself working with the most?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, so it's funny when you start a business, you have an idea in mind with what you're going to do and who you're going to serve. And over time, if you're wise enough to listen, that will shift. So that's definitely been my experience as well. I do think and other people feel free to reach out and correct me if I'm wrong. But I think that I've worked with people in a much different capacity than most other advocates.
Host:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
So in my experience, most advocates, you know, they kind of typically generally help people with like healthcare navigation type stuff and keep track of hours and build time per hour. I found a lot of challenges with that. So where I live is, it's, it's.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
technically rural, so I don't have a lot of patient or population density to work with. And I think that that's important here in my story, because it's made me have to get real clever with the with the population that is here. So I heard over and over from people, I just want somebody to tell me what to do. You know, they're okay with going to the doctor themselves or taking mom to the doctor, but they just don't know what to do.
So they really were looking for that kind of guidance as opposed to the execution of things. So I took that into consideration.
Host:
When you say someone to tell me what to do, where was the roadblock for them? I mean, if they're going to the doc, are they not getting, like, are people still in pain and suffering? And they're like, nothing.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, typically not getting the run around or not getting the solution, getting bounced around. And then people don't know what to do next or don't know how to make.
Host:
Got it. Okay.
Host:
Right, so they were very. Very much problem aware, right? But but they're like I don't know how to fix this. You tell me how to fix it. OK, gotcha. OK. I'm with you now.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
You
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah. Yeah, but then what I was hearing over and over is like people wanted to solve problems themselves. They just didn't know how. So I think a lot of advocates focus a bit more on the like, I'll go to your doctor's appointment with you. I'll call the insurance company for you. And I will do those things as well. However, it's not my focus. So
I work with people typically who fall in the category of what I like to call medical misfits. So undiagnosed or perhaps misdiagnosed and usually dismissed by their current medical team and whatever they've been trying, they still can't get to where they're trying to go, whether that be a treatment, a surgery, an answer, et cetera. So I take my clients through what I call a medical roadmap. So
Host:
Okay.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
It's broken into three parts. First, we do a really intensive 90-minute deep dive session via Zoom. So this is not a specific local offering. It's nationwide, where I start to get a really good understanding of
what's going on with them, and I have quite a knack for pattern recognition and connecting the dots where others haven't. That really is my bread and butter.
So for instance, I had a client who was a very young, healthy, well woman. She was like early 50s. And she started having headaches and then another like a whole cluster of weird, seemingly unrelated symptoms. And her primary doctor didn't know it was wrong and sent her to the neurologist who couldn't find anything that was wrong and sent her to the cardiologist who couldn't find anything. And I'll be honest, when I first got the call, I thought to myself,
Like, God, I don't know what's wrong with her. I said, how am I supposed to help her? But through the initial 90 minute session, I listened very intently. And there were certain things she was telling me that I'm like, this just doesn't add up with the line of thinking and the treatment that they've been pursuing.
Host:
Right, right.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
So through that initial deep dive session, I then go back and strategize. And I think really critically about what is going on with the client, what I think potentially could be going on. I don't pretend that I know what's wrong. I certainly can't diagnose anybody. But.
I am really good at writing questions that police would say would lead the witness. Because in a doctor's appointment, you got to kind of leave the breadcrumbs so that they get to where you want them to be, but without you telling them. So I'm really good at that too. after our...
Host:
Right.
Host:
Sure. Sure.
And why can't you just tell them outright? Is it an ego thing? Or do they're like, did you look that up on WebMD? know, like, okay. Man, it's horrible that we have to play these games. Okay, keep going. Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yes. Also, yes.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
I know, right? But here's the way I look at it is like, we can change that system, but we can change our approach. So that's the goal here at Heard for Life is recognizing that that is what it is. There are people working on systemic change. God bless them. I hope they can figure something out. My brain is not wired to fix that problem, but I can help individuals find the exit paths around the barriers.
Host:
Right.
Host:
Yeah. Well, and that's, I think it's really clever cause you take, you know, a 10 minute doctor or a 15 minute doctor appointment. You listen to the patient for 90 minutes with your own kind of skillset and recognizing patterns. And then you have time to also strategize how to get those like five, six questions for the doctor to make them go, well, it sounds like you might have this. And you're like, yeah, that's what I was waiting for.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
That's exactly it, Jon. I know it's a shame that like that's what you need to do. But well, if you want your appointments to start working for you, that's what you need to do. And you know what actually on that point, this might be a good time to mention, I recognize that
Host:
for sure.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Everybody needs to employ this level of strategy for their doctor's appointments. And with that in mind, I actually created a free doctor's appointment prep guide for anybody who wishes to download that and start getting some strategy for themselves around appointments.
Host:
Yeah, how do people get that? Is it on your website somewhere?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Sure is. It's a HEArdforlife.hardforlife.com slash guide.
Host:
okay, easy. So just / slash guide on your main website, herdforlife.com slash guide. Great. Wonderful of you to put that out there. That's great. Okay.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yep.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yes. So anyways, after our deep dive strategy session, I actually put together a written action plan for my clients. Through that conversation, there usually comes up maybe four or five kind of main action areas that they need to work on. And then I break it down into like literally step one, do this, step two, do this. So that
You know, it's a lot, but then they have a very clear roadmap. That's why I call it a medical roadmap for how to tackle this problem. And then we actually, they take that action plan and implement it for two or three weeks or so. And then we come back around and have an evaluation call because all best plans, especially in the medical world tend to need some adjustment. So not only do I operate with that
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
high level strategic approach and break down that step-by-step action plan for them. But also, I don't price per hour. It's a flat price, which is feedback that I got a lot from my community. Because people would say, know, I'm kind of looking for help with this. How much is that going to cost? And my answer would be, I don't know. How many hours do you want?
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Host:
Right.
Host:
Yeah, that doesn't work for people who are trying to budget and understand. Sure.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, and I get that. mean, for me, from a buyer's perspective, if you can't tell me exactly what you're going to give me and how much it's going to cost, I don't want to buy either. So with the medical roadmap, we guarantee that we will deliver you an action plan. Otherwise, I will refund you. If for some reason you have something going on that I can't help you with, I am not going to keep your money. And it's a flat fee. It's $4.25.
Host:
Right. Right.
Host:
And then you work with them for that 90 minutes and then you have some adjustment that goes with it with a, like the two, three weeks after the followup. And then do you tend to work with patients after that initial kind of packet?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yep.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, so usually they get a good bit of progress, but then it also kind of reveals the fact that there's more work to do, right? And so I do also have a back end offer, which is again, it's a flat monthly fee. And then if they want to say, I, know, actually, can you call the insurance company for this for me? Then I have an hourly rate, but it at least,
Host:
Sure, sure, of course.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
we do the monthly strategy calls. So like we do in that initial session, we do a smaller session every month so that we can start to shift from reactive into proactive. And most people, that guidance is all they need and then they take the rest and run with it.
Host:
Right.
Host:
Right.
Host:
Very clever, very clever. So I mean, it sounds like, you know, there are some benefits and drawbacks for you and for the patient. It's kind of funny. So you're solving a lot of the issues that I think patients have where there's a lack of clarity and there's a lack of transparency and what they get and the pricing, which is like a...
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Host:
immortal problem, like, you know, in the medical field, which I'm sure leads to a lot of very happy clients. It sounds like you might have a slightly higher churn because people, there's going to be people who fall off after the initial stuff. Do you find that you have to kind of keep broadening your net and like as a business owner or is the referrals because people are so happy, like they, end up, does it balance out?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
So in full transparency, it's only been a few months since I've switched to this model. However, there's very few people who come in my world who don't turn into clients. And there's only been two who haven't gone from that initial session into the ongoing support. And one of them, it was my choice.
Host:
with your new model. Okay, gotcha.
Host:
Yeah.
Yeah, sure. You could fire clients that that happens all the time. I mean, the reason I'm asking is a lot of advocates listen to the podcast and I think everybody's always curious. Like what is the model that benefits everybody? I want to have a stable business and I also want my patients to feel like there's true transparency. It sounds like if this works, this could solve a lot of the issues. So I'm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
It has been night and day for me because, know, it's, I really sat and thought about what is the minimum kind of like price point in time commitment where somebody could, right, right. And then it really gives, gives the client like structure and ownership over how they want to handle things moving forward because they get,
Host:
Yeah, you can have impact.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Honestly, if they're not in a crisis and we can get them pretty stabilized, they get pretty much everything they need in that monthly base rate. But then they have access to, I call it flex up hands on support if they want that higher level. Like right now I have somebody who is going through, my gosh, we're calling, I'm calling it the medical merry-go-round now. There are updates on Facebook with details, but she is facing,
Host:
Right.
Host:
Mm-hmm.
Host:
Ha ha ha ha.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
But truly she's facing physician abandonment. And so we're having to go through a lot of channels and she was managing it on her own with my guidance initially and then got to a point she's like, I just, can't do this anymore. Just, just take over. So it gives patients that well client, gives my clients that, flexibility to, you know, do they, they takes away the overwhelm of trying to figure out what to do.
Host:
yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
and so they can go work on the execution or they can raise their hand and go, I'm done with this. Can you step in please?
Host:
Yeah. Well, and it sounds like it's not just the people who are done. mean, there's going to be many different types of people who want you to take over certain services. So there's going be people who maybe they have a higher earning capacity and it like, it's like, makes sense for me to pay you so I can go, you know, work. are going to be people who are just burned out, which is the ones you're kind of like, you know, like I'm sick. I can't do this. And then there's going to be certain people where it's like, there's too much above what I'm willing to learn. And it's confusing to me.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Right.
Host:
If you take care of this, it would just alleviate some of that emotional stress. So like, I think you're hitting on all three kind of trigger poles there.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah, yeah. Where I think I'm a little bit different from the bulk of advocates is most the focus of my support is it's kind of like a done with you service where as opposed
Host:
Right, instead of done for you.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right. And that is really because, again, that was the feedback I was getting from my community is that was more of the support people are looking for. It's a really blue collar area. And like, I get it. Let me tell you, I'm a DIY person myself. My husband and I actually bought a hundred year old farmhouse and got it to the studs and rebuilt it ourselves.
Host:
Sure, sure.
Host:
You're free to.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
So I get the mindset of the person who just wants some guidance and instruction but wants to handle it themselves. So I said, you know what? That's my people. I'm going to lean into that.
Host:
I think it's also like a really good way to build a tremendous amount of trust so that if someone
wants to or needs to hire you for like a more “done for you” type service. There's a relationship there, right? Like they've actually built it with you over time. And they're like, Kayla's the best, just give her the money and let her take care of it for those people who want her needed. But for like you said, but for those of us who are more DIY, it's like, this is great. I feel empowered. You know, like I know there are kind of caps on the spending here and I'll get what I need. I think it's a, it's a great kind of choose your own adventure style to
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Right.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Host:
That's not advocacy. That's really smart.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Thank you. Yeah, it's been great for my clients.
Host:
Is there a hole in any of this where like, I wish I had an insurance advocate to partner with or like a legal person because there's, know, some, see a lot of malpractice that needs, you know, attention or do you feel like, you know what, because of the way you've designed your business, it's, it's actually so far. i knowknow it's only a few months old this way, but like, it's actually pretty stable.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
so I have a billing advocate that I work with really closely. and so some things I, you know, some kind of more basic things I can, I can manage myself, but if it's like fighting the bills, that's a nice clean referral over to her. So I've got that side pretty covered. you know, I don't have anybody in my net so far who is legal. So that would, that would be a great connection. but it also hasn't come up yet.
Host:
great.
Host:
Sure, sure.
Host:
But it's what I, but I think that like you answered the question like, yes, there's a hole and I filled it with another advocate. You know, like it's a, that's a great answer. Cause there is a kind of a nice camaraderie, camaraderie amongst advocates. Like I'm good at this if you need help. And then I'll also like, I'm not as good at the medical strategy part. And so I'm sure we can work together and make like a strong team, which is great.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Absolutely.
Host:
Okay. That's awesome. And so you're, it sounds like it's not, it's not condition dependent. It's more like the, you know, the people are facing problems and they don't know how to get solutions. And those are the people who typically find you. That's interesting. That's great. and in terms of marketing, how do you even get people to know you exist in the first place? I haven't started my own advocacy. Okay.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mm-hmm.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
You know, John, that's a question I am still trying to answer. I'm hoping that doing things like this will help.
Host:
You go on podcast. Sure. Sure. Well, where has your existing client base come from?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Mostly from referrals, a couple from GNA. So that's been helpful, but it's mostly been word of mouth.
Host:
great.
Host:
Awesome. Awesome. Well, is there any, let's say the, so it's heard for life.com slash guide. And it sounds like that's kind of the complete DIY version where it's like here, at least if you're, if you don't have the funds or you're not ready to make the commitment here, here's like how you dip your toe in the water of prepping for that infamous 10 minutes you have with your doctor and that's it. so I think that's great if people want to download it. Is there, and it's free. said,
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
rights.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
It's a free download and it's actually two parts. So there's the PDF guide that you download that's got the five steps for the strategy. But part two is actually an invitation to book a free strategy call with me, which in full disclosure, if it's a good fit for somebody, I do talk to them about my services. But regardless if it is or not, actually I have a sheet that I keep right here with 15 different actionable insights that I can offer.
Host:
Thank
Host:
That's great.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
during that call. So people always walk away with something. It is not strictly a sales call. My goal is to truly provide value and get them unstuck at least a little bit.
Host:
Yeah, one of things I love about this space is these, you know, every advocate I've met so far, at least on my end has been in it for the right reasons to help people. And so I've never ran into like a sleazy snake oil salesman type in our space and you definitely. Yeah, yeah. So people want to help, right? That's right. So everybody who calls an advocate should know like everybody kind of wants to help.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
no, this is way too difficult of a business to get off the ground. If you're just in it for the money.
Host:
You know, like yes, of course we need to make a living doing it, but you know it's like the first and primary reason you're in it is like people should have a healthy life as much as possible. OK, so HEARDheard for life.com is where they could find you, /slash guide to get the free guide. This has been totally eye opening. Tthere anything else you want to kind of leave people with or or or add that we haven't covered? I mean, I'm sure we could talk for hours, but anything kind of top of mind, yeah?
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Yeah.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
I'm sure we could, but yeah, think you did a good job hitting all the high points, John. Thank you.
Host:
Well, thank you, Kayla. I really appreciate it and good luck with serving your area and beyond. And I know you're gonna help a lot of people.
Kayla Thompson-Riviere:
Thank you.
