The most prestigious award in the profession of patient advocacy, and in particular, independent, private patient advocacy is awarded this time each year to the person who best exemplifies the tenets of the award. Drum roll please!
Our Fifth Annual Private Professional Patient Advocates Week is this week – March 16 to 22 -and I’m here to share tales of the growth of our profession. Can it be that patient advocacy as a profession is now so “old” ? Granted, there were a handful of advocates practicing long before we began to quantify and qualify the profession. The year 2009, with the launch of NAHAC and APHA / AdvoConnection, marked the beginning of the growth that would make us a recognized profession across North America. Some background: From the 30-ish people who joined AdvoConnection in 2009 – for …
Celebrating the 5th Annual Private Professional Patient Advocates Week Continue Reading
Ken Schueler, before he passed away in 2011, was the most exemplary of professional, independent patient advocates. He was kind and compassionate, extremely knowledgeable, a great businessman, and a gift to all those who knew him. One of his former patients said of Ken, “When I contacted Ken Schueler,it was like finding my compass.” Ken’s ethics and standards were above reproach. He saved lives, improved the quality of life for many, and generously donated his time helping others learn to be great health advocates in order to grow the profession. These important contributions helped to establish and grow our profession …
The 2015 Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award Winner Is… Continue Reading
And – we have a winner! The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, on behalf of its selection committee (comprised of past winners plus Ken Schueler’s daughter, Alexandra), is pleased to announce the 2014 winner of the H. Kenneth Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award: Karen Zorrilla, MD of Houston, Texas. Congratulations Karen! The choice was both easy and difficult. Karen’s qualifications are outstanding – an easy choice. However, all our applicants are outstanding examples of excellence in their service to their clients and our profession. The competition was stiff. There were no wrong choices. In fact, this year’s applicants who did …
The 2014 Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award… and the winner is… Continue Reading
If anyone decides one day to research and write the history of private, independent patient advocacy, they will likely put the genesis of the profession as 2009, when the first two advocacy organizations, NAHAC and APHA / AdvoConnection were launched. Of course, there can’t be such a thing as an organization unless there are people who are looking to be… well… organized. I don’t know how many members NAHAC had when it opened its doors, but APHA / AdvoConnection launched with about 30 interested parties, of whom perhaps a dozen were already working successfully as privately paid advocates. We’re still …
Announcing the 2012 winner* of the Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award… Elisabeth Russell of Patient Navigator in Vienna, Virginia. Congratulations Elisabeth! Elisabeth was the unanimous choice of the selection committee – although – the choice was not an easy one to make. All applicants were outstanding examples of excellence in their service to their clients. Competition was stiff. There were no wrong choices. A few excerpts from Elisabeth’s application: Patient Empowerment: Patient-empowerment is the reason I wrote the series of “Roadmaps” that is available on my website. They are self-contained guides in the areas of Medical Management, Advocacy and Patient …
The 2012 Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award Winner Is… Continue Reading
In less than one week, we will be announcing the winner of this year’s Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award. This is a big deal – and not just for the winner, who will find some perks that go along with the award. It’s a big deal to you, too, because in many ways, the stories our applicants told, and the questions they were asked to address, are what defines excellence in patient and health advocacy. In other words – these attributes, based on Ken Schueler’s work, goals and ideals define what we consider to be a top-notch, client-life-enhancing advocate. The …
Let’s Talk About Excellence in Patient and Health Advocacy Continue Reading
