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How I Can Help
As a supportive and compassionate Healthcare Advocate I will complete a comprehensive assessment and a Life Plan. Step by step, seemingly insurmountable problems will be efficiently resolved. Obtaining insurance authorization and resolving billing issues can be overwhelming. In addition to earning a Master’s Degree in Public Health, I am well connected and have experience in accessing the most desirable community resources tailored to each individual. Decades as a Nursing Supervisor brought challenging and complex patients. I became their Advocate and developed a plan of action. For many years as a Psychiatric Liaison Nurse in the ER I found advocacy was necessary for nearly every case. Fortunately I developed a plethora of resources I could activate on short notice. As a nurse in a practice with several doctors, again I became a Healthcare Advocate for many clients. Teaching them about their medications, diet and disease process led to advocating for them with doctors, hospitals and the medical community. In over twenty years as Home Health Nurse and Case Manager, understanding Medicare regulations is my forte. The skills and ability to advocate benefited almost every patient in one way or another. I love to by pulling the pieces of puzzling situations together to achieve resolution as I bring expertise to people of all ages.

Formal Education
Harper College, Associate Degree in Nursing, 1976
Benedictine University, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 2000
Benedictine University, Masters Degree in Public Health, 2002

Why I Became a Professional Healthcare Advocate
Each person has a unique and complicated set of circumstances and situations that can be difficult to prioritize. The cast of characters in one’s life can be helpful with certain aspects. Dedicated friends or family members want to help. They may not have the skills or capacity required to navigate the ever changing healthcare environment. Sometimes there is simply no one available to advocate or make critical decisions. Becoming a Professional Healthcare Advocate is a continuation of what I have always done. I have the keys to open the doors to necessary resources. It seems each has their own bag of tricks. Mine includes advocacy.

Professional Organizations and Affiliations
CCRN (Critical Care Nursing) 1978-2009
1997-2014 Board Certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse ANCC
2001 Certification in Managed Care (18 Graduate Credit Hours) – Benedictine University
2002 Certification in Domestic Violence- Battered Women’s Network at University of Chicago
2017 GCA (Greater Chicago Advocates)

Additional Skills & Attributes
In 1997 I became a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse after 20 years of nursing this difficult and poorly understood population. It is this group of people and their loved ones that most touch my heart. They are prone to exploitation, abandonment, neglect and domestic violence. Resources are limited and services are inadequate. I find this population the most challenging but also the most rewarding to serve.

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Disclaimer: GCA is not a provider of advocacy services or legal services. The advocates listed in the GCA directory are not employees or agents of GCA.  GCA does not control any aspect of any service provided by any of these advocates.  The advocates listed in the GCA directory are not paid by GCA and none of the advocates has paid anything to GCA to be listed in the directory.  GCA merely compiled information about these advocates and received permission from each advocate to be listed in the directory.

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