Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a happy holiday season. As we begin 2025, we have a blank slate. The new year gives us time to examine our lives, to see where we are, where we want to go, and how we will get there. Design yours well!

I took time over the holidays to think about what I would write about in 2025. Since I started writing Nurses Advocates in 2015, my goal has been to write meaningful posts that educate and empower you, the healthcare consumer, and members of the healthcare team to work together to deliver healthcare that is safe, equitable, cost-effective, and meaningful to both the person receiving care and the professionals charged with providing that care.

Today, I look at the healthcare system and realize it is complex, fragmented, dangerous, and downright mean. In some ways, we seem to have lost our moral compass, compassion, and empathy for those who are sick and need care.

In my opinion, Health Insurance has focused on dollars so that care is left behind. Most people don’t think about their health till it is threatened. If we want to improve care delivery, contain costs, and humanize the system, people (you and me) need to take responsibility for what we can do to prevent problems to be the best we can be. If we have risk factors or get sick, we must be active team members to learn how best to care for ourselves. We must ask questions, research, and find the professionals we want to work with to help us manage chronic conditions.

In my opinion, people (patients and caregivers) must use their voices to speak up and demand better. People have power; when used constructively, our voices can make a difference. This is not the time to be silent. Use your voice to get the changes you want to see.

In my 2025 posts, I will share ways you can use your voice to ask questions and get the answers you need to stay healthy, address health issues as they arise, and find the resources you need to manage your care and be the best you can be. Please let me know if there are specific topics you want to learn about!

I hope you will read the weekly posts, comment on them, and share them with your family and friends. Please invite them to subscribe to my Blog so they can get the information into their inbox each week.

It will take all of us to change the healthcare system and health insurance industry to work for the people of the United States so we all have access to safe healthcare services regardless of where we live.

All the best in 2025!