Keeping The Patient and Their Family Engaged
Over the past few weeks, I have been working with a patient who has been in the ICU on a ventilator due to respiratory failure for over 30 days. I was asked to get involved as the family was getting frustrated as they did not know what was happening despite the mother...
When you don’t know what to say at End of Life – Try These Four Phrases
I have started watching a new show, The Pitt, which is streaming on MAX. The show's premise is to raise awareness by highlighting issues that the Emergency Department team face as part of their job. The setting is a level one inner-city Trauma Center in Pittsburgh,...
You Do Have Choices When It Comes to Your Health and Healthcare
I recently saw the quote from Andrew Weil in the image above on a friend's Facebook page. It reminded me that so many people must stay with a doctor, a hospital, or another healthcare provider with whom they think they cannot ask questions or communicate their wishes....
Listening – The Key to Improving Patient Experience
Being in the hospital alone and not knowing what is happening is scary and stressful. Patients and families need information to know they are not forgotten, especially when the healthcare team doesn't know what is happening. As healthcare professionals, we know it...
International Women’s Day: A Wake-Up Call for All
In this week’s post, I wanted to write about International Women’s Month, as I was unfamiliar with it, and I had seen a lot of coverage over the past few weeks in the news and on social media. So, what is International Women’s Month (IWD)? IWD is a month dedicated to...
A New Badge Recognizing Nurses Advocates!
While scrolling through my email early Monday morning, I noted one that said congratulations. The email said my Blog, Nurses Advocates, had been selected by a panelist as one of the Top 80 Nursing Blogs on the web! As mentioned, being recognized for my Blog is...
A Book Review: “It’s Agape Love: The Spirit of Champions”
Yesterday, I received mail I had not expected. As I opened the package, I found a signed copy of a new book a fellow Patient Advocate colleague wrote with her husband, “It’s Agape Love: The Spirit of Champions.” The book is designed to be a transformative experience...
Where Do People Go When They Do Not Have Healthcare Insurance and need Medical Care?
Last week, I got a call from a 40-year-old woman who wanted help to understand what she could do as she had no healthcare insurance and was recently diagnosed with Uterine Cancer. She told me that she started bleeding and went to the ED, where she was evaluated. The...
A True Example of Patient Engagement
As nurse case managers and patient advocates, we discuss engaging our patients in their care. I recently had an experience that showed me how powerful patient engagement can be. Friends of mine have a sister who lives in Arizona. Their sister, Nancy, recently lost her...
Preparing for End of Life
If you have followed me, you know my story….I am a Brain Cancer Survivor! I was diagnosed with Central Nervous Lymphoma in November 2014. The diagnosis plunged me into an incredible journey, which I am grateful to have survived. What I learned is that when you are...
Life is Short! Take the Trip, Buy the Shoes, Eat the Cake
Over the weekend, I went to Philadelphia to surprise my best friend, who was turning 70. I wanted to be there to celebrate her big day. Turning 70 is a milestone that most of my friends and I experienced in 2024, but Mary is the youngest of all my friends, so she is...
A New Year – A New Slate – Design Yours Well
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...
