One of my favorite things about my job is the opportunity to connect with other business owners and professionals across North Carolina in furtherance of creating a robust, supportive, LGBTQIA+ celebratory referral network. I am so proud of and grateful for the excellent, client-centered clinical work our mental health clinicians do at Be BOLD. Our team is truly dedicated to offering LGBTQIA+ celebratory, neuroaffirming, trauma-informed therapy and evaluation services for clients in North Carolina.
However, supporting clients does not stop there. I believe that a huge part of offering affirming, culturally humble care also involves being able to help clients to connect with other supportive resources in their community. We help clients with a variety of significant life events – attending a new school, graduating from college, starting a new job, losing a job, buying and selling a home, relationships beginning and ending, chronic illness diagnosis and caregiver stress, and so much more. Many times, these life changes and transitions require the support of other professionals as well. And, I am more than happy to be able to point our clients in a well-vetted direction to assist them on their journey! Because when we have a lot of big stuff going on, the last thing we want to worry about is needing to do a deep dive on if this medical provider is affirming, if this realtor is going to be discriminatory, or if this massage therapist is trauma-informed!
In that regard, I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jennifer Halloran, PhD, BCPA to talk about her business, Everybody Needs A Nurse Patient Advocates. We spent some time chatting about the story of her company, how she became interested in the field and how people can be their own advocates but still need backup.
Here’s a recap of our conversation!
So, what does a patient advocate do, exactly? I’m familiar with the term but not sure exactly what it means to an average person dealing with the health care system.
It might make sense to make a distinction between independent patient advocates, such as Everybody Needs A Nurse, and advocates who work for institutions, such as hospitals and insurance agencies. They may all provide some help in coordinating your medical care, but independent advocates work only for you and consider your best interests first and foremost.
The advocates provided by a hospital or your insurance company work for them. They can be limited in what they advise or can have a different motivation, such as preventing lawsuits or mitigating losses. Those advocates may be offered free of charge, but you need to know that they may not put your health and wellbeing at the top of their priorities.
Once you know you are dealing with an independent patient advocate, you can expect them to support you and your priorities with the health care system. Patient advocates can have different specialties. For example, some work primarily with cancer diagnoses or auto-immune diseases. Some assist with the financial side of medical issues—billing and insurance.
Everybody Needs A Nurse supports elders and other adults with chronic medical conditions. We provide registered nurses to go to doctor visits, compile medical records, manage medications and, for our elder clients, make regular in-home visits. We also communicate with family and other loved ones, doctors and other providers, so everyone knows what is going on.
This kind of personal attention provides a continuous link between all your doctors and other providers, your loved ones and yourself so that nothing gets missed. It’s so difficult to keep track of a complex medical diagnosis when you’re sick and struggling. We take the burden off you and keep track of everything.
We’re also a sounding board for you to discuss your medical issues. Because we’re nurses, we know the health care system and how a body functions. So, if you have questions or need to make a big decision, we can help you clarify what would be involved.
Tell me a little about your business, Everybody Needs A Nurse. How did you start and how long have you been around?
We were founded in 2007 by Diane Halloran, RN, MPH when she retired after a 40-year career as a registered nurse. Diane saw the gaps in the health care system and that people were suffering unnecessarily from a lack of knowledge. I’m Diane’s daughter and I joined shortly after the company’s founding. Together we built our system for looking after elders and other adults with chronic issues.
Our mission is to keep people out of the hospital, the emergency room and rehab facilities and our system of in-home visits, accompanying people to doctor visits, medication management and communication has helped many people stay independent and healthy over the years.
We love this company and love what we do. If you had asked me when I was 15 if I would ever want to work with my mom, you would have gotten an earful! But it’s turned out to be the best job I could imagine. We love working together and making a real difference in our clients’ lives.
Do your nurses only see elders as clients?
No. Our company is called Everybody Needs A Nurse for a reason! Although our clients are predominantly seniors—and we are often hired by their loved ones who need support in caring for them—we also help any adult who can benefit from a patient advocate. We love providing backup for people at the doctor and helping people figure out the next destination on their health journey.
How does your business support members of the LGBTQIA+ community? What kinds of needs may be specific to LGBTQIA+ patients when dealing with the medical establishment?
To answer the last question first, yes and no. Bodies are bodies, and there’s nothing inherently different for any group of humans. But LGTBQIA+ people—like many marginalized groups–have historically been treated very poorly by the medical establishment. We have heard many stories about cruelty by so-called medical professionals and people feeling they need to hide their LGBTQIA+ identities in order to be treated with respect.
This is absolutely intolerable. And often having a patient advocate can make health care workers pay attention to their own actions, avoiding microaggressions, and macroaggressions. We are also a witness to any attempted abuse and can either say something on your behalf or be with you as you walk out. Of course, we follow our clients’ leads and do whatever they feel comfortable with, so we’re 100 percent there to do what feels most comfortable to you.
Checking in frequently with elder LGBTQIA+ individuals who live in senior residential communities also ensures they are being well taken care of. We can come at different times of day or on different days so that the staff knows someone is looking out for them and keeping tabs.
Tell me about the field of patient advocacy more broadly. How long has it been around? Are there companies like yours throughout the country?
I call patient advocacy a “baby profession” because, while people have been doing it casually forever, it is a pretty new professional field. I am a nationally board-certified patient advocate, but the board certification has only been in place for the past decade. Most patient advocacy practices are less than five years old. We’ve been in practice for over 17 years, which makes us the great grandparent of many of these new companies!
But I really see patient advocacy as the way of health care in the future. Who doesn’t need someone caring and experienced to have their back going to the doctor or when a medical emergency strikes?
How do you support “solo seniors,” people who are aging without children or family members nearby?
Solo seniors, or “elder orphans,” is a very fast-growing population in this country, as more people—through circumstance or decision—don’t have blood relations nearby. A lot of people look after their friends or other loved ones, but don’t feel qualified to be part of medical decision-making or don’t feel comfortable managing medications, for example.
We fill in those gaps. We provide that valuable continuity of care that most people are missing today and we communicate with whoever our client wishes. We can send our Family Reports to relatives in another state, their next-door neighbor, their old friend—whoever the client feels should know what’s going on with their health. Plus, the client always gets a copy as well, so they can have a record of what’s been going on with their health.
Our in-home visits with clients prevent the kinds of problems that turn into crises and going to the doctor with them helps the doctor see what’s been going on and address the client’s concerns.
How do you get paid? Do you take Medicare, Medicaid or other types of insurance?
Unfortunately, our services are not covered by public or private insurance. Like most services for elders, we only accept payment from our clients. However, this means we aren’t bound by rules about what we can and can’t advise.
Some long-term care policies do provide reimbursement for “medical management” and we do fall under that category.
Otherwise, we charge depending on your needs, either weekly or per visit. We offer free 30-minute discovery calls to find out what your needs are, whether we’re a good fit to help and what we charge for your situation.
How can someone get hold of you to book a discovery call or get more information?
Our website is www.EverybodyNeedsANurse.com, and you can find lots more information and resources there, including questions you should ask if you decide to hire a patient advocate. We even have a quiz that you can take to find out if you can benefit from a patient advocate for an aging parent or for yourself.
You can also reach me directly at jhalloran@EverybodyNeedsANurse.com or 919-475-5354. I’d be happy to speak with you about your situation.
Do You Need Therapeutic Support for Life Transitions, Chronic Illness, Or Caregiver Stress? Schedule Your Free 20-Minute Consult with A North Carolina Therapist Today!
Be BOLD Psychology and Consulting has several clinicians available with experience supporting you or your loved ones through a variety of life transitions and challenges, including navigating chronic illness, caregiving, and medical trauma. Get started with a North Carolina therapist by:
- Self-scheduling a free 20-minute consult here!
- Email: Info@beboldpsychnc.com
- Text or call: 919-525-1873
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