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Greetings!
Hello from beautiful British Columbia! We are finally able to cross the border into Canada and visit my husband’s family place in a little town north of Nanaimo. It has been 16 months since we were here last (March 11, 2020) and we left thinking we would be back in a couple of weeks.

During the time we were gone, several friends (and elderly parents) died up here, some neighbors were newly diagnosed then treated for cancer, new buildings were built, restaurants closed and a new one opened. It was the first time in 40 years my husband missed coming here. 

Before travelling here, we were starting to increase our masking, social distancing and other safety measures as we learned of several friends and colleagues from across the nation who had break-through COVID with serious symptoms, two of them ending up in the hospital.

We are not where we thought we might be regarding the pandemic. There is still a lot of work ahead in terms of understanding this virus and its potential impact. That is why we are excited to explore many aspects at our Conference, November 4-5, 2021. Please plan to join us!!
Here's to your good health,

Robin Shapiro (Board Chair) and the Team at HealthAdvocateX
HealthAdvocateX is finalizing our agenda and will be adding some special sessions for Saturday, November 6. Our theme is: ‘Health Advocacy Now: Lessons From the Pandemic.’

Interested speakers can submit your ideas here. Please watch for updates for the 2021 Conference here.


Early Bird tickets are now available here:
Case Review – Thursday, September 9, 2020 – 7 pm ET/4 pm PT ~ FREE to Professional Members
Topic: Navigating Eldercare and Mental Health From Afar
Case Review - September 2021
When: September 9, 2021 | 4pm – 5:30pm (PT)
Where: Online via Zoom

Sheryl Kalbach, MSW, LISCW, Banister Advisors Navigator with more than 25 years of experience as a medical social worker will be presenting the case: Navigating Eldercare and Mental Health from Afar on Thursday, September 9 at 4 pm PT. This case will cover issues that include:
  • When what the client’s initial call is just the tip of the iceberg for what care they need
  • How to manage expectations around resolution in a timeline and project creep
  • Determining who the real client is when payment is being made by other parties
  • How to stay in your area of expertise and scope of work

Find out more about Sheryl’s background here: https://www.banisteradvisors.com/about 

Case Review is a free benefit of HealthAdvocateX Professional/Partner Membership. To sign up, contact us at info@HealthAdvocateX.org.

Interested in becoming a HealthAdvocateX Member? Click here to learn more.
Other Programs / Events / Opportunities You May Enjoy
Designing Your Practice Webinar: ABC-About Building Confidence presented by Nancy Ruffner

This webinar is part of the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Designing Your Practice series on starting, building, and sustaining a healthcare advocate business.
Join Nancy Ruffner, BS, BCPA, a dynamic healthcare advocate, coach, and consultant, for an interactive webinar where you will learn how to use your confidence and turn everyday experiences into WINS by building upon a foundation you already have. In harnessing a few simple techniques, you can train your confidence muscle and develop confidence that will be recognized by potential clientele, colleagues, professional partners, and referral sources.
Healthcare advocates at all levels will learn how to exercise the confidence muscle to build and grow a successful business.

In this webinar, you will learn to use your confidence muscle to:
  • Better deal with conflict
  • Improve your communication skills
  • Be a better leader to take and give feedback

Event is: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at Noon PT/3 pm ET
When: Thursday, August 19, 2021, at 11:00-12:00 P.T./2:00-3:00 E.T.

Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, is the part of Medicare that covers most outpatient prescription drugs. Part D prescription drug plans are offered through private insurance companies that make initial decisions at the pharmacy about whether a beneficiary’s prescription will be covered. If a beneficiary’s Part D plan denies payment for a prescription, they have the right to appeal that decision. In this training, you will learn about how to help beneficiaries through the Part D appeals process. The ability to successfully navigate these appeals is vital to ensuring affordable access to prescription medications for millions of beneficiaries.

Participants will learn to:
1. Identify reasons why coverage for a prescription may have been denied;
2. Help Medicare beneficiaries through the appeals process; and
3. Brainstorm strategies for accessing prescription drugs outside of the appeals process.

Presenter:
  • Casey Schwarz, Senior Counsel, Education & Federal Policy, Medicare Rights Center

Closed captioning will be available on this webcast. A link with access to the captions will be shared through GoToWebinar’s chat box shortly before the webcast start time.

This training will be presented in a WEBCAST format to accommodate more participants. Due to the high volume of participants, computer audio will be the only option to listen to the presentation. No telephone call-in number will be provided. Please plan accordingly. Thank you. 
This webcast will be recorded and available on our website shortly after the presentation. The recording and training materials will also be emailed to all registrants within a few days after the training.

The webcast will take place on Thursday, August 19, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET and will run for one hour.
The Joint Commission and TakeCHARGE: 
Standards and Resources to Improve Staff Engagement
Mark A. Crafton, MPA, MT (ASCP)
Executive Director, Strategic Alliances Division of Business Development Government & External Relations at The Joint Commission 
Date: Monday, September 13, 2021
Time: 7:00 PM (EST)

This Program is Free to Attend
Room opens 15 minutes early for networking

The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest health care standards-setting organization, impacting over 23,000 health care providers and facilities across the entire continuum of care. Participants in this session will gain a greater understanding of how The Joint Commission strives to improve the quality and safety for all patients, as well as how its standards and resources help achieve this mission. In addition, attendees will receive information on Joint Commission activities specifically supporting the TakeCHARGE campaign’s 5 Steps to Safer Healthcare.

This program is approved for 1 CE by the Patient Advocate Certification Board to satisfy the requirements for Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA). Program Approval Code 18148.

Pulse CPSEA charges a separate fee to process Continuing Education (CE) credits and certificates. Fee for 1 CE is $20.   Use Approval Code # 18148 when making payment.                      

Register at www.PulsePPS.org  
October 6th and 7th, 2021 
7:45 AM – 12:30 PM Pacific 
Healthcare Professionals: $75 
Patients, Families, and Students: Free 

The Washington Patient Safety Coalition’s Northwest Patient Safety Conference is back this year as an entirely virtual event over two half-days on October 6-7, 2021. The event will bring together healthcare professionals and patients to explore how to pursue safety differently and engage in topical sessions on advancing equity in patient safety, empathetic engagement with patients, rebuilding safer health systems. 

More information is available here: WPSC website.
Have you already taken the Job Task Force Analysis Survey (JTA) for Patient Advocates, developed by the Patient Advocate Certification Board? If you are committed to advancing the field of advocacy, and whether or not you intend to become BCPA-certified, the survey can help advance the profession of health and patient advocacy by identifying and validating tasks and knowledge important in the work performed by Patient Advocates.

Please contact PACB to see if you qualify for a BCPA CE when taking the survey.

This study will help ALL Advocates by continuing to define the profession.Please consider taking the Survey before August 30 – it will take an hour – but will be worth it to continue to advance the field.

Find a link to the survey here:
HealthAdvocateX Calendar
September 9: Case Review (for Professional & Partner Members only)
September 13: Community Conversation (Register Here)
October 7: Professional Networking (Register Here)
October 11: Community Conversation (Register Here)
November 4-5: HealthAdvocateX Annual Conference (Register Here)
December 2: Professional Networking (Register Here)
December 13: Community Conversation (Register Here)
Programs & Presentations
Although HealthAdvocateX speakers can give presentation on many topics, here are a few of our popular presentations: 

  • Advance Care Planning (In partnership with Honoring Choices)
  • Taming Your Medicine Cabinet
  • The ABCs of an Effective Doctor Visit
  • Patient Know More...Patient No More!
  • The Emerging Field of Health Advocacy 
  • Safe & Sound in the Hospital: A Short Course in Patient Safety 
  • Volunteer Health Advocate Training: Understanding the Role & Skills to Be Effective

To schedule a speaker for your community, please submit your request here: http://www.washaa.org/request-a-presentation.html

Have a topic you wish we offered? Let us know - let's talk!


HealthAdvocateX is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. We acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe. We invite you to join us in acknowledging and thanking indigenous people for their ongoing stewardship wherever you are located.
Land Acknowledgement Challenge

Will you help us? We invite YOU to research and submit the name of the people, your location and how you would word your own personal land acknowledgement. Our Board will be selecting and reading land acknowledgements from across the country at our Monthly Board Meetings. You can submit it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hadvx-land-acknowledgement



Do you have something you would like to share with the HealthAdvocateX community?

Please submit ideas to info@HealthAdvocateX.org
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