Patient Advocacy Now

The New Patient Advocacy 360° Community

Step Into PA360° Turn collaboration into referrals and practice growth Patient Advocacy 360° is a professional community where advocates connect, collaborate, and grow their practices. This brief video shows how PA360 helps advocates gain visibility, share expertise, and access new opportunities. PA360° helps advocates: Receive referrals through GNA’s Advocacy Support Center Highlight expertise when complex cases arise Collaborate with peers nationwide Access professional resources and industry partners Build stronger practices PA360° also serves as the sourcing hub for GNA’s Advocacy Support Center, creating new opportunities for advocates to be discovered when families need professional support. Already a GNA member? Access PA360° through your GNANOW member menu — no new password required. The platform feels familiar but is built exclusively for the profession — no distractions, just peers and opportunity. Step into PA360° today and start collaborating with advocates nationwide.

Building Systems That Last: Rebeka Acosta on Collaboration and Change

In this heartfelt episode, we welcome back pediatric advocate Rebeka Acosta, BCPA, for a deeply personal and inspiring conversation. Rebeka shares the emotional decision to step back from her advocacy practice to focus on her son’s health, while reflecting on the tremendous progress made for pediatric healthcare in Nevada. From her early work helping families navigate fragmented systems to the upcoming launch of the state’s first freestanding children’s hospital, she discusses the power of persistence, collaboration, and community voice in driving meaningful change. Rebeka also opens up about how advocates can build strong relationships with community organizations, turning shared goals into lasting partnerships that improve care for children and families. She explains the value of showing up in person, building trust, and creating connections that outlast any one practice or individual. Through her work with organizations like Gigi’s Playhouse, she has helped transform how local centers empower parents, volunteers, and staff to better support families with complex medical needs. As the conversation turns to mentorship and the future of the field, Rebeka reflects on what new advocates need most: emotional resilience, community, and a clear understanding of their unique value. She shares candid lessons from her own journey and a vision for a more unified advocacy movement, one where independent advocates, healthcare providers, and community leaders work together to create a system that truly serves children and families.

Systems Insider to Board-Certified Advocate: Veterans, Mental Health, and Real-World Care

Rachel J Nash traces her journey from rehabilitation counseling roles inside large systems (state vocational services, VA, Medicaid social work) to launching a private advocacy practice anchored in ethics, transparency, and patient empowerment. She explains why board certification matters to her—adherence to a code of ethics, continuing education, and clear boundaries such as not serving as a client’s POA—and how her work today focuses on adults, especially veterans and civilians with complex, long-ignored issues. Rachel demystifies VA basics like what a 10% service-connected disability rating enables, why continuity of care and accurate documentation strengthen claims, and how presumptive exposures (e.g., Agent Orange, burn pits) can link later conditions to service. She dives into mental health advocacy, candidly noting her own bipolar diagnosis and using it to frame a practical “cake” model where medication and therapy are only two ingredients alongside sleep, movement, relationships, purpose, and faith. She calls the mental health system the hardest to navigate due to stigma, overmedication, rushed visits, poor follow-through, and scarce beds or step-down programs; her counter is meticulous preparation, written timelines, and modeling collaborative, respectful communication in the exam room. Boots on the ground in the Carolinas, Rachel attends appointments, coordinates across providers and insurers, and insists on clients having “skin in the game” as true partners. Her one big system wish: more doctors with time and latitude to practice real medicine. Resources Mentioned: nashadvocacy@gmail.com 704-254-1407 https://www.va.gov https://www.pacboard.org

The Power of Person Centered Care with Cynthia Overton

In this episode, we sit down with author and advocate Cynthia Overton to discuss her new book, The Clear Cane Chronicles, which explores what person-centered care really looks like in practice. Cynthia explains the evolution of models of care from traditional to patient-centered to person-centered and how the last one looks beyond the medical condition to the whole individual, considering lifestyle, relationships, and beliefs. She shares her personal journey of surviving spinal cord surgery in her twenties and how her recovery shaped her passion for improving healthcare systems to be more compassionate, collaborative, and responsive. Cynthia opens up about the critical role her family played in her healing process and the challenges she faced navigating the insurance system when coverage for her life-saving surgery was initially denied. Drawing on established frameworks such as the Picker Principles and the National Advisory Board’s six principles, she outlines how providers and patients can work together to achieve better outcomes. She also shares how modern healthcare organizations, such as One Medical, exemplify person-centered care through accessibility, convenience, and genuine collaboration between doctors and patients. Listeners will learn how Cynthia’s experiences and research have informed her call for systemic change, empowering patients to take an active role in their own care while urging providers and payers to adopt practices rooted in empathy, dignity, and partnership. Her book, The Clear Cane Chronicles, is available on Amazon, and Cynthia will soon share excerpts and practical insights for patients on her website and Instagram.

Opening Skies for Sick Kids: How Miracle Flights Helps Families Reach Lifesaving Care

In this episode, we speak with Dana Jarvis from MiracleFlights.org, a nonprofit that has provided more than 165,000 free flights over the past 40 years to help children access specialized medical care not available near home. Serving all 50 states, Miracle Flights covers commercial airfare for pediatric patients aged 17 and under who must travel for treatment of rare, chronic, or complex medical conditions. Dana explains that once a child flies with Miracle Flights even once before turning 18, they become eligible for continued support as adults for future medical needs, ensuring long-term access to care. Dana highlights how Miracle Flights assists families facing conditions that often require multiple follow-up visits, such as organ transplants, neuroblastoma, or club foot. She describes partnerships with top hospitals like the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and the Paley Foundation in Boca Raton. The organization focuses on removing logistical and financial barriers so parents can choose the best possible specialists for their children. The discussion also explores how Miracle Flights has modernized and simplified the application process. By visiting miracleflights.org and clicking “Request a Flight,” applicants can complete nine brief pre-screening questions in just a few minutes to determine preliminary eligibility. The process is intentionally transparent and compassionate, minimizing paperwork and providing fast clarity to families under stress. For more details, applicants can consult the checklist and FAQ sections on the website. Advocates and healthcare professionals can reach out directly to Dana Jarvis at djarvis@miracleflights.org to schedule informational presentations or learn how to help clients apply. Whether supporting a transplant follow-up or a specialized procedure, Miracle Flights aims to make sure no child is denied critical care simply because of distance.