Patient Advocacy in Springfield & Eugene
We sat down for an interview with Urmi Boyd, the president of Patient Care Advisors to find out exactly what Patient Advocacy is, who it’s designed for, and what kind of impact it’s making on our community.
*Note: Update to this post, Patient Care Advisors is now known as: Senior Resource Advisors.
What is Patient Advocacy?
Patient Advocacy is an emerging field in the medical industry. It’s only been on the scene for a few years now and is already making an incredible impact on how some patients interact with the medical system. If you hadn’t heard of it, Patient Advocacy is defined as, “an area of specialization in health care concerned with advocacy for patients, survivors, and caregivers.” In essence; patient advocacy is an individual or organization who takes care of people who may not be able to care for themselves and doesn’t have anyone, like family, to be there for them. And if that sounds like a broad description… that’s because it is.
While encompassing a very large range of action, Patient Advocacy boils down to a few simple ideas: People. Community and Resources. Listening to people and understanding their specific situation, rather than trying to put them in boxes. Knowing the unique community strengths, weaknesses and needs. And finally, connecting the two by best utilizing the available resources in order to help the most people possible. Urmi Boyd describes it this way, “We look outside the box, create access to resources that can be difficult to find- or hard to understand. And in some cases, we have to problem solve when the resources don’t exist.”
A Wide Range of Services
Patient Advocacy means looking out for patients interests and helping them navigate through their care options. But what exactly those care options are- depend on so many various factors that are as unique as the individual. It’s not just where you’re at, it’s where you’ve been, what’s happened to you, what you’re going through. A person’s health, finances, family support – all play large roles in what kind of medical care is right for their situation.
“Everything is case by case and there is no blueprint for this work, which is a reflection of how unique life is. It makes our connections with patients very special.” Says Urmi.
Patient Care Advisors does such a wide range of things to help patients- it can be hard to define because the care they provide is unique to each person. Here’s a short list of the various types of support that Patient Care Advisors provides:
- Transportation to and from medical appointments
- Problem solving tough personal situations
- Understanding and completing medical paperwork
- Consultations and Referrals
- Communicating difficult situations with the family
- Help navigating the Hospice process
- Help navigating the Medicare and Medicaid Process
- Help through a divorce
- Helping understand medical finances, billing and budgets- including figuring out how to pay for prescriptions
- Helping family members figure out next steps once a loved one has passed
- Helping with transitions in housing and finding appropriate- enjoyable and cost effective living situations
Bringing it Home
Bringing this kind of care to our community is a big job: but Urmi is well suited for it. Not only has she put together a stellar team of medical professionals, all of whom share a common interest in doing good. She has a background in business and finance- as well as and an understanding of Lane County only obtainable by living here. She works with a multitude of other local community partners including in-home care agencies, hospitals, Hospice Pet Advocates and the families of patients. She knows this community and has her sights on making Patient Care Advisors a known resource in our medical ecosystem. She signed up for both the Springfield and Eugene chamber on the same day because she wants to create a strong local brand and be as active as possible.
Urmi says it best, summarizing all we learned about her and the excellent work her team does:
“Nobody knows our patients like we do.”
A big thank you to Urmi Boyd for sharing with us what Patient Care Advisors is all about. It’s nice to know there are good people out there, looking out for those who need it most. If you want to learn more about Patient Care Advisors, visit their website– or if you’re in need of their services or know someone who is, give them a call at: (541) 968-9380. *Note: Update to this post, Patient Care Advisors is now known as: Senior Resource Advisors.
