What type of advocacy are you currently involved in or hoping to be?

Hi! I worked in health and human services my entire career, about 50 years. As a professional caregiver, a nursing assistant and home health aide, I worked in hospital, nursing homes, and home health care. Inqiring on behalf of elderly patients "what can be done" to improve their lives and care in whatever setting they lived in is how my advocacy work began.

When physically I could no longer provide direct care, I stayed in the field, as a Medical Secretary, Hospital Library Assistant, Medical Records Coordinator, Evidence-Based Program Manager, continued on as Volunteer and Program Manager for a regional Long Term Care Ombudsman program. An Ombudsman is an advocate for those in long term care. The latter I did for about 15 years, and what I retired from, about two years after the Pandemic.

Personally, I mothered children, one of whom was special needs, doing well now, as an adult, and was caregiver for my parents, till their passing. In those situations advocacy was necessary; for my child to receive adequate services and for my parents to be listenedto annd respected.


I continued to work part time, in Community Outreach for a small non-profit offering programs and services as a Caregiver Respite Retreat with Accessible Gardens.

Now in my "second retirement", I have earned certificates in Care Outdoors and Patient Leadership. I started a substack called COMING OF AGE, and as a Certified Sage-ing Leader, I lead groups in workshops and webinars in Conscious Aging and Spiritual Eldering.

My hope is to share my experience, strenth, and hope with those just starting out and to encourage and support those in the field. Perhaps I will teach, formally or informally, and will definitely write.

I have been in advocacy for 15 years or more. I went to the Summit on Capitol Hill with the Arthritis Foundation and have been a Platinum Ambassador with them. I have been with SHN since they were WEGO and have several years of experience working with them. I was a judge for 12 years on the Awards and have been nominated for Awards many times. I have voted for many Legislative/Healthcare Policies. As a Platinum Ambassador, I was invited to return to Washington, DC, for a second year. I became ill with a severe Lupus Flare and Pneumonia that year, so I did not get to go. There are so many things I have done over the years. I put up banners for the Pain Foundation around my town for several years. I worked with Tiffany and her foundation long before she got her non-profit paperwork. I still put up Facebook information from them. I am now actively involved in changing the way doctors treat patients. Rather than keeping us well, they were taught in medical school to treat us after we are ill. I am for some natural approaches as far as medicines. I have several Facebook Pages. I have my own blog that I post on. My blog has been up for 15 years.

- Community Awareness & Education
- Legislative Advocacy

- Healthcare Collaborator

I do all of these independently and with MEActionMD, a chapter of MEAction National (meaction.net).

I also do all of this within the owner trainer service dog community and have been since approximately 2009.

I’ve been advocating since the age of 14 when I was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, my advocacy has transitioned over the years to keep up with the time and continued changes of research developments and patient needs.

Today, I’ve been getting more involved with Healthcare Collaborations. I’m a grass roots advocate and thoroughly enjoy making connections and providing resources to lupus patients in the areas I serve.