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Chapter Report by Maryanne Falcone, President
Nancy Stevens, Patient Representative at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health
Network is retiring as of February 22, 2002. Congratulations and best
wishes! Her replacement will be Kimberly Badillo.
Healthcare Consumer Advocacy Week
 | April 14-20, 2002 |
Sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, patient
representatives and advocates across the nation will focus on increasing public
awareness of this very special "friend" consumers have in the
healthcare system.
The primary role of the patient advocate or representative is to concentrate
directly on complaints and problems brought forth by patients or family members
and to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Giving the patient a
voice is of the utmost importance to patient representatives as it is often
difficult for patients to articulate problems or to access the appropriate
decision-makers very well. The service a patient advocate or
representative provides is invaluable in terms of ensuring patients' concerns
are heard and resolved as well as keeping the consumers satisfied.
To access your patient advocate, contact your local hospital and ask for the
patient advocate or representative. If they do not have an advocate, ask
to speak with the administrator to discuss your issues and concerns. More
information about the patient representatives in the Southeastern Pennsylvania
and Delaware hospitals can be found on our member
page.
Please see http://www.shca-aha.org/advocacy.asp
for more information and ideas to celebrate this very special week.
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