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Greetings!
As we head into the summer, we are gearing up and digging into a lot of work ahead. Like most people in our country, our HealthAdvocateX Board has been discussing and grappling with the racial, ethnic, social and economic disparities that impact our family, friends and neighbors. At our strategic retreat, our Board committed to spending time exploring what these issues mean to us and how HealthAdvocateX might take steps to learn, educate, inspire and act.

One specific area that we will be integrating into our HealthAdvocateX practices is including a Land Acknowledgement at the beginning our meetings as a way to help us recognize and celebrate indigenous people of the land in which we live and work. In fact, at our June Board meeting, we all researched the indigenous people of the land where each of us lives and works. It was fascinating to hear how each person found the information and how many of the lands had overlaps of indigenous people.

In addition to our meetings, we will be including the following Land Acknowledgment on our Website:

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:


We know that we are at the very beginning of this journey to understand and take action on issues that affect health equity and social justice....we welcome your thoughts, suggestions and your participation as we venture forward.
Here's to your good health,

Robin Shapiro (Board Chair) and the Team at HealthAdvocateX
HealthAdvocateX is excited to announce our National Conference Topic – ‘Health Advocacy Now: Lessons From the Pandemic’ will now be open for speakers to submit proposals.

Please submit your ideas here and watch for updates for the 2021 Conference here. We are anticipating opening Early Bird Tickets July 15.
Thank you to Brad Schwartz, founder of Greater National Advocates (GNA), for becoming our Presenting Sponsor for the National Conference for the second year in a row! The GNA mission is to wake up the nation to the lifesaving benefits of Independent Patient Advocacy and provide patients and loved ones with immediate online access to advocates at www.GNANOW.org where they can learn more and find the professional support they need.
Professional Networking - July 2021
When: July 8, 2021 | 4pm – 5:30pm (PT)
Where: Online via Zoom (Register Here)
Cost: $15 for Members | $20 for Non-Members

Join Professional Advocates and other allied professionals in a virtual networking event designed to support your health advocacy business. This session will include YOUR Experience with how you evaluate client prospects. Be ready to learn and share what is working in terms of business development and practice. Note: You do not have to be a HealthAdvocateX Member to attend this event!

The objectives of ProfessionalNetworking sessions include:
  • Grow your network of advocates you know and trust
  • Exchange ideas about advocacy best practices
  • Learn new information related to health advocacy
  • Receive peer feedback on challenges and opportunities

Interested in becoming a HealthAdvocateX Member? Click here to learn more.
Community Conversation - COVID Updates
When: July 12, 2021 | 11am – 12pm (PT)
Where: Online via Zoom (Register Here)
Cost: FREE!

We will host our monthly Community Conversation with Dr. Dale Reisner, MD, Medical Director (OB/GYN Quality and Safety) at Swedish Health Services. The topic will be updates on the pandemic where we will review the latest stats and sort out information we know and do not know about COVID-19. Please join us for this free monthly conversation.

Syreeta Nolan is a disability justice advocate. She serves as co-founder of Disabled in Higher Education on Twitter (@DisInHigherEd) and is the founder of JADE (Justice, Advocacy and Disability Education) as a holistic disabled justice platform focused on empowering disabled students, faculty, staff and alumni through community and support. She recently graduated with her Bachelor’s in Human Health Psychology from the University of California San Diego. As a board member of HealthAdvocateX, she hopes to expand the reach of health advocacy in partnership with her organization while bringing disability advocacy and health advocacy together.

You might remember that Gina has served as WASHAA Board Secretary and stepped off the Board to serve as General Counsel for the last 18 months to help the organization navigate IP/Legal issues surrounding our evolving to HealthAdvocateX. THANK YOU, Gina for your service in this capacity and we are delighted to have you back on the Board, as a Board Member and ad hoc member of our Executive Committee!

We are delighted to welcome Sarah Morton to our team as Strategic Advisor, where she will also focus on building relationships with members and partners. Sarah spent a career in the investment industry before working as a program officer for a foundation that funded individuals and families experiencing hardship. She became interested in health advocacy while helping family members navigate illnesses and decided to pursue a degree that would align with helping all patients access the care they need. Sarah can be reached at sarah.morton@healthadvocatex.org

She earned an MA in Health Advocacy from Assumption University and is a Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA). She also earned an MBA from the University of New Hampshire’s Peter Paul School of Business and Economics and a BA from Colby College.
Other Programs / Events / Opportunities You May Enjoy
The event represents the coming together of hundreds of Black people across many disciplines to focus on our healing, health, and education as we lift one another and highlight our excellence.

This year's theme is "Lift As We Climb" and we invite you to join us as we celebrate our first year together.
"Maximizing and Simplifying Assessments and Documentation"

Guest Speaker - Shanna Huber, RN, BSN, MSN/Ed, CCM, CLCP, CNLCP, Aging Life Care Manager Ripple Life Care Planning

Shanna in an RN and the founder of My Junna which is a software company that caters to care managers and patient advocates.

You must register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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.

This study will help ALL Advocates by continuing to define the profession.Please consider taking the Survey before July 15 – 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
July 8: Professional Networking (Register Here)
July 12: Community Conversation (Register Here)
August 4: Professional Networking (Register Here)
August 9: Community Conversation (Register Here)
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: **Save the Date** HealthAdvocateX Annual Conference
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!


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

Please submit ideas to info@HealthAdvocateX.org
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