In addition to my one to one client work, I am grateful tor the opportunities I have as a community educator. The last months of 2023 have been busy!

I have navigated a unique form of laryngitis, presented at Massachusetts and National Conferences, offered programming in collaboration with area and national partner organizations, been quoted in articles and a recently published book, and celebrated the impact of the Navigating Solo Network during it’s 2nd anniversary!

Ailene Gerhardt, Board Certified Patient Advocate (BCPA), Certified Senior Advisor®, founder of Beacon Patient Solutions and the Navigating Solo Network was named Independent Advocate of the Year at the 2023 Healthcare Advocate Summit held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Healthcare Advocate Summit, now in its third year, was designed for advocates, by advocates™ and is the premier event for anyone involved in patient access, navigation, and reimbursement. The Healthcare Advocate Summit recognizes that advocates working directly with patients/clients and healthcare staff can provide critical insights for improving the patient journey and outcomes.

The Healthcare Advocate Summit recognizes that advocates working directly with patients/clients and healthcare staff can provide critical insights for improving the patient journey and outcomes.

In 2023, the organizers of the Healthcare Advocate Summit partnered with the Coalition of Health Care Advocacy Organizations (CHCAO) to offer the Independent Patient and Health Care Advocate Education Track during the September 2023 Healthcare Advocate Summit held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana!

This event brought the independent advocate national community together in person for top-notch programming aimed at building skills and setting the tone for the future of Professional Patient and Health Care Advocacy. In addition, the Summit served as a prime opportunity to grow and spread awareness of independent advocacy and Board Certified Patient Advocates (BCPA).

It has been one month since I began navigating life with an uncommon form of laryngitis. The great news is my voice is improving daily. I am getting closer and closer to sounding like myself (without the need for voice cloning). The challenge is to not overuse my voice, re-injure it, or damage it further. Whenever possible, I need to stay silent and utilize alternative methods for communication. I must admit that part is very hard.

To continue on a path of healing with the goal of returning to using my voice again to advocate for myself and others, I have spent time creating solutions for every day and a plan to navigate all parts of an upcoming national conference.

As an independent board-certified patient advocate, solo aging advocate, and community educator, I devote a lot of time to encouraging/assisting clients and community education presentation attendees to create a variety of plans.

Planning is needed to navigate the wide array of complexities of the healthcare system. Solo agers (older adults 55+ without the reliable support of adult children or family members) need to intentionally craft a plan for aging well that includes carefully chosen support system members, healthcare management, financial and legal plans, housing plans, and advance care plans.  Every adult needs to plan for emergencies – medical, financial, natural disasters, etc.

All plans should ideally include backup plans.