When Friends Become Advocates: It’s Working in Omaha

For so many independent patient advocates, it can be a scary proposition to go it alone. In this episode, we hear from two good friends from Omaha, Nebraska who joined forces and combined their unique individual skills to create a rewarding, impactful, and fun patient advocacy practice. Nicky Wik has a long history working on the administrative side of healthcare, learning the business of medicine and overseeing quality control for physical therapy clinics. She was awakened to the need for advocacy when nobody followed up with her father after he was tested following chest pains. She learned that you can never assume the healthcare system is going to do their job. She met Becky Korinek, a teacher who was serving lunch Nicky’s kindergartener. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out how they connected. In our discussion, Nicky and Becky describe how they started their practice, who they serve, what they do, how they get the word out about advocacy in Omaha, and the importance of staying connected with other advocates. Most importantly, Nicky and Becky are in lock step when it comes to the need for effective communication with physicians. That’s why their clients become part of the family. Establishing client trust ensures that advocates are best able to help them inform to healthcare teams what they should know.