It’s the #4 Reason to Attend WASHAA’s Annual Meeting!

This week in Chicago, health advocates are gathering at a national meeting to advance the field of health advocacy.  At our upcoming WASHAA Annual Meeting, November 14, you can hear the latest that is happening on the national scene in independent health advocacy.  Three of our Washington state pioneers are attending the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants (NAHAC) meeting and the National Credentialing Workgroup meeting in Chicago this week.

You will be the first to hear about the progress being made in the field (including best practices standards) and hear about some of the issues health advocates and patients face.

Need another reason to attend our WASHAA Annual Meeting?

Top Five Reasons To Attend WASHAA Annual Meeting

5. Healthy  Food

4. Updates on the National Field of Health Advocacy

3. Networking

2. Hear Why Academics are Betting on Health Advocacy

1. Because Health Advocacy is Like Puppies

Don’t delay in registering for the event.  Also, if you are not currently a WASHAA member, consider joining today: www.washaa.org.

Be sure to check the blog weekly for more updates about the upcoming event! We look forward to seeing you there!

On May 2nd and May 3d, WASHAA hosted its two-day advocacy event at the Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle. 

The May 2nd round-table discussion featured national speaker Trisha Torrey, recognized Seattle rheumatologist Steve Overman, MD and the executive director of the impactful Cautious Patient Foundation, Bill Thatcher. About 35 people attended the lively discussion and then networked for hours with the speakers and each other at the social event. The excitement in the room was obvious!

On May 3rd, Trisha Torrey brought her sought-after business and marketing training seminars for advocates to Seattle. A select number of advocates participated in an engaging day-long seminar that turned out to be very valuable for all! 

See pictures from both events here and here. See you at the next WASHAA gathering! 

At this Holiday Season, the first of many to come for WASHAA, we send thanks and appreciation to all WASHAA members and friends for being an early supporter of health advocacy in Washington State and of our organization!  

We are celebrating our first year of business, having accomplished a lot thanks to your support: 

• WASHAA website is rapidly gaining traction: Several hundred unique visitors a month stop by our WASHAA website, live only since April 2013.
• Directory is in demand: The WASHAA Advocate Directory is steadily growing and is repeatedly on the top 3 most visited pages on our site every month.
• 1st event was a success: 70 people came to our 1st Annual WASHAA Meeting and learned about the State of the Industry, WASHAA's mission and exciting programs, and expanded their professional network. 
• WASHAA is at the center of educational standards discussions: We are actively involved in efforts to shape educational curricula for 2-year and 4-year colleges in our state around health/patient advocacy and care coordination.
• WASHAA is shaping national professional certification efforts: A pioneering effort is underway to establish professional standards for those that advocate for patients and two members of the WASHAA Board of Directors are actively participating in the national Patient Advocate Certification Steering Committee.   

Our organization's rapid growth, reflects the enthusiasm and need for recognition of the advocacy field, promotion of best practices and expansion of advocacy services' reach to patients and their families. We are honored to be carrying out this work and look forward to a new year full of exciting programs for our members and the public with your continued support and participation.   

My warmest wishes to you and your family this Holiday Season.
Happy Holidays - Healthy, Prosperous and Happy 2014! 

Io Dolka
WASHAA Executive Director

Our first event on the State of the Health Advocacy Industry was a big success according to your feedback! Thank you to the nearly 70 people that gathered early on November 1 to network and learn about the current developments in health advocacy across the country and in Washington state.

The program included a State of the Health Advocacy Industry address by WASHAA Executive Director, Io Dolka; an outline of WASHAA’s Mission, Vision and Programming by WASHAA Board Chair Robin Shapiro; and culminated in the panel discussing the impact of the emerging field of patient advocacy on patients, providers, academic institutions and advocates.

The panel of distinguished guests included:

• Beth Droppert, RN, BSN, CEO Allied Health Advocates; 
  
• Sima Kahn, MD, Founder, Healthcare Advocacy Partners; 
  
• Kevin Kussman, Associate Vice President of Corporate & Continuing Education, Clark College; 
  
• Dale Reisner, MD, Medical Director at Swedish Medical Center and President of the Washington State Medical Association
  
• Andrea Mulrain, cancer survivor and advocate 
  

Strong interest was evident in the room with attendees actively participating in the discussion throughout the event. Find your self in the audience and read attendee feedback at our photos and feedback page.  

Since November 1st, many new members have joined our organization making our effort stronger and helping us grow the WA State Health Advocates Directory to provide patients and their caregivers advocacy options for their healthcare needs.

Happy One Year anniversary to WASHAA! We were excited to celebrate with the Board of Directors (BOD) all of the accomplishments made in 12 months since our first Board meeting in July 2012.  

In just a year, we completed our incorporation, became a WA State Charity, built our website, established the WASHAA Code of Ethics and our membership levels and started accepting our first members. All of that was possible thanks to a dedicated BOD that believes strongly in the need and value of a statewide Health Advocacy organization and thanks to a number of volunteer professionals that offered their time to help us achieve our goals. 

We are deeply grateful to each and everyone of you and look forward to an exciting and productive future ahead!   

P.S. The cake was amazing!