Althea P. Halchuck, EJD, CT, BCPA

I see it as a violation of our Code of Ethics under Professional Conduct:
“Advocates are personally and professionally accountable for their actions; they must avoid
impropriety and maintain professional boundaries and practices at all times. Such
boundaries extend to interpersonal relationships with clients, clients’ families, and o…[Read more]

Just an FYI, I contacted Go Daddy and they said my webside builder was for marketing and NOT ADA compliant and I would have to start over and rebuild. They suggested I re-build in WordPress and I can edit there. Seems like a lot of time, money and rebuilding.

I don’t have experience as a patient advocate but as a friend. When I lived in California, I had a good friend whose wife had Scleroderma for over 30 years. In her case, it was a sloShe was always coldw mover but in the end, she was completely disabled and bedridden for the last couple years. They were very involved with the Scleroderma…[Read more]

I was a LT Care Ombud for 7 years, I have health law degree, and I am a long-time hospice volunteer. The good ombud can act as a mediator between the family and the facility to get everything on the table and give the lady a voice. The only real power I had was I could threaten to report a facility or admin to the health dept and just the treat…[Read more]

On a personal note, two weeks ago I had cataract surgery on my left eye; today it’s my right eye. Doc said left eye has healed “perfect.” When do you ever hear the word “perfect’ in health care? I’m actually looking forward to having the surgery so both eyes see with the same clarity. The difference is astounding! Colors are sharper, brighter and…[Read more]

I think they started as medical malpractice insurers and have expanded into lots of other health and wellness areas. They insure birth doulas so it was a natural choice to insure death doulas too. I think birth doulas have many more liability issues than death doulas, maybe that’s why the cost is reasonable. Sometimes it’s just semantics and you…[Read more]

I’ve been using them since I started in business in early 2020. I have end-of-life doula professional liability insurance. Most of my services fall under the doula umbrella. I pay less much less for this insurance than my mediator liability with a different agency.
They are a very easy company to work…[Read more]

It was great to meet everyone in person and hang out or gab at breaks—so many advocates, so little time. The best part for me was seeing Trish honored for the exceptional lady that she is. Many of us remarked that Trish was our inspiration and guide as we developed our businesses and continue to build our practices. The video tribute to her and t…[Read more]

Half of the advance directive is appointing a HC-POA or Surrogate. The other half is the “Living Will,” which gives written instructions to the HC-POA and can be as “limiting” as the patient wants it to be; that’s the whole point. It’s not about the POA or what they want. It’s about the patient’s wishes, end-of-life goals of care, and values. Som…[Read more]

I use Docu-Sign. I find it very easy to use for me and my clients. DS keeps a record of past documents and signatures. I have not had any issues with it at all. I pay $120/yr.

I have registered and arranged travel and hotel! Can’t wait to meet people in person.

Thanks for the education. My sister is a lung cancer drug rep for Astra Zeneca and, she told me much the same thing. Our sister-in-law also has Parkinson’s and had a lot of testing this past year. I’m surprised no one thought to ask about her cough and weakness. Whatever cancer is in her body, wherever it started, is killing her, the doctors sug…[Read more]

Oh no, Linda Beck. Sorry for your trouble. I just had my trademark application hijacked along with 5,500 other US trademarks. They cancelled my application in the final step, while i was awaiting USPTO attorney approval and I lost all the fees I had paid. A Pakistani company was responsible for the hack and the Trademark office rep told me this…[Read more]

A personal story is my sister-in-law who complained of shortness of breath, a cough, and had weight loss for close to a year. She thought she might have pneumonia but the doctors dismissed her complaint, saying it was probably lack of humidity in the air and they never did a chest xray. This week she was diagnosed with double lung cancer, liver…[Read more]

On the advice of my attorney, I have a mediation clause but have not had to use it. I have mediated a lot of business diputes so I am a firm believer in the process.

Hi,
Rebecca referred to me as an expert in the HSA insurance area. I have a law degree in health law which covers a wide range of health law topics. But I am not an attorney nor an expert in insurance. Sorry, I can’t weigh in on any of this.

Trish,
Sometimes you have to go backward in order to go forward. You’ll get there.