By Allison Teegardin 

Earlier this year, Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service announced it was doubling its Nurse-Patient Advocate service, a program designed to help guide clients and families through challenging healthcare situations.

“For many of our Jewish Family Service clients, navigating the healthcare system can be overwhelming — especially for older adults, people with disabilities, or families already under significant stress. Having a dedicated nurse advocate bridges the gap between medical needs and social support,” Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service Executive Director Sarah Abrahams said.

Susan McCoy, Ed.D., MSN-Ed., RN is the Board-Certified Patient Advocate serving JFS clients. McCoy has been working with JFS clients since 2022.

As a nurse-patient advocate, McCoy’s role is to help patients navigate their healthcare journey. Her first step is to gather medical history and start with a health assessment. Then, together with the patient, she helps them prioritize their needs and defines how she can assist.

“The range of patient needs varies,” Mccoy says. “Some clients need more than others. Being a nurse patient advocate can mean answering questions over the phone or attending medical appointments, such as priority appointments to address something new, not routine appointments.”

While McCoy is a licensed nurse, she doesn’t provide hands-on nursing care to clients, nor does she drive them to appointments or make any decisions for them. Rather, her role is to guide, educate, and help clients make informed decisions. She can help clients stay organized as they juggle the care of many health care providers and can help coordinate care across providers and across diagnosis or treatment levels.

The role of a nurse-patient advocate is to serve as a communication conduit to help patients communicate with doctors and better understand information, which can be especially helpful when there is a new diagnosis. When McCoy attends appointments at the client’s request, she takes notes, including the client’s questions and medical next steps to go over with the client after the appointment. Many find this service especially helpful as clinical notes are not always easy to understand, and people may forget their questions and the next steps once they get home.

“When a nurse-patient advocate is part of our continuum of service, we are more able to provide coordinated care that honors the whole person and strengthens their safety, dignity, and well-being,” Abrahams said.