Episode description:
Taking care of an elderly loved one—or yourself, for that matter, as you age—can be a complicated challenge. Analyzing the medical options of the healthcare maze, on top of elder law and estate planning, can be confusing and frustrating—even frightening. What’s clear is that to successfully navigate this stretch in life’s journey, families need a team—a team of advocates to guide them. In today’s episode, two top experts, Dr. Georganne Vartorella, the president and founder of Patient Advocacy MD in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, and Ronald Fatoullah, the president and founder of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates in New York, talk about how they advocate for families, each with a unique set of skills, knowledge and experience in their respective fields. Georgeanne will describe how she and her team work to bring together families, social workers and doctors to communicate effectively about diagnosis, treatments and alternatives for care. What guidance or support they might need? What are the pitfalls of the system? How can we think in advance about available options depending on status and healthcare needs? And how can we remove risks and roadblocks to keep everyone working together for aligned goals? For his part, Ron will talk about how he works with array of experts to help guide families through sometimes difficult conversations to meet the needs of their elderly loved ones, whether they need immediate assistance to face a sudden long-term care crisis; understand the nuances of new laws affecting seniors; or are looking to create an estate plan for future generations. Both Georganne and Ron are steadfastly committed to educating, advocating and empowering people to chart their own path to health, well-being and financial stability. Their goal is not only to improve the lives of their patients and clients, but the lives of all seniors—to be their voice when people may not be able to advocate for themselves.
Guest descriptions:
Dr. Georganne Vartorella is a board-certified physician of internal medicine. After a successful practice in primary care, she advocated for both her parents through long, difficult terminal illnesses. While traveling her mother’s end-of-life journey, Georganne experienced first-hand how broken the healthcare delivery system had become and how difficult it was to access and pay for quality care according to her mother’s needs, values and goals. Perceiving these lessons learned as an opportunity for positive change, Dr. Vartorella focused her experience, medical expertise and knowledge of the way the system works on patient advocacy and, in 2016, founded Patient Advocacy MD. Her company provides a wide range of advocacy services nationally, not only for patients and their families, but also for healthcare systems, concierge health providers, human resource teams, employers managing healthcare benefits, insurance providers and brokers, as well as law firms with multiple areas of specialty. In addition to her work as a patient advocate, Dr. Vartorella is a member of the Coalition To Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC). In partnership with C-TAC, she is leading the efforts to build a coalition in Ohio, working with community and state legislators, to address patient needs and remove the barriers to access quality care that ensures equitable care and quality of life for the seriously ill. Dr. Vartorella is also a Board Member of the Georgetown University Board of Regents. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and Georgetown University Medical School.
Dr. Vartorella received a Patient Advocate Certification with Distinction from UCLA and a certificate from Duke University’s Integrative Medicine Healthcare Coaching Program.
Ronald Fatoullah is principal and founder of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, perennially recognized as one of New York’s top elder law firms. For more than 30 years, Mr. Fatoullah has been devoted to advising New Yorkers about the legal and financial challenges of aging. The firm is highly regarded for its contributions and expertise in estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, special needs planning, wills and trusts, probate, guardianships and estate and & guardianship litigation. A certified elder law attorney, Ron currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association's financial planning and Investments committee; co-chairs the Board of the Alzheimer's Association's Long Island Chapter; and served on the Executive Council of AARP New York. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the highest honor bestowed by the organization. Ron lectures frequently on aging, elder law, and estate planning; has appeared on numerous radio and television programs; and has been quoted in The New York Times, Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Law Journal, and Kiplinger's. He has been honored by many organizations for his achievements and contributions to the senior community. He is also a partner of Brightside Advisors, a wealth management company with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Host:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Roel-Resources-LLC
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/ron-roel
Twitter: @roelresources
Guests: Ronald Fatoullah:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-fatoullah-9717973/
https://www.facebook.com/elderlawny
Twitter: @nyelderlaw
Georganne Vartorella
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatientAdvocacyMD/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georganne-vartorella-md-7476b39a
Twitter:
Contact:
Keywords: patient, advocacy, elderlaw, planning, healthcare
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