Women In Wellness: Dena Feingold of Care Alliance Advocacy on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Use your time wisely: Be prepared for your medical encounters by doing your research ahead of your appointment to ask informed questions. You don’t want to get home and suddenly remember something you wished you had asked, or maybe had forgotten to share information. Maximize your time with your providers with a list of questions. Preparation will give you the confidence to go into your appointment empowered and ready for a productive visit.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dena Feingold, Board Certified Patient Advocate.

Dena Feingold is a Board Certified Patient Advocate who understands the challenges of navigating a medical diagnosis and a complicated health insurance system — she is the mother of three children, one of whom was born with Gaucher disease, a rare metabolic disorder. As a former journalist who recognizes that communication is critical in healthcare, she works to drive better communication among medical professionals in order to achieve better outcomes for patients. She is the founder of Care Alliance Advocacy and provides professional patient advocacy services for children with rare diseases.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I came to the field of patient advocacy when my third child was born with a rare genetic disease, Gaucher disease. Although I worked in advocacy and engagement for nonprofits in healthcare and covered health and fitness stories as a journalist, I never thought I would be faced with confronting medical issues on such a personal level. I was disheartened by medical encounters with healthcare teams; in fact, I was frustrated with countless mistakes, poor communication, and lack of care coordination…