When Friends Become Advocates: It’s Working in Omaha

Patient Advocacy Now

For so many independent patient advocates, it can be a scary proposition to go it alone.
In this episode, we hear from two good friends from Omaha, Nebraska who joined
forces and combined their unique individual skills to create a rewarding, impactful, and
fun patient advocacy practice.

Nicky Wik has a long history working on the administrative side of healthcare, learning
the business of medicine and overseeing quality control for physical therapy clinics. She
was awakened to the need for advocacy when nobody followed up with her father after
he was tested following chest pains. She learned that you can never assume the
healthcare system is going to do their job. She met Becky Korinek, a teacher who was
serving lunch Nicky’s kindergartener. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out how
they connected.

In our discussion, Nicky and Becky describe how they started their practice, who they
serve, what they do, how they get the word out about advocacy in Omaha, and the
importance of staying connected with other advocates. Most importantly, Nicky and
Becky are in lock step when it comes to the need for effective communication with
physicians. That’s why their clients become part of the family. Establishing client trust
ensures that advocates are best able to help them inform to healthcare teams what they should know.