As a nurse for over 20 years in Broward County, Amy Seigel repeatedly saw seniors and their families struggling with their healthcare issues. More often than not, the elderly are navigating themselves through this maze alone. Rarely can they process the information or do they know how to ask critical questions to their doctors. This leaves them, as well as their (adult) children often living outside the area frustrated and discouraged.
During her tenure as a clinical nurse and nursing administrator who ran multi-specialty centers, Amy gravitated toward rehabilitative nursing. “I helped people overcome physical and emotional illnesses after trauma or during management of a chronic disease. I loved this because I was actually seeing my patients improve and go back to many of the things they were doing before.
At the same time, however, I saw a huge need to fill a void, and a missing link in seniors’ medical care,” says Amy. spent many hours after work assisting families who were at their wits end. Although many of my patients were receiving quality care from their doctors, no one was there to ensure that the doctors’ orders were being carried out, and that the seniors clearly understood their medical advice after arriving home. Additionally, it was difficult for their out of town family to get a real handle on the day to day condition of their loved one.
Advocare was founded with the objective to Fill these important needs. No one else was looking at the whole picture of the elder and their family, and holding their hand through this process. Amy and her husband, Marty, who has an MBA, pooled Amy’s nursing skills with Marty’s business acumen and formed Advocare Geriatric Care Management.
I could look at a medical chart and understand not only a patient’s medical history, but also anticipate their need’s during their recuperation phase. I found that could advocate on the patient’s behalf within a medical facility or coordinate outpatient services, and this took an incredible amount of stress, and anxiety, off the elder and their family. My nurse care managers and can do all of this professionally and report back to Family members (anywhere in the country, or the world for that matter) and update them on the patient’s status.
According to Weston resident, Pat Bernstein, Amy and her staff have been one constant in her life of chaos, as she dealt with multiple issues regarding her late husbands health. Advocare continues to be a source of strength to Pat even after the loss of her husband. Amy has made the difficult easier; the extremely difficult possible and the intolerable, tolerable.
According to countless clients of Advocare, Positive changes have occurred for families throughout Southeast Florida as well as right here in Weston thanks to Amy. The wisdom, practical day —to day guidance and professional approach to problem solving offered by Advocare helps hundreds of families deal effectively with difficult family decisions. As a result life is better for everyone else in the family.
“Helping others is what wanted to do, ever since was seven years old( I believe I have a role to perform on this earth and am doing what I have natural talent to do.” says Amy.