The Empowered Patient Coalition provides resources enabling patients to take control of their medical treatments.

An afterword by Julia Hallisy is included in the recently released book, "After The Error - Speaking Out About Patient Safety To Save Lives" - true stories that are examples of various types of errors, their impact, and the efforts made to avoid future errors.

View the book on Amazon

Julia Hallisy wrote a chapter for a textbook from the American Academy of Pain Medicine entitled "Empowerment: A Pain Caregiver's Perspective."

From the introduction:  Managing a loved one’s pain is one of the most difficult and anxiety-provoking responsibilities facing caregivers. Pain management by caregivers requires   information, skills, support, and compassion. Too often, caregivers find that they are overwhelmed by this formidable responsibility and unsure of where to turn for help.

In my own case, my late daughter Katherine Hallisy was diagnosed at five months of age with bilateral retinoblastoma and faced five recurrences of her cancer before her death in February, 2000 at the age of ten. Kate’s cancer was aggressive and accompanied by episodes of chronic pain. An above-the-knee amputation led to both physical and unrelenting “phantom” pain. Radiation years earlier to Kate’s right orbital area eventually led to a non-operable tumor in her skull and proved to be one of our most formidable pain management challenges. I learned that while each pain experience is personal and subjective, in many ways it is shared by the entire family and each caregiver.

View the book on Amazon

The Coalition feels that it is important for patients to be clear about who will be performing their surgeries. The following article from the Chicago Tribune quotes Julia Hallisy of The Empowered Patient Coalition and illustrates the need for patients to ask questions of their surgeons and to understand who will be involved in their surgical procedures.

Please see the tip box entitled "What to consider before surgery."

Article Front Page     Article Continued

The Empowered Patient Coalition won the first Excellence in Consumer Advocacy Award given by Consumer's Union.

See the story in Consumer's Reports:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/december/viewpoint/overview/index.htm

Hospitals may be even more dangerous than previously suspected. One out of every three people admitted suffers a medication mix-up, a fall, a bed sore, or another problem related to the way care is delivered, according to research published in April in the health policy journal Health Affairs. In this chat, we ask two leading advocates what people can do to avoid problems and stay safe in the hospital.

Read the archived transcript of the chat here. Tribune reporter Judy Graham, and panelists Dr. Julia Hallisy and Lisa McGiffert chat about hospital safety issues.

The Empowered Patient Coalition is partnering with Transparent Learning to promote “The Faces of Medical Error…From Tears to Transparency” video series.  “The Story of Lewis Blackman,” the first in the series and an award-winning film produced by Transparent Health®, chronicles the experience of a vibrant, healthy 15-year-old boy who entered the hospital for what was believed to be a low-risk medical procedure. Through the thought-provoking insights of leading voices in patient safety education -- including Lucian Leape, MD; Tim McDonald, MD, JD; Bob Galbraith ,MD; David Mayer, MD; Rosemary Gibson, and Lewis’s mom, Empowered Patient Coalition co-founder Helen Haskell -- viewers are taken through all aspects of Lewis’ care. This is a full learning program complete with educational materials.

Please watch a video about Diana Brookins, capturing a true story through a play about a mother's crusade, Kim Sandstrom as she moves forward and fights back about the untimely death of her daughter after surgery. The play, titled Damselfly, premiered at “The Next Decade: National Patient Safety Progress Expo” in Ocala, Florida and was supported by the Empowered Patient Coalition, Mother’s Against Medical Error, Rasmussen College, Munroe Regional Medical Center and the Ocala/Marion County Visitor’s Bureau.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20100312/VIDEO/3122000