The importance of medical advocacy
By Sarah Rooker, domestic foster care and adoption nurse, Buckner Children and Family Services
When advocacy saved my life
Shortly after my sixteenth birthday, my heart stopped.
While on a mission trip in Peru, an unknown allergen caused a sudden anaphylactic reaction, closing off my airway. In an unfamiliar country, helplessness wrapped itself around my neck.
But advocates stepped in.
With panicked eyes and calm hands, Peruvian friends rushed me to a nearby clinic. They described the situation to the staff as I passed out. A few medications and chest-compressions later, I awoke.
When I opened my eyes, I first saw a medical provider. The language barrier prevented communication, but we exchanged smiles. Then I saw one of my friends. She stayed with me throughout the night at the clinic, translating for me, supporting me, and walking with me to the bathroom.
The experience certainly marked me. Now I carry an EpiPen on most international trips, and I praise God for the simple act of breathing. But ultimately advocates changed my life because they saved my life. Where would I be if no one had stepped in?
As I recovered that evening, I asked God to let me be an advocate for patients.
Soon after this experience, God also exposed me to the needs of children and teenagers in foster care. Initially, I witnessed their social and emotional vulnerabilities. God began to reveal the depths of their medical needs, and my heart ached to advocate for them, too.
It has been sixteen years since advocates ensured my heart kept beating, and now I advocate for the medical needs of children as a Domestic Foster Care and Adoption Nurse.
Now whenever a child comes into our care, I intentionally recall the vulnerability and helplessness I felt that fateful night, because it propels me to advocate.
Why children in foster care need medical advocates
Children in foster care often fall through the cracks in the medical system. Incomplete records, inconsistent care, and lack of education contribute to missed diagnoses and prevailing medical needs.
Up to 80% of children come into care with at least one physical health problem, and at least one third of the children have a chronic health condition that was often not addressed before care.[1]
Children in foster care have also experienced circumstances that can leave lasting effects on children’s mental and developmental well-being. Teachers, caregivers and even health care professionals may not always recognize the ways trauma can affect a child’s nervous system or behavior.
Despite these significant needs, children cannot provide their own care or change the systems around them. They need advocates, just as Proverbs 31:8 instructs us: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Medical advocacy is a team effort
Every day I witness the reality that medical advocacy is not a solo job.
Medical professionals may prescribe medications, recommend treatments, and perform procedures, but foster and kinship parents are the ones who ensure that children receive the medical attention and treatment they need.
This past week, I had two conversations, one with a kinship caregiver and another with a foster mom. Both had medical concerns about the kids in their care. But they questioned bringing up their concerns to the provider. They voiced their concerns: What if the doctor doesn’t listen? What if I’m wrong? What if they think I’m just being dramatic?
As we conversed, I answered their questions with deep conviction. “Keep advocating,” I said. “You see these kids and you know their needs. If you don’t speak up for them now, who will?”
You don’t have to be a medical professional to advocate for the medical needs of a child in foster care. Even if you feel nervous, your voice of advocacy and your calm presence could alter the trajectory of a child’s life.
I have witnessed foster parents advocate to surgeons, psychiatrists, therapists, primary care doctors, insurance providers, medical supply companies, and more. Every single phone call or conversation makes a difference and could save a life.
Advocacy beyond the doctor’s office
Medical advocacy does not always end when a child leaves the doctor’s office. A child’s medical, developmental, or mental health needs can also affect the way they learn and function in the classroom.
Children in foster care are up to 3.5 times more likely to receive special education services. Depending on a child’s needs and eligibility, an advocate may be needed for the child to obtain an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or accommodations through other services.
Obtaining the right educational support for children with medical needs may be a lengthy process. Advocacy may include participating in Admission, Review and Dismissal meetings, communicating with teachers and administrators, and tracking whether accommodations are being provided.
Schools and educators are often operating under significant strain. They may also have limited training or resources related to recognizing a child’s trauma and its effects on behavior. Advocacy in these situations does not have to be adversarial. It can look like educating teachers and staff about how trauma may affect a child and partnering with them to identify solutions.
Advocacy protects dignity at every age
Although my work centers on children in foster care, the need for medical advocacy reaches across generations.
Older adults, especially those living with dementia or with communication challenges may also need someone to help communicate their needs and protect their dignity. An advocate can ask questions, clarify medical information and help ensure that an individual is comfortable, understood and treated with compassion.
Advocacy strengthens the systems that serve us
Advocacy was not created to dismantle institutions. It was designed to strengthen them.
Medical advocacy is not inherently distrustful of doctors, hospitals, or recommended care. Educational advocacy is not automatically in opposition to teachers, administrators or schools.
Advocacy provides a critical check and balance for our society. It helps institutions recognize unmet needs, correct oversights, and serve others with excellence. At its best, advocacy brings caregivers, professionals and communities together to meet the needs of people who are vulnerable.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was and is the perfect advocate. He advocated for people while on Earth, and now in Heaven chooses to advocate on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).
People who are in vulnerable positions need you. We need you. The body of Christ needs you.
How can you advocate for the medical, educational, or emotional needs of someone today?
[1] Leslie LK, Gordon JN, Meneken L, Premji K, Michelmore KL, Ganger W. The physical, developmental, and mental health needs of young children in child welfare by initial placement type. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2005;26(3):177–185
