Patient Advocacy Startup to Care for Streeterville Patients By Tatiana Walk-Morris | March 9, 2016 8:06am | Updated on March 9, 2016 6:22pm STREETERVILLE — Some hospital patients call Jessica Schwarz “the daughter they wish they had.” When family members or patients need extra help understanding and directing their treat- ment, Schwarz, founder and CEO of the newly launched VIP Health Navigator, helps her clients find their way in the complicated Andrea Karoff, coordinator of Psychosocial Oncology at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lakeview, said the need for patient advocacy stems in part from the complexity of the health care system before and after the Affordable Care Act, adding that she thinks the need for advocates may decrease as the healthcare industry becomes more efficient. https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160309/streeterville/patient-advocacy-startup-care-for-streeterville-patients health care system. It's the first patient advocacy service to care for patients in the Streeterville area, according to Schwarz. True to its name, the health care startup offers services to help patients navigate complicated hospital systems ranging from translating clients’ symptoms and expediting treatment to informing employers and family members of clients’ medical circumstances and waiting bedside with patients. “Some of the family members try to advocate for [patients], but some people don’t have that,” Schwarz said. “And even when they do have loved ones, they don’t know the system.” Patient advocacy remains a niche in the health care field. The Alliance of Professional Health Advocates estimates the number of privately paid professional advocates is around 350 or more in the U.S., but the alliance predicts the profession will grow 100 to 200 percent per year over the next decade as citizens increasingly demand their services. BACK TO HEALTHNAV360.COM