New PACB Board Members – 2022
The Patient Advocate Certification Board announces the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors. The new Board members include Rebecca Green, Jessica Fisher, Tiffany Matthews, and Devon Santoro. “We are pleased to add these talented people to the PACB Board of Directors,” said PACB’s President, Heidi B. Kummer, MD, MPH, BCPA “They each bring deep knowledge and commitment to the patient and health care advocacy community, as well an understanding of the importance of standard-setting and credentialing. Their leadership will be an asset to the organization as we continue our work to elevate the visibility and capacity of certification for patient and health care advocates.”
Rebecca Green, DNS, RN, CMN-BC, BCPA
Rebecca is an RN Care Coordinator and Program Lead for the Home Telehealth Program at the Atlanta VA Healthcare System. She lives in the metropolitan Atlanta area and has been a nurse for over 30 years. She has enjoyed building relationships with and advocating for patients, families, and populations in a variety of clinical settings, including intensive care, pediatrics, school health, public health, primary care, and skilled nursing/geriatrics. In addition, Dr. Green has taught both undergraduate and graduate nursing at institutions in the University System of Georgia. She is experienced in grant writing, research, professional writing and editing, curriculum development, and program planning; and looks forward to sharing these skills in service to the PAC Board. She is married, has an adult son, and enjoys reading and hiking in her spare time. She is also active as a group facilitator in her local family recovery support community.
Jessica Fisher, PhD, MBA, MS, RHIA, BCPA
Dr. Jessica Fisher has been in healthcare and healthcare education for almost 20 years. After Jessica’s personal experience advocating for her grandmother through breast cancer and journeying through a rare and often fatal disease with her oldest son (secondary HLH), Jessica learned about the patient advocate certification. Knowing how vital advocacy skills are to optimal outcomes for patients and clients, Jessica now works to help incorporate patient advocacy tools into the student experience and is focused on elevating the ability of others to navigate the healthcare system.
Tiffany Matthews, BCPA
Tiffany Matthews is a board certified patient advocate and owner & CEO of PACE – Patient Advocacy & Caregiver Empowerment. As a social worker in healthcare since 1998, she has seen how women have been treated in the healthcare system and hopes to improve their situation by empowering them to get the care they need through her Powerful Patient Partner Program Suite. Her personal experience with chronic illness, as a mother & caregiver by default, inform her work as a writer and educator advocating for better healthcare for women as patients & caregivers.
Devon Santoro, CPXP, BCPA
Since graduating from the Health Advocacy Master’s Program at Sarah Lawrence College in 2016, she has worked in a hospital setting as a Patient Experience Advocate. Having been a caregiver for a family member she is acutely aware of the many challenges we face in caring for our loved ones. Joining the PACBoard is an incredible opportunity to help expand the patient advocacy profession and continue to focus on understanding experiences of health and advocating to uphold respect, dignity, autonomy, and compassion in those experiences.
The 2022 Board of Directors includes:
Officers:
Heidi B. Kummer, MD, MPH, BCPA, President
Lea Christo, MSW, LICSW, BCPA, Secretary
Tara Bailey, MPA, BCPA, CMC, CDP, CSA, RG, Treasurer
Directors:
Felix Davies, PhD, BCPA
Malynnda Johnson, PhD
Lee Mulert, MBA, MS, CSA, Vice President
In order to maintain the credential, Patient Advocates who earn the BCPA must either retake the exam or complete 30 Continuing Education credits every three years. Certified advocates are listed on the PACB website. The exam is available two times a year. The next testing period is scheduled for fall 2022. Contact help@pacboard.org to be notified when registration becomes available. Learn more at https://pacboard.org/getcertified/. The site also hosts news and developments about the organization and information related to exam registration and credential maintenance.
Patient Advocate Certification Board, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization focused on the development and maintenance of certification for the profession of patient and health care advocacy.