Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum

Advocacy in Action

"The Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum has been the lifeline of advocacy-minded doctors who depend upon its training and networking on state and national levels to effect real change in the lives and health of their patients. Palatucci is a vital and vibrant program that truly can be found no other place that I'm aware of in academy-based medical societies in this country."

Patricia Evans, MD
Lubbock, Texas
Advocacy Leader and Mentor

Martina Bebin, MD, MPA

Following her attendance at the 2005 Palatucci Forum, Bebin was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow for 2005-06, only the second neurologist to be chosen for this program in its 32-year history. Bebin will spend 2006 studying at the Institute of Medicine and then participating in the legislative process in the US Congress.

Liana Dawson, MD

Dawson had an important role in shaping and lobbying for passage of the Texas Stroke Act, which was signed into law in 2005. As a member of a statewide task force organized by the American Heart Association, Dawson actively lobbied her legislators and negotiated with fellow physicians to help win passage of the bill. She was cited as Outstanding Advocate for 2005 by the American Heart Association.

John England, MD

England helped organize and incorporate the Montana Neurological Association, enrolling virtually every neurologist in the state, and is serving as its first president. His work on an endowment at Deaconess Billings Clinic to fund improvements for neurological care in his community helped raise $1.2 million in 2005. England is also Secretary/Treasurer for the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. For the AAN, he serves on the State Affairs Committee, the Quality Standards Subcommittee, and task forces dealing with cognitive reimbursement and pay-for-performance.

Glenn Graham, MD, PhD

Graham chaired New Mexico's Stroke Task Force, which assessed the state of stroke care. Several significant recommendations were issued, including establishing a network of stroke centers and an operational stroke program within the Department of Health, and increasing public awareness of stroke. Graham was named the Medical Volunteer of the Year by the 10-state Pacific Mountain Affiliate of the American Stroke Association/American Heart Association.

Orla Hardiman, MD

The AAN's first Advocate of the Year launched the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, a nationwide coalition of patient advocacy groups and physicians, and authored Standards of Care, the "blueprint" for development of neurological services in coming years. Hardiman's efforts in unifying neurology professionals to improve patient access to neurological care have included meeting with the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and using the media to get her message to practitioners and the public.

Kore Liow, MD

A 21-year-old patient who was denied a VNS battery replacement because of her age was the catalyst that spurred Liow to apply for the Palatucci Forum. Liow took the skills he learned to speak to the local media and the Kansas state house appropriations committee. Working with pharmaceutical and biomedical device companies, as well as local support groups like the Epilepsy Foundation, Liow advocated for better patient access by educating state legislators and policy makers. Due to his efforts, Kansas Medicaid now covers VNS implant and battery replacement for patients over 21.

Apoorva Pauranik, MD

Within weeks of his training at the Palatucci Forum, Pauranik was lobbying education officials, legislators, and government health policy leaders for improvements in the neurology and neurosurgery departments at the five state medical colleges. Pauranik's networking led to a landmark meeting between college representatives and the state's secretary and director of medical education. The government has agreed to work with the colleges, and Pauranik has been appointed to help plan and execute a survey of prevalence of neurological disorders in the surrounding areas of each medical college.

Mohammad Wasay, MD

Wasay has extensively promoted better neurological healthcare and raised awareness about the burden of neurological conditions in Pakistan. He is leading government efforts to eradicate rabies and tetanus in Karachi, and created a stroke support organization and public education campaign. Wasay also developed an advocacy training program for Pakistani neurologists that mirrors much of what he learned through the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum.