Patients with COPD can find themselves coordinating between pulmonologists, therapists, and equipment providers while managing breathing difficulties. That's physically taxing and frustrating. Solace COPD advocates—medical professionals with respiratory experience—can:
Best of all, most patients pay nothing out of pocket.
Linda C.
Specialties:
Experience:
Linda has experience with hospital legal and risk management. She ensures proper care and benefits while navigating complexities.
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Jessica B.
Specialties:
Experience:
Jessica is a dual-board certified nurse practitioner. She's helped many patients who've had difficulty navigating the healthcare system.
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Wendy P.
Specialties:
Experience:
Wendy, an experienced Emergency Department nurse, now focuses on reducing systemic barriers and prioritizing patient care.
Ellen P.
Specialties:
Experience:
Ellen has 35 years of experience, is a certified rehabilitation counselor and aging life care manager specializing in care management.
Living with COPD is a challenge, even on good days, and the stress of managing complicated healthcare can make things even harder. Once easy tasks like scheduling appointments and organizing paperwork can suddenly feel like too much to bear.
An advocate can make the calls, manage the appointments, and keep your paperwork organized so you can focus on what matters most: healing.
Treating COPD isn’t a one-doctor job. Your monthly schedule might include visits to a cardiologist, pulmonologist, immunologist, and your primary care physician. Unfortunately, it’s not easy for these doctors and specialists to coordinate or share relevant medical records. This can mean redundant appointments, unnecessary tests, and duplicate procedures.
A Solace advocate can serve as a central point of contact for everyone on your team, keeping your care coordinated and your road to recovery clear.
It’s no secret that medical treatment is expensive, and with an ongoing condition like COPD, the costs add up fast. Your advocate can work with your insurance provider, negotiate medical bills with the hospital, and even help you apply for government grants to lighten your financial load.
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With Solace, you get both a patient advocate and a supporting physician, which we refer to as your “care team”.
Your advocate will be there to manage the day to day aspects of your care: coordinating with doctors, researching potential solutions and communicating updates to you.
Your supporting physician can unlock resources for you and your advocate that might otherwise be out of reach.
Living with COPD requires adapting to changing lung function and learning specialized breathing techniques that maximize oxygen efficiency. Solace COPD advocates work with you to implement personalized breathing strategies based on your specific COPD stage, symptom patterns, and daily activities. They help translate pulmonary rehabilitation exercises into practical routines you can maintain at home, creating simple reference guides for pursed-lip breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, and energy conservation techniques. Your advocate researches the latest evidence-based approaches for COPD symptom management and helps you track which strategies provide the most relief in different situations. This focused attention to breathing techniques transforms respiratory challenges into manageable situations with established protocols that help maintain independence despite progressive lung disease.
The world of respiratory equipment can be overwhelming, from selecting appropriate inhalers to managing oxygen delivery systems. Solace advocates guide you through these complex decisions, researching device options based on your specific needs, lifestyle, and insurance coverage. They coordinate with respiratory therapists and equipment suppliers to ensure proper setup and training for oxygen concentrators, portable units, and nebulizers. Your advocate helps manage the recurring paperwork required for oxygen recertification and assists with troubleshooting equipment issues before they affect your breathing. This technical support ensures you receive optimal benefit from prescribed respiratory devices without the stress of navigating equipment logistics during periods of respiratory distress.
COPD exacerbations can quickly escalate from minor symptoms to serious breathing emergencies without proper intervention. Solace advocates help develop comprehensive action plans for detecting and responding to early warning signs of flare-ups. They create easy-to-follow decision trees for medication adjustments based on changing symptoms and clear guidelines for when to contact healthcare providers versus seeking emergency care. Your advocate ensures these plans are shared with family members and caregivers so everyone understands appropriate responses to different symptom levels. This proactive planning transforms unpredictable exacerbations into manageable events with established protocols, reducing emergency room visits and helping maintain respiratory stability throughout the year.
COPD management extends beyond medical treatments to include environmental modifications and lifestyle adjustments that support optimal breathing. Solace advocates research practical home adaptations specific to your living situation, from air quality improvements to furniture arrangements that minimize exertion. They identify energy conservation techniques tailored to your daily activities, helping you prioritize tasks during high-energy periods and implement rest strategies that prevent unnecessary oxygen desaturation. Your advocate connects you with nutritional resources specifically designed for COPD management, addressing challenges like weight maintenance and respiratory muscle strength. This comprehensive approach acknowledges that COPD affects every aspect of daily life and creates adaptations that maximize independence while respecting the realities of changing lung function.