Business & Tech

Gauthier Provides a Voice for the Voiceless

Windsor nurse-turned-advocate works to right wrongs in health care system.

Sharon Gauthier has no problem ruffling a few feathers. The fact is, in a service industry run with business outcomes as a priority, she must.

She'll tell you herself, "I have a big mouth." But when it comes to her work, her mouth, which may have gotten her into a fix or two while working in hospitals, has become a lifeline for those unable to speak for themselves.

As the founder of Patient Advocate for You, Gauthier has made speaking up for patients in need of guidance through the health care system her business.

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The stories are well-known and widespread:

A patient spends an extended period of time in the hospital, but sees a new nurse and doctor each day, making it impossible for a medical professional to become familiar with the patient or recognize any progress or decline that has not been noted by the previous nurse or doctor.

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Another patient takes a slew of pills each day at home, only to be prescribed a batch with new names at the hospital, a third batch with new names in the rehabilitation center, and a fourth group when they are discharged and return home and receive medicine from their pharmacist.

Another patient, recuperating from a recent surgery at the hospital, cannot get a nurse or certified technician to answer their bedside call bell, and has not been helped to the restroom.

Gauthier works to ensure her clients aren't victims of these common occurances.

"A big part of what I do is hold people accountable," she explains.

With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Gauthier, who is a registered nurse, has seen it all. Mistakes and improper care are things "that happen all the time," she says.

The major problem, she adds, is that no one says anything to right the wrongs.

To right wrongs, and ensure her clients' well-being, Gauthier patients through the health care system, with as much or little help as needed.

She's there when a patient must check into an emergency room.

She's there when decisions about medication and surgeries are being made.

She's there when the patient is handed a list of available convalescent homes.

They are all common-place moments during a patient's journey on their way to good health, but those moments can often be tricky. Many trust that everything needing to be done will be done, and will be done in the proper way.

That's not always the case.

Many times, Gauthier is able to give patients advice in instances when hospital staff are restricted from doing so.

Unlike hospital staff, Gauthier can tell a patient who is handed a list of rehab facilities which one is the best.

With her medical knowledge on hand, she's also able to coordinate proper care between facilities and pharmacies, making sure all parties are on the same page.

Before Gauthier decided to start Patient Advocate for You, she worked within the system as a case manager.

It was her time spent working as a case manager that led her to taking steps to making a change in the lives of patients.

During that time, the only thing her superiors were concerned with was the length of a patient's stay.

"If a patient stayed longer than average, I was questioned. If their stay was shorter, I was given kudos," she says.

"I felt like they didn't want me to find out a patient's entire story — what happened at home, what led to their current issues. Sometimes those answers would lead to them having a longer stay in the hospital, and I got in trouble for asking those questions."

Since starting Patient Advocate for You in 2009, Gauthier, a 50-year resident of Windsor, has represented 105 individual clients.

She prides herself on knowing she has secured a client's well-being while advocating for them, acknowledging that, while mistakes are made throughout the industry at the expense of the patient, "I feel like I can make them right for the people who hire me."

Gauthier also works to ensure that those who cannot financially afford her advocacy are set on the right path. She provides them with information that will be useful as they navigate the healthcare system.


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