What is a Patient Advocate?

The Margaret Hackett Family Program (MHFP) is available to help patients and families with CNS congenital anomalies navigate UChicago Medicine’s resources and establish collaborative communication between patients and their providers. The MHFP aims to provide well-rounded, compassionate patient care, resources in support of community and education for both patients and their families through patient advocacy. We can assist patients and their families in the following ways:

• Identify and understand which provider may be best for their or their child’s condition.
• Navigate the process of scheduling an appointment with a provider.
• Identify who may be best to contact for what in each situation.
• Contact the provider’s team and/or establish a relationship with the provider’s team.
• Connect their neurosurgical care to the care provided by other physicians at different facilities.
• Obtain their neurosurgical records in preparation for other appointments, and/or for their own personal records.
• Obtain medical reports in preparation for appointments within the office of neurosurgery.
• Establish neurosurgical care with the University of Chicago by initiating the appointment process.
• And much more!