Grace Whiting, JD
Director, Communications & Coalitions
National Alliance for Caregiving
Grace Whiting is a strategic communications professional and a licensed attorney. Her passion is helping small organizations grow. Grace’s recent work has focused on how government reform, private sector initiatives, and public-private partnerships can support a better quality of life for three populations: aging, chronically ill patients; persons with disabilities (of any age); and family caregivers. Through this work, she is supporting a movement toward healthy aging and dignity for persons who are managing disability or chronic disease.
Grace will be one of the distinguished speakers at the 5th Annual Strengthening Patient Advocacy Relations Conference.
What motivated you to participate in Q1’s 5th Annual Advocacy event?
The Q1 Event always has good conversation and provides an “inside look” to what types of partnerships would be valuable to non-profits and their corporate colleagues. It helps us think through how we can be valuable and meaningful partners with others in the healthcare space.
What is the best part about being in your advocacy role?
The best part about being in patient and family advocacy is helping individuals find their voice. I’m always moved when we can help an advocate think a little bigger, better, and wholistically about how to tackle challenges in the healthcare world.
Why do you find the role of patient advocacy to be important?
Better clinical outcomes and lower health system costs go hand in hand with addressing patient needs and wants. Great health requires people to change their whole lives, and systems have to understand how that patient or individual fits into the world to bring them to a place of wellness and peace.
Why do you find your particular topic to be of importance to this years’ agenda?
It’s important for organizations with different perspectives to communicate about how they’re tackling healthcare issues – as the saying goes, “many hands make light work.”
