Vanessa Owens is a MedNet Navigator operating from either St. Anthony's Medical Office Building, Health Council of West Central Florida or Clearwater Community Health Centers.

Vanessa was nominated by Angeline Honda, her co-worker who said:

Vanessa has been helping our community for over 20 years.  She helps patients  all the time with a lot of humor and grace.  She is a wealth of knowledge. 

A brief interview with Vanessa:

How did you come to be doing this kind of work?

Working as a case manager over the years I found that many of my clients were not eligible for prescription coverage. To meet the needs of my clients I begin to research. During my research for resources to assist clients in this area I discovered the Patient Assistance Program which have truly benefit and saved the lives of many. 

Describe a typical day.

A typical day can be considered nothing other than busy. Advocating for clients is an on gong process to ensure applicants receive their meds through follow-up, refills and often time an appealing process. The goal is to make sure I have completed every step possible to ensure the client needs are met.

What is the hardest part of your job?

The most challenging part of my job is not being successful in retrieving medications for a client. Often times a client may not have prescription coverage but they also may not meet the guidelines of the pharmaceutical companies from a financial perspective. This means I may only be able to assist the client with a short temporary means of assistance for their medication needs.

If you could change one thing to make your job easier, what would it be?

The job within itself is not difficult it’s the challenges advocates are faced with that may present problems. One of those problems being; the application process, if all pharmaceutical companies could agree on a standardized application form with comparable guidelines.

Give us one tip to pass on to other advocates.

The world is not going to change overnight, no matter how hard you work. Keep things in perspective and this may actually make you feel better about the work you have accomplished.