Can patient advocacy and persistence lead to "bonus days" in chronic illness?

In Episode 10 of Healing People, Not Patients, Abbe Feitelberg, a healthcare leader and Crohn's disease advocate, discusses her 10-year path to diagnosis, the loneliness of navigating healthcare alone, and her work with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. Drawing from her professional role training clinicians in leadership and her personal "bonus days" after a life-threatening flare, she explores building team-based care, listening actively to patients, and seeing them as whole people. Abbe connects her story to Purim, emphasizing hidden strengths, self-advocacy, and honest partnerships for better outcomes.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• Misdiagnosis Barriers: Abbe's experience highlights how chronic conditions like Crohn's can be overlooked in young, active individuals, leading to years of misunderstanding and the need for persistence in seeking answers.
• Self-Advocacy and Partnership: Patients should maintain agency, advocate with providers, speak up about their desired life, and recognize that honest communication is key to effective care, while providers must listen without ego or assumption.
• Bonus Days and Leadership: After a severe 28-day hospitalization, Abbe views extra time as "bonus days" to make count; she trains healthcare leaders to create supportive teams, reduce stress, and focus on patient values for compassionate, outcome-driven care.

About the Guest:

Abbe Feitelberg is the Chief People Officer for a multi-site healthcare company focused on interventional psychiatry, based in Colorado. A former public defender with a law degree, she has transitioned into healthcare leadership, training physicians and teams to improve patient experiences and outcomes. Diagnosed with Crohn's disease after a decade of misdiagnosis, she has 30+ years of personal experience managing chronic illness. Abbe is deeply involved with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, raising funds through endurance events like half marathons, cycling, and hiking Machu Picchu, while advocating for legislative reforms on step therapy and prior authorizations. She is also an avid cyclist, photographer, traveler, and longtime friend of the host.

Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship.

"Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul."

Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being.

He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients.

🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a

📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen

📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle

The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

What happens when work breaks the body and spirit?

In Episode 9 of Healing People, Not Patients, Jonathan Clemens, a PA specializing in occupational medicine, shares insights from his work with long-term injured workers. With over 20 years of experience transitioning from IT to medicine, he discusses the challenges of balancing patient care with insurance, employers, and ethical dilemmas like malingering. Drawing from biblical texts and personal stories, they examine the loss of income, social connections, and self-worth due to injuries, the moral injuries faced by healers, and strategies for recovery and reintegration. Clemens emphasizes the role of faith in sustaining purpose and treating patients with dignity.

Top 3 Takeaways:

• Barriers in Occupational Medicine: Clinicians must navigate multiple stakeholders, patients, insurers, employers, while detecting fraud without punitive care, treating all with respect despite a 5% malingering rate.
• Impact of Injuries on Identity: Workers lose income (replaced at only 60%), social ties, and self-actualization; disability fixation can lead to despair, especially for immigrants or older workers, but retraining and community support offer paths to recovery.
• Dangers to Healers: Healthcare professionals face physical and moral injuries from violence, burnout, and systemic pressures; faith and patient-centered approaches, like allocating time for stories, help mitigate these risks and restore purpose.

About the Guest:

Jonathan Clemens is a Physician Assistant specializing in occupational medicine in Olympia, Washington, with a background in family medicine, sleep medicine, pain medicine, and eating disorders. He holds a PA degree from Pacific University and a Doctor of Medical Sciences from A.T. Still University in Arizona. After a successful career in IT security, he transitioned to medicine at age 40, focusing on long-term injured workers in Washington's industrial insurance program. He met host Dr. Weinkle at the Conference on Medicine and Religion and shares a passion for integrating faith, ethics, and patient care.

Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship.

"Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul."

Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being.

He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients.

🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a

📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen

📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle

The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.