Advocacy in Action: Nurses Driving Change in Patient Outcomes

In this episode, we explore the power of advocacy in transforming health care as Rachell Dumas and Dr. Natasha Ramontal walk us through their personal stories and expert insights. They discuss how advocacy influences care at the individual, provider, and systems levels and provide practical strategies to empower nurses and patients to advocate for meaningful change that can result in better health outcomes.

Meet our guests:

Rachell Marie Dumas, MSN, RN, DNPc

Rachell Dumas is the Founder and CEO of HEARD, an AI-powered patient advocacy platform transforming how patients, caregivers, employers, and healthcare systems communicate and respond to safety concerns. After enduring nine pregnancy losses and later being misdiagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, Rachell underwent two brain surgeries that forever changed her perspective on health care. Those experiences inspired her to build HEARD, giving patients a real-time voice and helping ensure they are heard before preventable harm occurs.

A registered nurse with a background in critical care, surgery, case management, and nursing informatics, Rachell is passionate about combining clinical expertise with technology to improve patient outcomes. Her story and the mission behind HEARD has been featured by organizations including the Women’s Health, American Nurses Association, and shared on stages such as Atlanta Tech Week, where she speaks on the future of AI, patient advocacy, and healthcare innovation.

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Natasha Ramontal, DHSc, RN, BCPA

Dr. Natasha Ramontal is a Doctoral-trained Registered Nurse, Board-Certified Patient Advocate, digital health strategist, and founder of Medical Tourism RN, a global patient advocacy firm. Her diverse career includes emergency and home health nursing, health IT consulting, care management, nursing education, and population health, where she developed a population health course for nurses. Inspired by the unexpected loss of her older brother to an undiagnosed heart condition, she has dedicated her career to advancing patient advocacy and health equity. A renowned, sought-after speaker, Dr. Ramontal equips healthcare professionals with practical strategies to strengthen patient advocacy, leverage digital health innovations, improve healthcare navigation, and drive meaningful systems change that advances equitable, patient-centered care.