Care Coalition Caregiving Guests of Kellan Fluckinger

When you’re trying to keep a loved one safe, get the right diagnosis, or survive a crisis, the healthcare system can feel less like support and more like a test you did not study for. We sit down with attorney and systems advocate Michael Magniak and domestic violence advocate and therapist Victoria Cure to talk about what gets lost between insurance rules, rushed appointments, and the real lives happening outside the exam room. We keep coming back to one sharp idea: people deserve dignity, and care should not depend on your ability to fight through red tape on your worst day. 

We dig into why modern care can default to quick fixes, including how medication gets used as a band-aid when grief, trauma, and situational stress are not properly heard. Victoria explains what frontline advocacy looks like in courtrooms, clinics, and family systems, and why “take an extra minute and listen” is not a slogan but a practical intervention. Michael shares what it takes to “bust up systems” at the policy level, how institutional culture has shifted over the last 25 years, and why teaching families and providers to collaborate can change outcomes. 

You also get hands-on tools for self-advocacy and caregiving, including how to build a care binder style snapshot that saves time, reduces errors, and helps specialists actually see the whole person. We introduce the Care Coalition journal, built for caregivers, patients, case managers, therapists, and providers who need a clear care navigation system in one place. If you care about patient advocacy, mental health resources, caregiving support, and better healthcare communication, this conversation gives you a grounded starting point. 

Subscribe, share this with a caregiver who needs relief, and leave a review with one thing you wish every provider asked you at the start of an appointment.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Advocacy Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:08

You're listening to your ultimate life with Mitty Hood only on LA Talk Radio.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Hey, welcome to today's episode of Your Ultimate Life here on LA Talk Radio, the program that is designed to help you live the life you want to, the ultimate life, life of purpose, prosperity, and joy. And that's the whole point of the show. I'm blessed today to have a couple of guests who spend their time making life better for people that are in their universe doing things that are helpful and serve others. And so I'm delighted to have Michael Magniak and Victoria Cure. Michael, welcome to the show. Thank you, Kellen. Happy to be here. Thanks for having us. You bet. Victoria, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Thank you. Good to see you, my friend.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Yeah. So you two guys are uh have your own individual work, but you're working together on helping people in a particular way to add your version of adding good to the world. And both of you have a story about how you got where you are. And as you both know, that's what really interests me. I love understanding what drives people, how they got where they are, uh, at least as much as what they're actually doing in their work. And so so why don't you say, uh, Michael, why don't you talk maybe not about the project you guys are doing together, but just for a minute about I don't like to do introductions because they sound weird. So at least I always find that when I'm on the receiving end of one, they say all this crap, and I'm like, what?

SPEAKER_04 1:47

Anyway, so yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So so Michael, why don't you just tell us a little bit about what you intentionally do in your heart? Like what comes out of your heart to add good to the world? What are you doing? What are you about?

Michael’s Mission To Lift Others

SPEAKER_03 2:03

I honestly that's a really strong way to open up. I I really believe that I am meant to be here to really help out the underserved, the under, the underrepresented, the people without a voice. And ever since I was a little kid, that that kind of thing just really bothered me, just seeing people who, you know, bullied or or whatever you would have it. And as I was doing some thinking about the show today and some stuff that I've been writing, I was thinking about exactly that. Like, you know, how do we get to the point where we just had enough and we we take what's in ourselves and that that call to do better for other people and make it into a calling rather than the calling making us. Does that make sense? You know, I want to force my personality into this square round hole or whatever the saying may be. So I really think that's what I'm about.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Okay, so what I'm hearing is something about you, your nature, and we all come with gifts and talents. I mean, everybody's different, and uh, we're influenced by our surroundings and upbringing, but you you have a passion and have had for many years, and maybe there's some ins instigating events, and maybe it's just something inherent in you, but it bothers you about people that are either underserved or bullied or pushed around or don't seem to have a access or fair opportunity or decent opportunity to enjoy the just stuff the life that is around the rest of us.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Yeah, a meaningful life. Like I think the most of us want to live. Whatever that means to you, a meaningful life, whatever it means to you, may be different than me, but I want to help you to get there and enjoy it because you deserve it.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Oh, now that's interesting. We'll come back to the deserve part in a minute. So,

Victoria’s Frontline Advocacy Work

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Victoria, tell me what you do on purpose. You guys have been working together for a little while, but like not many years. So you've had a long history of doing stuff yourself. Tell our listeners what you do to add good to the world. And I use that phrase on purpose because when we breathe, you know, we add carbon dioxide and we could add anything we want to with our energy and our behavior. And so I use uh the thought, gee, if we add something, why don't we add good to the world instead of something else? So, what do you do?

SPEAKER_02 4:22

I am the voice for the voiceless. I come out and help people who are survivors, not victims, because nobody is a victim, survivors of abuse, any and all types of abuse, men and women, children as well, as well as advocate for special needs individuals, special needs families, caregivers. So I want people to know they don't have to go through it alone.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Okay. For people that have had some a little bit or a lot of difficult circumstance, and you are an advocate. You stand as a light of someone that might feel like they're alone or they're forgotten or they don't have anywhere to turn. You advocate for them. What does that advocacy look like? I mean, you don't wear a sandwich board and stand on a street corner. Uh, you could, but you do some other stuff. So, what does that advocacy look like?

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Well, for me, I go from one extreme to the other. I go in courtrooms and I advocate as a domestic violence advocate. I go in and help fight for the rights of the children. I also help make sure that they're in the safest place possible. I do therapy, play therapy with the kids. I also do therapy with the survivors as well. I also help advocate for like what they need medically or mentally so that they can get the justified medical necessary, like the therapies and treatments that they're supposed to get, that they do get. Because a lot of times people don't know what they're able to get. And so I help make sure that they do. And I make sure that people, you know, get treated the way that they deserve. And everybody has, you know, a down point in their life and they don't need to go through it alone. And to be able to help somebody come back on the other side stronger than ever is just an absolute blessing for me to be able to pay it forward and to do that.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

You know, you use the word deserve also. And that's interesting. And those are some pretty specific advocacy roles. Like one thing that you could a person could do is talk. Okay, I go on shows and I talk to people and I stand around and tell everybody how it ought to be. We shouldn't do this, we should do better. And that's fine. And there needs to be some of that. But what I hear you saying is I go places, I go to courtrooms, I go to service agencies, I go with people places to see what's happening. And because I, and I'm speaking as you for a moment, and correct me if this is wrong, because I have both some knowledge and experience, I'm able to help people understand, see, know what's available, where they otherwise might not, either one, because they didn't know, or two, when you're in the receiving end of difficult circumstances, whether it's illness or abuse or whatever it is, you're not really in a position mentally, spiritually, to run around banging the drum about what you need. And so help needs to be brought in that circumstance.

What “Deserve” Means In Community

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Michael, why did why do you use the word deserve? People deserve something. Tell me about that word, what it means to you.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Well, I th you know, I I think in its truest sense, we are all here on this big blue marble, this big blue planet. And you know, we have to figure out a way that we can interact and live, not to be cheesy, but you know, in some kind of harmony with each other, right? We've got to try to get back to the the feeling of I deserve to be here, you deserve to be here. So there's certainly that. But I but I really think that particularly for those who are less fortunate and those who are underrepresented. I think we have it's our it's our combined mission as a society in communities to lift up those who are in need, and by doing that, we lift up all of us, and you know, then it trickles back down and around again. So I think that we all deserve to have a meaningful life. We all deserve dignity in in the way that we live, and mental illness or or any kind of illnesses should not get in the way of that. It it doesn't define who you are. So why should why should the social mores define who you are because you have an illness or you have something that makes you different than other people? So you deserve at least the dignity and the respect that I would ask from you to give to me.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

So so let's let's talk a little bit about that. We have a collective responsibility, so we have a collective community responsibility. Like on what like people don't know this, but you you do also advocacy work, you're an attorney, and so your your professional work in that regard has been in some of these areas, and so what is it in you, and you don't have to defend this, but you've said it, so just I'm curious, what is it was it is it what is it? I'm stumbling here, what is it in you or in your experience that makes you feel like we as a human collective have this collective obligation, essentially, to lift, to provide the services in the case you talk about, but just the dignity and the framework. Like, why do you believe that is so?

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Because we created the other way, we created this mess, and now it's it behooves every single one of us to fix the mess that we've created. When we were put on this earth and we were reliant upon each other in our caves and to fight off the saber-tooth tigers, we relied upon each other for everything that we had, and somehow along the way, we've developed these cultural norms and in that that have that have isolated people out, they've kept people out. And where Victoria is in there in the trenches with families and with young children, with uh men and women who have been abused. I'm the guy that's over there busting up systems. I am shaking trees. So she's my macro arm. I'm the the mic, no, she's the micro arm, I'm the macro arm. And together we are a force of nature because we've created these bureaucracies, we've created this red tape, and it's time for us to take back, take back or take away some of the power that we've given to institutions and two traditions. Uh and I really, I really believe that. I really believe that the pendulum has swung way too far in every aspect, and we need to come back come together in, as I say, a community sense in a movement to say we just gotta get back to basics here, folks, and be uh kind to each other and and respect that uh give and take that we all deserve, as I said.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Yeah, and there's deserve again, and I like that you guys are using it because it's clearly a passion to both of you. So this isn't to either one of you individually. I don't want this to just be QA, but like, what do you think caused us? What

How Systems Drift Toward Exclusion

SPEAKER_01 11:36

things maybe there's more than one, probably is what caused us to go from a place of greater support, community support that you have alluded to in saber-tooth tiger days. Everybody talks about those poor saber-tooth tigers. Yeah, right. I mean, you know, we've we've defined them the the definition of fear and all those systems as the days when we were chased by saber-tooth tigers. Anyway, whatever. What caused us, either one of you, to go to a place where we marginalize large groups of people where we believe, we believe in the very fabric of our society that, yeah, you know, there probably something we ought to probably do something, so we'll throw them some crumbs, instead of wholeheartedly embracing their value and humanness and bringing the kind of love the both of you were alluding to. Like what happened? Either one of you, I don't care.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

I think it's I think that that there is a an evolutionary flaw along the way that that we human the the humanity, the the the essence of being human creates somehow. And I don't know why. I mean, listen, all I could talk about is from the 1960s when social work was first brought in onto the scene and and what it was meant to be, and the way that social work was designed to be compared to what it is today, are two totally different worlds. You know, you know, it's like watching, I don't know, you you watching basketball tonight versus watching basketball 40 years ago. It's almost a completely different game, right? So I I and I don't know how why we do it, but it seems like the more we advance evolutionally evolutionarily, how'd I do there?

SPEAKER_01 13:27

It did really good. I was wondering how that was gonna come out, and it came out good. So it keeps going.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

I think the more that we evolve and the more that we we allow ourselves to get broader in our thought, there's something inherent in us that wants to bring us back and somehow regulate it and put some kind of rules in place that make us feel more comfortable about where we're heading, where we're going. So while we want to expand, we're also sort of like holding ourselves back. It's almost, you know, like you and I've spoken about, you know, it's almost like we're afraid to get out of our own skin and out of our own voices in our head to really move forward individually. We see that. I see it in myself every day. But I think as a society, I mean, just look look at what we're living through right now. I mean, we are just we just impose more and more restrictions on ourselves, despite the fact that every day we try to move forward and we have all these wonderful advances. I that's as best I can do. I mean, I'm just a poor dirt farmer lawyer from small town Connecticut, man. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

I don't have all right, uh sure. All right, Victoria, what are your thoughts about that? Like, how did we get here?

SPEAKER_02 14:43

I think that in today's society, I've been doing this now for over

Medication Culture And Missing Context

SPEAKER_02 14:48

20 years, and everybody is so quick to say, oh, they need a pill, they need a pill, they need a pill. And that that's what I call is a band-aid. They're band-aiding it. We need a blueprint, we need to find out what's going on. It's like, oh, somebody's having an episode, but that doesn't mean that they have a chronic mental illness. You know, it's like when you lose a loved one. We talk about this all the time. When you lose a loved one, you're depressed, which is justifiable when you lose a loved one. But that doesn't mean that you now suffer from depression and you need to go on an RSID. You don't need to go on a long-term, you know, pill regimen because you lost someone that you love. And so quickly, people are like, well, let's just throw them in, sedate them, and then get a baseline without learning about anybody. And then they're not really getting the right picture of the individual, and therefore, they're not able to help them the way that they should be. And I think that has really leveled up in not a good way in the last even the last 10 years.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

You know, I'm gonna throw something out there for you guys to talk about where I'm gonna go with this. I'm gonna tell you a story, and then I'm gonna ask each of you, what should this look like? So you guys do advocacy at the macro and micro level, trying to fix both institutions. Michael, I've heard you talk before about all of the red tape, the barriers, the rules, and so forth. And and so, but here's the thing I want to tell you. I had a guest the other day, a few weeks ago, and he was raised in the 80s. And he said parenting in the 80s was mostly lots of TV and SSRIs. And so that was 40 years ago, and his experience of being raised in the 80s was it was you know, shut the kid up, put him in front of the TV, and give him antidepressants for everything that was wrong with him. And I just found it curious that that was his description of growing up 40 years ago. Oh, and both of his parents were doctors, incidentally. Wow, and so I I'm wondering that there's definitely something going on, but just I just want to throw that in there, and you don't need to comment on it. But what I'd like to ask you now is what should we be doing? Like we have all these rules and regulations. If anybody touches anybody, it's a felony. If anybody says the wrong thing, everybody in the universe is offended. And so everybody's feels like we walk through our society and our social posts and our interactions on eggshells because everybody's got this weird dance. And I think maybe that gets in the way of the kind of just genuine down home, dirt poor farm boy compassion that we ought to be having for each other. So, what should this look like starting from where we're at?

Returning To Character And Authenticity

SPEAKER_03 17:39

I wrote a book called Character, become the person that your social media quote unquote friends already think you are. Right. And and and I called it that because I truly believe that we in our very essence, we know what it means to have character. We all have character, and we we can get back to what it means to be a good character as opposed to being the character that we think everybody else wants us to be. We have our true authentic selves. We we know what makes us tick. If you did soul searching or any kind of introspection for even a five-minute meditation piece, which you know, I frankly don't do, but if I were to do that, you know, I know that there's some purpose that I have, and it's not it's not to be what everybody else wants me to be. And that's probably why I say that, you know, I took the role of my personality and who I am and forced myself into the the practice that I that I made for myself and shaking trees and busting up systems because I had to be true to that. I could not be in the rigid confines of the law, in spite of the education and and and liking that on a philosophical level, I suppose. So I took who I am and I and I kind of grabbed it by the throat and made it succumb to what I wanted it to be. And I think we all just need to get back to that as opposed to being worried about what everybody else wants us to be. And I'm I'm not gonna get on a pedestal and talk about oh, you're too much time on the phone and all this other stuff. And I'm not the guy that complained about medications, although I do think that we push too many medications. But but and and I would push back on the notion, I was I grew up in the 80s, and I don't remember all the kids being SS.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

I would just it's not yeah, no, I get it.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

I am either, but yeah, so and I certainly was never allowed to watch TV, so but that's that's just an example, you know, and yeah, we picked it too far apart. So I don't know, Victoria. I'm sure can tell us all about how wrong I am now.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

No, there's no wrong. The question was, what should we be? And what I'm hearing you say, Michael, and I want you guys to do this, is that there is something innate in us that teaches us the right. I'm gonna use right in quotes because people are gonna do whatever they do with that, but that shows us that guides us a proper, good right, we'll call it right for lack of a better word. We know somewhere in there there's a right way to be. And somehow this soundbite society that we've created has invited us to put forth the picture of someone else, of fitting into some framework, some box, some personas because we believe that we ought to be cool or wealthy or something. And so we fit ourselves or force ourselves into that. But what I heard you say is there is some kind of an underlying essence in us that is drawn toward kindness, goodness, helpfulness, the kind of system and place that you're talking about ought to exist. And that we need to listen to that instead of the other noise that is getting louder and louder around us. Did I hear that right?

SPEAKER_03 21:07

I think so. And if it did exist, then happily I wouldn't have a job.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Okay, cool. I want you to hold on to that because the question I would ask you, not right now, because I want to go to Victoria, but if there is an essence in us that is aimed at good or adding good to the world, loving each other, lifting blessing, providing services and help and support that are needed. Hmm, my question would be wow, where did that come from? Anyway, Victoria, I'd like to go to you. What should happen? Like, where do we need to go given where we are right now?

The Listening Problem In Healthcare

SPEAKER_02 21:46

One step forward is still one small step in the right direction. And we have to do it one step at a time. And it's the fact that people don't take the time anymore to listen. And that I think is the huge stepping stone that needs to be overcome. For instance, Mike and I talk about this all the time. Like when you go to the doctor, I went in, I was at the doctor today, and the doctor gets three to four minutes to prepare to come in to see you. And we're in there about our health or our mental health. We're in there about something about us. And they spend 12, 14 minutes total with you. You wait weeks and weeks, if not months, to get in to see them. And then they come in and they have three to four minutes of overview on you. What if you have a long medical history? What if you have all sorts of other things? And they come in there and they're just quick, quick, quick, quick. It's almost like a windmill that they're just going through the motion because, you know, they have to have so many people they see in a day. They have so many people they do procedures in a day. Then they're like, here's a script, here's a script, here's a script. But then that's the thing. Take an extra minute or so and listen. And it will go so much further. And one step small, it equals out to be a lot of small steps turning into big steps. And it's the right direction it needs to go in. Even the first thing I would say to people is just take a minute and listen. I mean, whether it's a caregiver on behalf of a loved one advocating for a loved one, or you know, if you're self-advocating for yourself, those are so important, but so quick. And it's not every doctor, Kellen, it's not, but they are in such a rush to get through their day that they can't give the time. And by the end of the day, they're exhausted and they're tired and they don't want to come in and just sit down and hear, why are you here today? What brought you to me today? How can I help? I never hear that anymore. Even advocating as a special needs mom, as someone who's gone through a lot of surgeries myself, you don't have a doctor come in who says, How can I help you? What are you here for today? What brought you to me? And just taking an extra minute or two really will make things a lot better for everybody all the way around.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

So there's another addition. So, Michael, you said giving in to this thing that's innate within us that we've somehow camouflage, lost, or had beat out of us. Victoria, you're saying listen, take the time to listen. And both of you are saying institutionally, we have created pressure. And I happen to have a lot of doctors that are or have been clients over the years, either to write books or to as regular coaching clients. And the thing that they're one of the things, they're not asking me to fix the medical system, but that I hear a lot about is that very pressure. The amount of time that you have. But the appointments that the doctor has from one to the next are only 15 minutes. And that includes transition time and prep time and yo mama time and everything else. Like everything is 15 minutes. And it says right there on the wall, if you have more than one issue, you need to book two appointments. Well, good luck getting two appointments back to back. You know, good luck with any of that kind of stuff. Because in trying to prevent that kind of thing that you're saying, meaning if you pour everything in the universe on me and I only got 15 minutes, counting all the rest of the time, which means just a few in here, it isn't going to work. And so what I'm hearing is we have institutionally created a system that's unfeeling pressure on the people that need to give the care, like the doctors in that case, and people that are at different levels, which are advocates and caregivers, and you know, we're taking care of my wife's mom and have been for six years, and she's blind and 95 and whatever, and got lots of jazz. And so I we I understand that also. And so you're saying, okay, a small step forward. Like I the doctor, the particular doctor that I have, I talk to him. He teaches at the university still, and so he he he's always involved in the political processes of what the laws are and what things are going. That's why I get an earful all the time because I ask him, so how's this going? How's that going? Because I'm interested for the same reason that you guys are talking about. Well, so we've created an institutional monster. I don't think we're going to solve it in the length of this conversation, or even maybe what the next steps ought to be exactly, other than gee, it would be nice if people could listen or give in to their better natures. I'd like to move to specifically what you guys are doing, because we live in this system that is too short, too clipped, formed into what should be this and that, pushes people away from the intimacy, kindness, listening, and everything else that you've described. So I'm going to agree with all that. What are we doing to take those small steps forward? Either

Busting Red Tape And Building Collaboration

SPEAKER_01 26:40

one of you, like what are you doing to, and I believe you, I know you are, so this isn't a what are you doing? It's a genuine, like what things are you and are you able to do to make even a small change?

SPEAKER_03 26:53

I I genuinely believe that the people who are our social workers, our caseworkers, our nurses, our doctors, our technicians. They're going into this field, they're putting in their blood, sweat, and to tears, their time and their money to learn to do something that they bottom of want to do since they're little kids. They do it because they have a love for people and a love for caring. I believe that. Period, stop. But if you look at the way that we have become just pawns to insurance and everything else that goes along with the money side of care, frankly, it just really paints an ugly picture as to why the doctors don't have the time. And I really believe in the doctors that I speak to and that I've had interviewed myself on my podcast and other things, they see it, they know it, they're dismayed by it, and they want to fix for it too. But we're all caught up in the system. So one of the things that I I have done on a again, on a macro level, I I like to go in and I like to bust these systems open and to try to get in the rooms with the administrators, with the the policymakers, and have them take a get introspective, get introspective about where you're losing, where you're lacking, where you're not doing as well as you can be, who's doing the job better than you are and why. How can you collaborate to bring your strengths and their strengths together or your strengths, their weaknesses, and vice versa? So I I believe in the trickle up economics of fixing this, but I also believe in the trickle down that it can start, the message has to come from the top that we aren't afraid to collaborate, we aren't afraid to admit that we don't have all the answers, and we're not afraid to have somebody else come in and say to us there's things that you could be doing better. And and that's okay, because if you really, and I know you do, if you really believe in caring for people, then wouldn't you always want to be striving for doing it the best way possible so that the next best thing you do will always be the best thing you ever did, right? That's what I really think that when people see that and they and they accept that, then they start listening more to Victoria's point. They start opening their ears and saying, Oh my god, look at the impact of this that this has had this family. Never mind our entire system, our entire service system, but this family has been living 24 hours and 45 minutes, 23 hours and 45 minutes a day with this situation. I'm seeing the 15-minute snapshot. I got to look at how I can help the other 23 hours and 45 minutes. And I think my math is right there.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Your math is perfect. That's interesting. So I'm gonna ask you in a sec what is the reception when people when you get into these institutional boardrooms and places, because you know, you lit labeled insurance company, and the other big ones big pharma. So you've got, you know, big pharma, which is trillions of dollars, and you've got insurance companies, which are trillions of dollars, and they're looking at bottom lines, and they push hospitals, care clinics, and all those kinds of institutions in that direction, of only optimizing for bottom line stuff. I'm curious as to both what arguments you use, how effective it is, and and what you know, what is next. But I'd like to get Victoria's take on on what she what you're specifically what things you do, like Mike, Michael was talking about.

The Care Binder Method For Families

SPEAKER_02 30:46

When I go in, I I'm like the pit bull. I know Mike will very quickly agree. I I go in like the pit bull. Thanks. He's making faces. I I go in and I fight for the underdog. Like, you know, I'm gonna make sure you get the services that you're required to get, that you're that you should be getting. You know, there there are so many things a frazzled loved one, a parent, a child, you know, taking care of their parent or a parent taking care of their child is seeing. I mean, nobody raises their hand and says, hey, I'm gonna be a special needs mom, I'm gonna be a special needs caregiver. And they don't know that there's all these waivers and services that can be provided and respite care and all of these other things. And when you go out there and they're doing their rounds, the doctors are doing their rounds, or you have all of these allogists, you know, you have tenologists, as I say, and they don't communicate to each other. And we have this my chart thing here, which is bogus boloney, where they don't go in there and look at each other and they don't even communicate. It's like, oh, you already have, I'm gonna send you down the blood work. I just had blood work last week. Oh, I didn't even see it in the system. That's not really your fault. It's the fact that you have three minutes to come in and prepare. And it's like, let's say, you know, I try to tell people all the time, have your stuff in order because a lot of time the doctors will scan things and they're not being able to. And it's not because all of them don't want to listen, not all of them, but when you have your stuff in order and it has to be such a perfect order, which I think is so imperative that you go in there and you say, Hey, here's allergies, because they don't have time. What are your allergies? What are you this? I'm gonna send you a script to the pharmacy, but they don't ask you what your allergies are, right? What if you have an allergic reaction to it and you've waited a week and a half to get your child into urgent, you know, to go in to see your pediatric doctor? So you go in there with your stuff in order, it gives you less chaos, it gives you less stress, and you can just go in there and communicate and say, here, this is what's going on. If you have anybody, whether it's mental health, whether it's trauma-based, which is also mental health, or you have physical health, and there are a lot of complex windows to it. You don't go to an asthma doctor until you've seen a general practitioner. And so you've got all these other cooks in the restaurant, but they're not talking about what needs to be done. So if you have everything in line together in a documented form and you hand it to them, that is so important, Kellen, because then they can just read it very quickly. And they're not going to have time to go log into my chart, use their badge, sign in, go pull up the patient, verify everything. And nine times out of 10, the doctor doesn't even come in and say, Oh, are you Mike McPhack? What's your date of birth? They don't do that. They just assume you are who you are. And so to be able to hand them something and say, here is a snapshot of the most important information, you are the strongest advocate for yourself and your loved one. And that is something we need to do more of.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

So let me ask you a question, because this strikes me, as you describe this, I'm getting all excited and I'm like, yeah, yeah, if somebody could help everybody do that. So here's what I picture, right? Victoria hangs a shingle, and there's a line a mile long outside your door because people either don't know how or don't have the physical or emotional mental stamina to do all this stuff. So, how do you pick the one or two or five people or 10 people in a week that you can actually like help with? Obviously, one way is to instruct people. Here are the 10 things you need to do. And then it's making those instructions available. But it sounds like you do some hands-on stuff. So how do you pick the people you help?

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Well, the way I do it is I am the biggest advocate for having a care binder, to have something that has everything in it and it's labeled. But most people don't know the pertinent questions because this is either a new thing for them, that they're new to being a caregiver, they're new to being a patient in this realm. And so they don't know the questions to ask. And AI doesn't know the questions to ask, and Google doesn't know the questions to ask. But when you have people who have done this, like Mike and I together have over 50 years together, and this is what I have done in the hospitals, in the doctor's offices, fighting for what's right for the patients. And you have all of that written down and right in front of you, everything is so much calmer because you have it at your fingertips and you put it in front of that healthcare provider and say, here. And it's easier for them, it's easier for you, it's easier for your loved one. And it just makes life so much easier for everyone all the way around.

SPEAKER_01 35:28

So as I hear you do this, it's clear that you have experience and this is passionate for you. And you you didn't answer my question, but that's okay. My question was how do you pick the two or three or ten? And I don't want you to answer this because I want to go to Mike for a minute. But I how I how would a person like you pick the two or three or ten to get blessed with the wealth of knowledge that you have? And and two, how do people know about you or someone like you who has the experience first? And second, the passion to go to bat. I mean, that's really valuable. So it seems like you should get paid a lot of money to do that, but we'll get there in a minute. Michael, so let's go down the road of specifics of what you do and how the reaction is when you get in these boardrooms institutional stuff. What happens?

SPEAKER_03 36:22

It's it's

From Pushback To Demand For Care Coordinators

SPEAKER_03 36:23

it's interesting. I've been thinking about it since you asked me, well, sort of warned me that you were gonna ask me this uh about two minutes ago. Um, you know, I've been doing I've been practicing law for over 30 years, and I've been working in this nonprofit sector that I started in since 2001. So we're talking 25 years there. And I have to tell you that this is and this is good news that the world is getting better. When I first started practicing, and I came in to tell people that I was there as a care coordinator, and I was going to take what Callan has to say and what Victoria has to say and what Michael has to say, and I'm gonna combine those things and I'm gonna pass out good knowledge, good information in real time. I'm gonna make sure that Callan does his job and Victoria does her job. Everything was lost. People stared at me just blank faced, they had no idea what I was talking about and how it fit in. Now I go around the country and I talk and I do and I and I love to engage with people about their systems, and they know exactly how, or at least why I'm doing the work I'm doing. 25 years ago, they didn't understand the why. Now, the how was a little bit more difficult. But when I so to answer your question more specifically, 25 years ago there was a lot of pushback, man. People thought we were coming in as a babysitter, they thought we were coming in as a tattletale, another person looking over our shoulders, more red tape, right? Instead of being less red tape, they saw us as more red tape. Now we are sought after. We our our our perspective is sought after to try to teach, and I think this goes to the question you were asking, Victoria, and probably the next question that you were going to ask her. I think that what it's become now is we can teach people because of the wonderful IT that we have out here, the wonderful systems. We can grab more people on a broader scale. We can create a an instructional basis so that people are informed. They do know how to walk the walk and talk the talk. And and I my my career, my job has really become more about that teaching people how to think outside the box, people who are in the system, making the decisions and the policies, and also the families who are stuck in the system through no fault of their own. And then believe me, they don't want to be. So so, specifically speaking, I I'm interested in what we're we're putting together is this movement, this care coalition movement to really unite people around this idea that we deserve to be heard, we will be heard, but we're gonna do it in a in a in a manner that's gonna be as Victoria said, I can't believe the word calm came out came out of her mouth, which is just so so we're gonna do it in in a systematic way that's just guys, yeah. I guess let's lower the temperature is the way I would say it. Let's lower the temperature and let's just approach this. I understand the macro level limitations, I understand the the micro level limit uh limitations, and somewhere in the middle we have to meet. We have to find that happy medium in order to be able to serve what we've got now, what we're gonna come back with in the future. So so I really think that we've gone from a place of dumbfoundedness where we just didn't understand, we didn't know what we didn't know, to now being in a place where we're where we're really, really open and willing to be told. We're open and willing to learn. And and I think that that's where when Victoria and I team up, we can take the experience uh and our credentials and really help people to understand how they can become their own advocates, how they can become that voice. And that way, you know, you you you impact one, you impact the many. You to what is it was it what's the saying, Callin? You speak to one, speak to one, talk to many. Talk to many. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Right. So here's what I'm hearing, and I'm excited as I hear this, because technology has been our friend in this. Because one way to approach this is to have a you know, a Michael in every state, or in 10 of you in big states, and and 50 million in Victoria, because there's that many people that need individual advocacy, and you know, train people and get them all as excited as you are, and that's not gonna happen. So that's not a way that we can fix this on a global scale. But what I know, I have a friend right now, client, who is building an app, and it's a called Better Human, and it's about you know mental mindset, stuff like that, et cetera. But is there uh is your vision at least to provide a centralized process location? I'm gonna call it an app because everything in the world is an app this right this minute, but whatever that is an advocacy, personal advocacy or personal health advocacy app, where not only can people learn the things that they have the right to, the list of questions, but they can put in their own crap. This is my crap. What do I need to do? Kind of like that. And it would be like uh the way I'm thinking about it is a specialized or chat, you know, some kind of a thing that

The Care Coalition Movement Takes Shape

SPEAKER_01 41:37

is very specialized with the right vocabulary and the right systems and the right resources. And then another the other piece of that would be to get the medical, and I don't know the insurance and pharma, that's a stretch, but let's just say the medical and the people on board with this idea that there is a repository of good information that will assist both the care provider and the person needing care or their caregiver, where they can then communicate together. Now, I just made all that up listening to you talk, and I'm wondering what your plan is.

SPEAKER_03 42:12

I it's it's funny you should ask that, Kellen. What we're here for. No, no, no, it it it because Victoria and I actually have prepared something for tonight that we're gonna, and I'm gonna let her talk because I know she can go for the next 20 minutes and I don't have to say anything, but you are spot on. You you're absolutely right. We need to be able to parlay this technology in our in the ability that we have to reach so many people, and you have so many people that you reach every day, Kellen. And Victoria reaches a ton of people as well. We have to be able to reach these people and to give them exactly what you're describing. So using the promo code Kellen, go ahead, Victoria. Tell them about the we have we we've we've designed some really cool stuff for people to do exactly what you just laid out. And I'm gonna ask for the recording of this so we could use it as our advertising materials.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

You absolutely can have the recording and get a hold of me later and I'll tell you where to get it. You can have it tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 43:09

All right, Victoria, go ahead because I can't, it's just perfect that he'd set that up like so you'd hit it right out of the park, right?

SPEAKER_02 43:16

Well, we have been working very, very hard together. We we bring out the best in each other, even though he likes to, you know, get under my skin. And so literally, like we bring out the best of each other, and we have been working on a concept that was Michael's, and it was putting together a care coalition journal. And it has everything you need. It has just, I mean, a wealth of the right questions, the right information. This is something that you should keep a copy of in your vehicle. Keep it in any special needs family member knows or special needs

Launching The Care Coalition Journal

SPEAKER_02 43:52

person themselves has an emergency bag. Put a copy of it in your emergency bag, make copies of it, and you can also have it digitally on your phone. These are amazing things that like when when Mike and I sat down and we're talking about this, we have come up with a journal and we're launching it for the very first time here with you tonight. So you're the very first person we've launched it out with. And if you go to carecoalition.org, you're gonna see in the menu it says care coalition journal. It is amazing. I mean, you can't go anywhere and get all of the pages that this has and put it into one. And this is really just one area that we're working on just right now. This is the first of many, many launches because you have this amazing opportunity to go get this journal, which is exactly what I was talking about earlier. And it has all that information. It has a map in there that shows all of the doctors. And if you hand it to your specialist, it has everybody right there. So he didn't have to go and look or she didn't have to go and look. It's all right there. Everything that's important, anything that causes an action, a reaction, it's all here. And it's been identified in two sections, and it is just beautifully done. And I'm a little jealous because it's better than what I originally did myself when I did this before I became on partner with Mike.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

So care coalition.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

All right, so let's yeah. So I want to be really clear with people. Go get the care coalition journal, carecoalition.org. Okay. And who give me the list of five or ten people that want this thing? This is for who?

SPEAKER_03 45:35

It is absolutely for anybody who finds themselves in a caregiving situation. So if you are taking care of a loved one in any capacity for any reason, mental illness, chronic illnesses, long-term illnesses like dementia, Alzheimer's, even long-term prolonged illnesses, like I don't know, Huntington's Korea, or even uh cancers and things along.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

Caregivers, I want to get through the list because we have four minutes left. So caregivers of any kind need to go to carecoalition.org and get the care navigator. Say it again.

SPEAKER_03 46:07

The care navigator journal.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

Care navigator journal. So if you give care for anybody for any reason, carecoalition.org, care navigator. Who else needs it?

SPEAKER_03 46:16

But it but it also works very well for the providers and providers who have a lot of these clients on their on their roster, right? Let them know that you are open to this kind of information, that this kind of information would be very valuable for you as a professional to have. It's great for case managers, care social workers, case managers, therapists, etc.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

And the patient themselves.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

Okay, so I'm gonna say this back to you case managers, social workers, providers, institutions that have a any significant portion of people who need care. So the caregiver itself, the providers, the institutions, the the therapists, all of those people. This is a resource that allows you to have a central repository, about streamline access to to names and stuff like that. Who fills this out? Who fills it in so it's populated with all the right stuff?

SPEAKER_03 47:20

The the user, the caregiver typically would be the person filling it out in coordination with the person, the the person who's got an illness in coordination with the family and the team. See, this is one of the important things. These caregivers need to make themselves an important member of the team of providers. So that's one of the things that we really encourage. Another thing that's encouraged in this journal is that the the care for the caregiver. Make sure you're taking time for yourself. So there's a whole section in there that's just devoted to that. Daily check-ins, etc. We are

Discount Code And Free Support Community

SPEAKER_03 47:54

going to offer everybody from your listeners here. I just wanted to make sure we said this, a 25% discount on the journal. So they got to enter Kellen is the promo code, right? Victoria, I'm pretty sure.

SPEAKER_02 48:04

It is right. And also, and also very quickly, we at on Facebook in the Mental Health Resource Network, it's a public group that we established and we give freebies all the time that will go in there. And if it's advantageous to what you have going on, you can download it and add it into your group. And we do lives. So you have the opportunity to come into the group. There's no charge. You're human, you know, we recognize you, we value you, and you get the opportunity to go on a QA with us because we do lives all the time in there now.

SPEAKER_01 48:35

All right. So here's what we need. We got about a minute left. I need you to tell me and the listeners where they need to go to find more, to hear more. Because we just, you know, spewed a whole bunch of stuff on them. Maybe they'll remember it all and maybe they won't. But if they're feeling a little hyperventilating right now about remembering this, where can they go to find this besides re-listening to the show a couple of times? Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

Well, you can go to carecoalition.org. Yeah, that's the easiest place. And go to go to Facebook and look up Care Coalition.

SPEAKER_02 49:08

Mental Health Resource Network.

SPEAKER_01 49:11

Okay, Mental Health Resource Network, CareCoalition.org, Victoria Cure, and Michael Magniak, and you'll recognize it. Nobody looks as nice as Michael, the beauty you were talking about.

SPEAKER_03 49:24

You can't hide handsome.

SPEAKER_01 49:25

No, you can't hide handsome. All right. So look, you guys, we could have spent a lot longer talking in detail about this. You've given a compelling story, a compelling reason why you're doing this, a compelling case for what's not functioning. The driver seems to be profit and greed for insurance and pharma. And we didn't say that, but I'm saying it, and you can disagree if you want. But that seems to be some of what's part of this. And the key to me was slow down, learn to listen,

Where To Go Next And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 49:58

learn to love, return to that innate place that is part of your nature. And I want you to just you said that. And so I want you to think about what that means because that's who we are, without the externalities put on us and into us. I want to thank you both for being here today, Victoria. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

Thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate you, Michael.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

Thank you for being here and for sharing your pat both of your passion and your knowledge. Michael, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 50:35

Well, thank you, Calvin, for everything you do for so many. Thanks very much.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

All right, you guys. Here's the thing: this could have gone on for at least a couple of hours. You've got a couple of really passionate advocates who are dedicated to allowing people to have the care they need, the support they need, that that that is just so that we all would desire to have ourselves and that other people ought to be able to access. And I agree with Michael's frustration a bit. It can't really be that hard, can it? And I can tell you for sure if we listen to the truth within us and the desires that we all have to love, to serve, to be kind, to lift and bless, we can move forward together, and each of us can create that ultimate life.

SPEAKER_00 51:34

You're listening to your ultimate life with Kellen Flucky here, only on LA Top Radio.