El Rio Health Center patient advocacy is an integral part of medical care; advocates are experienced and sensitive to the needs of the individual patient.  They facilitate the unmet health care needs of patients by advocating solutions to problems encountered in obtaining services.

Patient Advocates offer a range of services to address the medical, psychological, and social needs of the patient.  They are the liaison between the internal and external social services to ensure the continuity of patient care throughout the El Rio system and various community agencies.  The Patient Advocate will facilitate and/or coordinate progress of various solutions by providing guidance at each step.  Patient Advocates are culturally sensitive, to ensure a patient receives the best quality of services.

Patient Advocates also assist with patient registration to include screening patients’ eligibility for health care coverage with the aid of Health-e-Arizona, Arizona’s electronic health care application developed by El Rio and other collaborators.  Patients can learn if they and/or other family members are eligible for state and community programs such as AHCCCS, KidsCare, PCAP, or a sliding-fee scale.