• "For the first time since my diagnosis, I didn’t feel like I was trying to figure everything out by myself."

    —Amy T.
    Breast Cancer Survivor

  • "The medical terms and measurements felt like a foreign language. My advocate helped me understand what was happening and how to actually move forward."

    —Steven W.
    Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

  • "I went from feeling overwhelmed and powerless to feeling like I could actually advocate for myself."

    —Alexandra P.
    Kidney Transplant Survivor

  • "My advocate helped me stop chasing the idea of being ‘fixed’ and start figuring out how to live a full life with my condition."

    —Caitlyn E.
    Living with LADA

Why We Exist

NAVOCATE Health was founded by a patient who spent years navigating complex healthcare firsthand.

Living with Type 1 diabetes led to serious complications over time, including kidney failure that ultimately required a dual-organ transplant.

During that journey, one reality became clear: navigating serious medical care often requires patients and families to quickly understand complicated information, coordinate multiple specialists, and make important decisions within healthcare systems that can feel difficult to navigate.

Much of that responsibility falls directly on the patient.

NAVOCATE Health was created so people facing serious medical situations have access to experienced guidance, independent advocacy, and someone who understands what is truly at stake because they’ve lived it too. Our mission is simple: humanizing healthcare through independent patient advocacy bringing compassion, clarity, and confidence to patients and families facing life-changing medical diagnoses and providing steady support throughout life-changing medical journeys

A Perspective Impacted by Experience

Serious healthcare journeys often include moments few people are blindsided by: hearing an unfamiliar diagnosis, coordinating care across multiple specialists, facing complex treatment decisions, and navigating healthcare systems that can feel overwhelming. Experiencing these moments firsthand revealed how difficult it can be for patients and families to find clarity when so much feels uncertain. We believe people facing serious medical journeys deserve guidance from those who understand both the healthcare system and the reality of living through it.

From Personal Experience to Patient Advocacy

NAVOCATE Health grew from a clear realization: patients navigating serious medical situations often need more than medical expertise alone. They need guidance from people who understand what it means to face complex healthcare decisions as a patient or caregiver. Today we connect patients with trained advocates who have lived through serious healthcare journeys themselves or alongside loved ones. That lived experience, combined with structured training, allows advocates to offer what many patients need most: perspective, preparation, and presence.

Where NAVOCATE Health Is Today

NAVOCATE Health has grown into a network of trained patient advocates with diverse healthcare experiences. Our advocates bring perspectives shaped by their own journeys navigating complex medical care.

Together, they form a growing community focused on helping patients better understand their care, prepare for decisions, and navigate healthcare systems with greater confidence.

NAVOCATE Health was built on the belief that lived experience is essential in understanding all a person is going through when facing healhcare challenges, beyond the doctor’s office.

No one navigating complex healthcare should have to do it alone.

About Our Founder

Ali Dugger is the founder of NAVOCATE Health, and a dual-organ transplant survivor.

For many years, her life was defined by the realities of severe chronic illness. Type 1 diabetes led to kidney failure, dialysis, and a series of complications that brought her repeatedly into hospitals and complex medical systems. During that time, she experienced firsthand how difficult it can be for patients and families to understand medical information, navigate healthcare systems, and make life-altering decisions under immense pressure.

Surviving a journey like that changes a person’s understanding of healthcare. It reveals both the extraordinary dedication of medical professionals and the profound gaps patients often face when trying to navigate complicated systems while fighting for their lives.

NAVOCATE Health was founded to bridge those gaps.

Its mission is simple: to ensure that patients and families facing serious medical journeys have access to clear guidance, experienced, compassionate support, and having someone in their corner who truly understands what it means when the stakes are not just life and death, but everything in between and beyond.