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Meet Your AdvocateBridging the gap between healthcare and the people it serves.

About The Elder Care Advocate in Washington DC Metro

Clarity, advocacy, and care coordination when families need trusted support most.

The Elder Care Advocate helps families make clear, informed choices when elder care becomes complex, urgent, or emotionally charged. We offer structured guidance through situations where medical, legal, financial, and emotional factors all collide—starting with a comprehensive assessment and strategy report that brings the full picture into view.

Some clients come to us in crisis: a daughter sorting through conflicting cancer care plans for her spouse; a family hit with a $40,000 facility bill and a 30-day discharge notice. Others reach out to plan proactively: a professional coordinating care for two aging parents in separate states; a couple balancing elder support with their own careers.

Each situation presents different needs, but the goal remains the same: to protect dignity, clarify options, and give families the tools they need to act with purpose. Sorting through benefits, managing care transitions, or addressing potential financial exploitation all require coordination that respects both medical realities and personal values.

The Elder Care Advocate provides that so families can move forward with clarity and confidence.

The Heart Behind The Elder Care Advocate

Meet Nadene Bradburn, Board-Certified Patient Advocate

Nadene Bradburn, BCPA, founded the Elder Care Advocate to help families make confident, informed choices during life’s most difficult transitions and give clients the guidance she once needed.

Having worked in hospital leadership for many years, she recognized how confusing and fragmented elder care had become, even for those working inside the system. Then, at 24, Nadene survived a brain aneurysm that left her temporarily paralyzed. Two surgeries and months of rehabilitation gave her back her independence—and a new perspective on the importance of clear communication, timely care, and advocacy for the vulnerable. She earned her Master’s in Health Systems Management at the same academic medical center where she had been a patient.

Later, her experience caring for her own aging relatives deepened her commitment to elder-focused advocacy. As a volunteer Ombudsman, she witnessed how easily older adults fall through the cracks in nursing homes and long-term care settings. That insight, combined with her personal journey and professional foundation, led her to create a service that helps families navigate elder care with transparency, kindness, and strength.

What Guides Our Work

Principles That Shape Every Client Relationship

Advocacy

Standing up for seniors and their families, defending their choices and rights.

Integrity

Acting with honesty, transparency, and always doing what’s right.

Compassion

Leading with empathy, treating every person with kindness and respect.

Professionalism

Upholding standards, protecting privacy, and acting with respect.

Senior Advocacy Experience You Can Trust

Nadene brings over 25 years of healthcare leadership to her work, with roles spanning EMS systems, physician groups, hospital departments, and rural clinics. She’s developed staffing strategies for underserved areas, collaborated with hospice and palliative care teams, and led inpatient program design focused on end-of-life care.

Her leadership includes positions with Arthur Andersen, North Shore University Healthcare, Ascension Health, and United Health Services. In 2012, she founded Blackwell Associates, a mission-driven firm improving access to care in low-resource communities. Nadene holds a Master’s in Health Systems Management from Rush University, an M.A. in Early American Literature from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in English and Latin from Mount Holyoke College. She is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate.

Get In Touch

Our process begins with a conversation. During your no-obligation consultation, we’ll talk through your situation, explain how the assessment process works, and determine whether our services are a good fit for your family.

Let’s Start With a Conversation

Thoughtful, Thorough Senior Care Coordination

Elder care planning should reflect the whole picture—your loved one’s needs, your family’s resources, and the values you hold. That’s where our work begins.

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