When Advocacy Meets Action: Giving Patients a Voice in the Orlando Sentinel

Recently, I had the honor of being published in the Orlando Sentinel, addressing an issue I see every single day in our community: pricing barriers that stand in the way of vital medications.

As the CEO and clinician of Primera Specialty Infusion in Lake Mary, I work closely with patients living with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic conditions who rely on advanced biologic therapies to stay healthy. These medications are not optional. They are lifelines.

In addition to leading Primera, I serve on the Executive Board of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation Central Florida Chapter and as a Business Development Manager for Hudson Regional Health’s 340B program. Across each of these roles, I see the same challenge from different angles: patients who need treatment and systems that too often make access difficult.

Too often, patients face uncertainty not because their treatment is not working, but because it may suddenly become unaffordable.

In the article, I shared what many families quietly experience: rising drug costs, difficult financial tradeoffs, delayed care due to insurance barriers, and emotional stress layered on top of chronic illness.

I also highlighted a powerful solution that deserves more attention, biosimilars. These lower-cost, rigorously tested alternatives create competition, reduce prices, and expand access. When competition is allowed to work, patients win.

Through community-based infusion care and cost reduction programs, including 340B initiatives designed to stretch healthcare dollars and expand access, I have seen what happens when barriers are lowered. Symptoms stabilize. Energy returns. Families plan vacations instead of hospital visits. People begin living again instead of just managing illness.

Being given a platform in the Orlando Sentinel was not about recognition. It was about responsibility.

As business leaders and community partners, we all play a role in supporting healthcare access. Employers feel the impact of rising healthcare costs. Families feel the strain. Our broader economy feels it too.

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to elevate the voices of patients in Central Florida and beyond. Advocacy does not end at the bedside. It continues in boardrooms, policy discussions, and community leadership.

At Primera Specialty Infusion, and through my work in advocacy and 340B program development, I remain committed to expanding access, supporting fair competition, and ensuring patients receive the treatment they need without unnecessary financial barriers.

Because affordable treatment is not just a policy issue. For the patients we serve, it is stability. It is dignity. It is hope.

Thank you to the Orlando Sentinel for amplifying this important conversation and thank you to our Chamber community for supporting leadership that puts patients first.