Natalie Flynn

My passion for patient safety comes deeply from lived experience. I became ill at eight years old with a rare condition that was extremely difficult to diagnose. As doctors struggled to find an explanation for my symptoms, there were times when I was accused of faking my illness or my parents were suspected of making me sick. In reality, I was a child with a complex medical problem that did not have an easy answer.

I remained ill from the ages of eight to nineteen, spending much of my childhood and adolescence navigating the healthcare system. Despite having access to medical resources, finding answers often felt like a battle. One of the most difficult parts was not only living with chronic illness and pain, but having to repeatedly convince people that what I was experiencing was real. At times, my symptoms were dismissed because I was considered a “frequent flyer” in the emergency department, which was simply due to an uncontrolled severe illness. On one occasion, signs that I was acutely deteriorating were missed, ultimately resulting in a long stay in the ICU.

Eventually, I was fortunate to have an exceptional team of doctors and nurses dedicated to finding answers and managing my pain. My experiences on both sides of healthcare taught me how important it is for patients to feel heard and reinforced my belief that listening to patients is essential to safe, compassionate, high-quality care.

I first became involved with Patients for Patient Safety through my own experience as a patient, and its mission strongly resonated with me. After a career in finance, I realized my passion was in healthcare and supporting others through their own health journeys. I now work as an Assistant in Nursing and phlebotomist and am completing the final semester of my Master of Nursing degree.

I am honored to bring both my lived experience as a patient and my growing experience as a healthcare professional to my role as a Champion for Patients for Patient Safety US."