Explore our Transformational Work
Research & Systems Change
Our research and advocacy efforts are designed for lasting systems change. We are working hard to find solutions.
Education
Our programs combine patient advocacy, in depth knowledge of how health systems operate, and experiential learning to prepare tomorrow’s health justice leaders.
Advocacy
Students offer free advocacy and navigation services for patients entangled in healthcare and insurance systems – because no one should have to go it alone.
Our Mission: To create a more just, people-centered healthcare system that works for ALL patients and providers.
We seek justice in three important ways:
- Our advocates work closely with patients to help them navigate their own care.
- Our researchers study and support the patient experience.
- Our educators give University of Wisconsin students the tools to change systems—and people’s lives.
Our Vision: We deserve a healthcare system everyone can access, understand, and afford.
Our Approach: We train health advocates, conduct research, and guide patients to make healthcare better for all.
News
Advocacy Takes Many Forms: Restoring Access to Life Changing Care by Addressing Procedure Coding
When Jodie Mazza contacted the Health Justice Clinic, her family was facing an unexpected setback in her husband Carl’s recovery from oral cancer. After undergoing treatment that required the removal of part of the roof …
October 19, 2026
Resource Navigator Alumni Publish Dental Research in the Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research
Four graduates of CPP’s Community Resource Navigator Program (CRNP) recently published research they completed through the program in the Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning and Community-Based Research. Titled The Impact of the Resource Navigator Program: …
October 12, 2026Fighting for Insurance Coverage Validated: Patient Persistence and CPP Advocacy Leads to Coverage for Medically Necessary Cochlear Implant Surgery
When Aleeza Barkas was diagnosed with a rare form of progressive hearing loss, she expected the medical challenges ahead. What she didn’t expect was that she would have to spend over a year fighting her insurance …
October 5, 2026- Read more
“CPP has been the most personally impactful experience of my graduate program. Through the coursework, but especially through the connections I’ve made with clients and fellow advocates, I’ve gained important understanding of healthcare from an individual to systems level.
My time at CPP has laid the foundation for a future career grounded in patient narratives.”
Law, Medical Sciences and Nursing 768
All are welcome here.
The Center for Patient Partnerships and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
are located on unceded, ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk people.