Lawyer and author Jacqueline Klosek knows adversity. Born with an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), also known as “hole in the heart,” she was later diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a gastro-intestinal illness often treated with good nutrition and exercise.
With healthy living not just a priority but a necessity for the Hoboken resident, Klosek has used her experience to launch a new radio show called “Your Right to Health,” an online program that tries to motivate people to produce positive change in their lives.
“With having heart surgery at a young age,” Klosek said, “I was really dedicated to staying healthy. I had to make sure I took as good care of myself as I could.”
The show answers listeners’ questions and invites guests onto the program to discuss pertinent health issues like safeguarding your personal medical information.
The first show, which aired Aug. 28, explored how the recent economic downturn has impacted preventive healthcare.
“I’ve always had that fighter instinct.” – Jacqueline Klosek
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On the show, Klosek explained how an “involuntary job loss” might lead to pressing psychological problems like “anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.”
Klosek is the author of five books on a plethora of subjects, mostly dealing with privacy and health care. In 2004, Ms. Klosek received NJ Biz magazine’s “40 Under 40” award, given annually to the top 40 achievers who have taken on key decision-making roles at an earlier-than-usual stage in their lives.
“The show covers everything from the FDA and how you can really judge certain foods, to picking a personal trainer,” Klosek said. “Or, what to do if you’re denied health insurance, which unfortunately is really common.”
You can listen to the pilot episode at www.healthbeatradio.com. The show will run every week indefinitely.
Protecting our rights
Besides the radio show, Klosek works as an attorney for the Manhattan-based law firm Goodwin Procter and is on the firm’s data privacy and security task force. She specializes in advising clients on security concerns.
“I’ve always had that fighter instinct,” Klosek said. “I’ve always been interested in human and civil rights, and the protection of those rights.”
Her latest book due out in November, called “Protecting Your Health Privacy: A Citizen’s Guide to Safeguarding the Security of Your Medical Information,” teaches others how to keep their healthcare information confidential.
The book “untangles the increasingly complex and devious ways” that everyone from marketers to social networking sites can “routinely collect, exploit, and exchange our personal health records.”
The book features tables of useful information, sample forms for exercising one’s health rights, and explanations of key terms and questions to ask one’s personal health-record provider.
Around the world
Klosek is well-educated and well-rounded, and has traveled the world. She studied at the famed Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium, and received a law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and an undergraduate degree in psychology from New York University.
“I was really interested in international law,” she said about her time in Brussels. Around the turn of the century, e-commerce was becoming more and more popular, Klosek said, and international companies were struggling to comply with new international laws. “The internet was becoming a significant presence,” she said. “Companies needed help.”
A board member of the Internet Bar Organization, a non-profit that has launched a number of notable projects, Klosek has worked on efforts like the PeaceTones initiative that helps local artists set up online businesses.
To learn more about Klosek or protecting your personal health information visit her website: www.jacquelineklosek.com.