Patricia Fennell

Patricia A. Fennell is the chief executive officer of Albany Health Management Associates. She is a clinician, research scientist, educator, and author specializing in chronic illness, chronic and post-viral syndromes, trauma, forensics, hospice, global health care concerns, autoimmune and post-viral disease, clinical education, and training.

Education and experience

Fennell graduated from The College of Saint Rose in New York State with an undergraduate sociology degree, and received her graduate degree in social work from the State University of New York at Albany.

She began her career in social work in the hospice setting. She determined that the care given to the dying could be applied to individuals with chronic illnesses. In the course of time she concentrated on working, supporting, and creating a new treatment approach for chronic syndromes. Study results suggest that Fennell's model accurately describes the phases of illness adaptation that persons with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) experience, and that phase models may help researchers understand disparate results seen in CFS research studies. The model may also be a useful tool for lifestyle modification in age management. Physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers are instructed in her courses on how to apply her approach to patients. Board of Directors of the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and ME. Medical Advisory Panel for the Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey and Sussex (UK).