Ellen Sirkis is a member of the Patient and Family Council at the Med Star Montgomery Medical Center. That means that she hears of the inner workings of the hospital as well as the tremendous community connections and resources that the hospital facilitates. She can also bring up questions about any problems, which she sees and gets to address the appropriate staff member to learn how the hospital works.  Ellen considers herself an advocate for the Center because as a senior with chronic health issues she sees and experiences the benefit of having a holistic healthcare team rather than the fragmented grouping of specialists which she requires.  

Ellen taught English/Spanish and ESL on the community, high school and college levels here in Maryland. For 20 years, she managed the Rockville based Family Dental Practice of Dr. Marvin P. Sirkis, her husband. Her internship at the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., was under the direction of the Department of Clinical Pastoral. Her M.A. degree in Health Care Communication continues to inform her personal and volunteer activities. For the past 22 years, she has been a Bereavement Facilitator for children and adults under the auspices of Maryland's only non-medical hospice, now called Caring Matters.