 During the same time period (2007–2009) another organization, the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, was established to support private patient advocates wishing to expand their knowledge, establish their credentials, and grow or expand their independent private health advocacy businesses.The organization has expanded its reach into many aspects of health advocacy including best business and ethical practices of this budding career.Each year the Alliance awards excellence in private health advocacy with the H. Kenneth Schueler Patient Advocacy Compass Award, an award named after H. Kenneth Schueler, one of the first health advocates to establish a private practice in the United States.