Congressman Neal takes questions from students during his visit.
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Monument Mountain Regional High School sophomore Jonah Sanabria is the winner of this year's Congressional App Challenge for the 1st Massachusetts District.
His Health Advocate application acts as just that in your pocket, Sanabria said, helping resolve one of the biggest problems in health care — miscommunication.
"Every day, patients of all ages go to the doctor feeling stressed, confused, scared and uncertain, meaning they often forget what they wanted to say, and they leave without fully understanding what was said or the plan ahead," he said.
"It's not because doctors don't care; it's because the system is set up in a way that makes relaxed communications really hard. Appointments are abbreviated. Patients aren't always sure what they can ask physicians, and nerves often make them forgetful."
The challenge was authorized by Congress in 2015 to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Each representative may host an official computer science competition in their districts. More than 85,000 high school students in all 50 states have since participated, with more than 18,000 in 2025.
Jonah beat out nine other submissions in the 1st Mass. His app will be featured on the challenge page and displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. In addition, he will have the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill in the spring at a celebration called #HouseOfCode, where winning teams from across the country hear from lawmakers, interact with sponsors and partners at the STEM Expo, and demonstrate their apps.
Before a scheduled doctor's appointment, the program asks the user about their symptoms, health issues, and health goals and organizes and prioritizes questions to ask during the doctor visit.
During the appointment, it quietly listens, and uses artificial intelligence to capture and fill gaps of what was discussed. It also reminds the user of the questions they wanted to ask, ensuring they are leaving with a clear plan.
"No forgotten questions, no confusion and no guessing after the appointment," Jonah said.
After the visit, it continues to support the user by tracking their medications, healthy habits, and goals, and providing timely reminders to help them stay on track with their care plan.
"The tool bridges the gaps between doctors and patients, helping people feel heard, respected, and confident in their care, because everyone deserves to understand their own health," he said.
Jonah was inspired by his personal experiences, specifically his and his mom's visits to the doctor, during which they forgot to ask certain questions.
"His grandfather also is going through some health issues, and he saw my husband helping to do some caregiving, and how challenging it was to navigate that," said Naomi Mersky, his mom.
What makes Jonah's tool so compelling is that it serves as a model for the future of health care: as hospitals move toward offering home health-care online, tools like this make the appointments easier, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said.
"Preventive medicine is a big deal," said the congressman, who attended the announcement of Jonah's winning app at the high school on Friday.
The application gives people a new perspective on what happens in doctor appointments, said 11-year-old Arlie Sanabria, Jonah's younger sister.
"Like a bunch of other people, sometimes I go there and I don't have questions answered. Like, when will I be able to run again with my broken knee, and I feel like this would help me and everyone else with those types of questions," she said.
Neal provided the students with the statistic that 20 percent of the American economy is hospital-driven, an "extraordinary number" that means the attending issues that come along with health care are really important.
"This whole notion of the relationship between a patient and a doctor is a big deal — a big, big deal. We never want patient care to be just a number that satisfies something that you have to do," Neal said.
"When you have that time with your doctor, you need to have the moment when you can ask them a question and not be afraid to do so, because you don't need the diagnosis to be missed. You need to be accurate, and not to be afraid when you're talking to a doctor."
There are a lot of challenges in health care and technology and this recognition brings more attention to the need for change, said Juan Sanabria, Jonah's father.
"There's young people coming up with really great ideas for how things might change, because they see the future. They're not stuck in how we do things now," he said.
"So, hopefully this is just part of the momentum, part of the conversation. I know that Congressman Neal's focused on it, and knows that access for rural residents could be so much better. We just have to use the tools that are there."
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