Something extraordinary about Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky is its in-house telephone representatives. Instead of outsourcing this work to an external call center, PPGNHAIK has chosen to build its own telephone communication infrastructure.
So, when patients and supporters reach out via phone, the person they speak with has a direct point of connection with the affiliate. PPGNHAIK telephone representatives are trained to have familiarity with the many types of questions and needs of Planned Parenthood patients and supporters.
For over ten years, River Stofleth has worked as the Fundraising Telephone Lead at PPGNHAIK. The affiliate does not source out any of its fundraising calls and provides thank you calls for supporters as well. In any given day, Stofleth makes between 200 and 300 calls.
“We call every person that donates, and I personally thank them for their gift,” explained Stofleth. “It’s not something every organization does, and I feel proud that we take the extra time to do that.”
Stofleth also calls folks with event invitations and receives incoming calls from supporters about a variety of fundraising topics. Because Stofleth is a veteran within PPGNHAIK, they have a great deal of familiarity with organizational processes and can answer most people’s questions very quickly.
“I’ve been doing nonprofit fundraising work on the phone for about 20 years,” said Stofleth. “I just love talking to people, and I find the actual connection to people is neat. I’m very confident and comfortable with the work.”
Senior Patient Access Center Representative Terra Compton also finds the connection to others a rewarding part of her work.
“The work of Patient Access Center representatives includes so many things. Not only are we scheduling appointments, but many of our calls are to help patients who have follow up questions, people calling about test results and prescriptions, answering general sex-ed questions, and much more,” she said.
Last year, a call center was added in Indiana, in addition to the one in Washington state. The importance of having affiliate employees receive patient calls can be summed up in Compton’s words: “There is always someone I can go to when I have a question or need help resolving something for a patient.”
Compton explained what she hears most often from current patient calls: “[I hear that] the staff was very helpful, or that their care was great at an appointment. Something I’ve heard from multiple patients over time is that they wish Planned Parenthood could be their only doctor because they felt their care was so good when they came to us... Patients will express so much thankfulness to be scheduled, or to have some questions answered. It can be great to know you’ve made that difference to someone.”
“I hear a lot of people’s stories,” Stofleth said of their own experiences on the phone with supporters. “Their relationship with the organization often started with them being a patient, or a family member being a patient.”
Both Stofleth in Fundraising, and Compton in the Patient Access Center, must stay abreast of current legislation and political battles as they affect supporters and patients alike.
“Navigating abortion restrictions is one of the biggest challenges that we help patients with,” said Compton. “Talking to patients who need abortions means talking about challenges with transportation, scheduling, paying for an appointment, privacy, needing to come from out of state, and many other things. Because we are helping people from multiple states, it means there is so much information we keep up with every day!”
Stofleth agreed, “Legislation and political issues are constantly changing what we need to be talking about, and it can change day to day.” They added, “People get emotionally charged because it impacts their care, and it impacts their lives.”
However, Compton noted that the work she does on the phone means that she can make a real difference for someone. “I remember a patient telling me it was the ‘best day ever’ and ‘you have made my entire life’ after scheduling their first appointment for gender affirming health care.”
Compton said, “We help provide services that our patients may not be able to access anywhere else, like abortion services and gender affirming health care.”
Stofleth expressed that showing authentic gratitude to supporters is core to their work. “There is value in every cent donated. When I speak with our supporters, I will treat the person who gave $1 with the same amount of respect and gratitude as the person who gave $10,000.”
Compton agreed that every person who calls is treated with respect and importance – even if they are simply asking a question.
To support PPGNHAIK’s patient and supporter-centric practices, please donate here.
Tags: