Insider News December 2023
In this issue:
- President & CEO Message
- Health Care: AIDS Awareness Month
- Education: Teaching in New Rooms with New Resources
- Advocacy & Government Relations: Start 2024 at Day of Action
- You can continue to make Care. No Matter What. possible!
- In Case You Missed It
Dear Friends,
With 2023 coming to an end, we close out our 90th year of providing care, no matter what. Whether you celebrated with us at an in-person event, volunteered with our advocacy team, referred someone to our health care or education services, or gave a donation, I want to say thank you for marking this milestone anniversary with us. In theme with this special birthday for PPHP, I would like to share 9 highlights from our year:
- We successfully launched our new electronic medical records system, Epic. We are now providing even more convenient and seamless care for our patients.
- Thanks to four generous supporters, PPHP established the Betty and Willard Gaylin Memorial Fund which provides our uninsured abortion patients care at no cost.
- We began to offer injectable PrEP, Apretude. For patients who find taking a daily pill burdensome or difficult to remember, Apretude eliminates these barriers, making it more likely for patients to stay consistent with their PrEP regimen.
- Our West Islip health center reopened after extensive renovations. The center is now almost double in size and able to serve more patients.
- After many conversations with elected officials and activist engagement through our online petition and teach-ins, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) successfully passed in the New York State Legislature in both 2022 and 2023. This means it will appear on the ballot in 2024.
- Through our Abortion Aftercare Kit packing events, volunteers assembled over 2,000 kits to distribute to patients at our health centers. This program launched last year and because of its success, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has introduced it to other affiliates across the country.
- Our High School Advocacy Program graduated 18 students in May, our largest cohort yet!
- Our youth peer education program, TIPS, was held in Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. TIPS is an after-school program that gives high school students the opportunity to become leaders in their community and experts on sexual and reproductive health.
- We proudly relaunched young adult Spanish peer education program, Promotores, which trains Spanish-speaking peer educators to educate our local Latinx community.
Thank you for making our work possible. We are grateful for your end-of-year donations so we may continue to serve our communities in 2024. Wishing you and your family a joyful holiday season and a happy new year.
In solidarity,
Vincent Russell
President & CEO
Health Care: AIDS Awareness Month
Friday, December 1 marked World AIDS Day, a day of solidarity for people around the world who are affected by HIV. While we have come a long way since the first known reported case of AIDS over four decades ago, HIV and AIDS remain public health challenges.
PPHP offers services to help prevent HIV transmission, including:
- HIV testing
- PrEP, which stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis to help prevent getting HIV if you’re exposed to the virus. PPHP offers PrEP as a daily pill prescription as well as an injection given every other month.
- PEP, which stands for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis. This can be given within 72 hours of a potential exposure to HIV. The sooner you start, the better it works, so don’t wait to contact your provider.
- Rapid Initiation of (HIV) Antiretroviral Treatment (RIA): If you have a positive HIV test, a PPHP health care provider can provide antiretroviral therapy medication.
For more information about HIV services, visit pphp.org or call 800-230-PLAN.
Education: Teaching in New Rooms with New Resources
This month, our Education & Training team in Suffolk County gained three new program partners. We are thrilled to be teaching lessons at the Retreat’s Youth Leaders Group, Longwood High School GSA, and Hampton Bays High School! We are grateful to our dedicated staff who worked hard to build new these new bridges in our community and who can now share PPHP’s comprehensive sexual and reproductive health lessons with our new partners.
Our lessons are audited annually to ensure that we are teaching the most up-to-date information. Educating our communities means having resources that are visual, accessible, and evidence based. This fall, our team designed a new Contraception Methods chart to use in our highly requested contraception lesson. The newly designed chart is a fantastic resource to help teach students decide which method is best for them. Check it out here!
Advocacy & Government Relations: Start 2024 at Day of Action
On January 24, 2024, we’ll have one of our biggest events of the year: Day of Action! The work for sexual and reproductive freedom is in a critical stage. Activists like you are essential to remind our legislators what is at stake if we don’t advance our legislative priorities. Join us in Albany, NY to speak directly to your representatives about why supporting sexual and reproductive rights is important to your community. Sign up here!
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about Day of Action:
- I’ve never lobbied before, can I still join? Yes! We will host several virtual lobby trainings before Day of Action.
- Is there transportation to Albany? Bus transportation is available but limited. After you register, we’ll follow up with a sign-up link for bus transportation.
- Will there be food provided? Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
Come Join Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic!
PPHP has employment opportunities in our health centers and administrative offices.
If you’re interested in working for a leading provider of sexual and reproductive health care and a trusted source for education and advocacy, apply to work at PPHP today.
We currently have openings in the following departments:
- Patient Relations Center
- Health care
- Human Resources
- Facilities & Security
- Patient Services
You can learn more about open positions and working at PPHP here.
Be sure to mark your calendars and share these events with your friends and family.
Day of Action
Wednesday, January 24
Albany, NY
More information here
High School Advocacy Program
February 6 – March 26
Virtual
More information here
For more information, visit our Calendar of Events. We look forward to seeing you
You can continue to make Care. No Matter What. possible!
A monthly gift to PPHP ensures security for patients in your local communities. Consider joining our Monthly Giving Program today at www.pphp.org/donatetoday.
Double your impact! Does your employer have a matching gift program? Check with your Human Resources Department to find out. For questions, contact the Development Department at [email protected].
Committed to safeguarding the future of reproductive health care? Consider leaving a legacy gift to PPHP in your will. Please contact the Development Department at [email protected].
Do you have a little bit of time to get more involved? Visit www.pphp.org for ways you can help.
Post-Roe, nearly 1 in 5 people seeking an abortion traveled out of state, analysis finds | CNN
Personal Stories From Abortion Providers After Dobbs - NowThis (nowthisnews.com)
On World AIDS Day, calls for more people to take anti-HIV drug PrEP - Newsday
You've Been Going About the 'Sex Talks' With Your Kids All Wrong | Essence