Upstream USA

🚨The issue: Nearly half of U.S. counties lack an OB-GYN, and barriers to contraceptive care are worsening. 💡 The solution: Equip more primary care providers to deliver high-quality, patient-centered contraceptive care. On December 18 at 1pm Eastern, join us and the Primary Care Collaborative as we bring together experts to discuss this pressing issue. If you’re interested in expanding contraceptive care access for patients, this is the webinar for you. Let’s work together to make contraceptive care accessible for all. #ContraceptiveCare #PrimaryCare #HealthEquity 👉 Save your spot today: https://hubs.ly/Q02_6THd0

Join us on December 18 for a vital conversation hosted by the Primary Care Collaborative where we'll explore the current state of contraceptive access, its impact on health outcomes, and why primary care providers play a key role in bridging these gaps. Who should attend? Primary healthcare providers and medical staff passionate about advancing healthcare access. ✅ Register now to learn how you can bridge these gaps for your patients: https://hubs.ly/Q02_6VKH0 #PrimaryCare #ContraceptiveCare #ContraceptiveCareIsBasicHealthcare

“Choice is important. Having access is important. The decision of whether or not to get pregnant … we want to be able to empower women to be able to make those decisions and have access to everything they need to help them.” When contraceptive care is patient-centered, providers listen to patients and offer options that support what the patient wants. Check out this clip from our new video featuring Upstream partners and patients in Rhode Island, Texas, and Missouri. https://hubs.ly/Q02-d4rY0 #ContraceptiveCareisBasicHealthcare #ContraceptiveCare #BirthControlAccess #GivingTuesday

When I co-founded Upstream USA ten years ago, I would have been hard-pressed to imagine that we would grow to be the largest contraceptive care access organization in the country, or that we would be working in 31+ states and partnering with healthcare organizations serving more than 1 million patients this year. With support from our healthcare partners and the generosity of our investors, Upstream aims to reach 5 million patients annually by 2030. This #GivingTuesday, I am asking for your help to expand access to birth control. When I think of my “why” for this work, I think of patients like Ashley in Rhode Island and providers like Jessica in El Paso, both of whose stories are featured in the video found here https://lnkd.in/eqXGvvxV. They remind me of the profound impact that Upstream’s program is making for patients and their healthcare providers nationwide. We know that contraceptive care is basic, essential healthcare, yet historically in the United States it hasn’t been delivered that way. Upstream offers our healthcare partners free technical assistance, training, and education to expand access to patient centered, high-quality contraceptive care. Our work also ensures that patients are empowered to decide when and if they become pregnant and are able to receive their preferred contraceptive service where most of them regularly receive their healthcare: primary care centers, including federally qualified health centers, health systems, and primary care clinics. We work in red states and blue states, all across America. Our mission has never been more urgent. I’m proud of Upstream: we’re expanding access to contraceptive healthcare, empowering patients with the birth control they need to determine their futures, and building the partnerships in healthcare and philanthropy that make these outcomes possible. On this #GivingTuesday, I hope you will consider joining Upstream in our mission. Philanthropy directly helps us break down barriers and expand access to patient-centered contraception, regardless of where patients live. And today, Upstream has a 2:1 match available for all donations, made possible by a generous investor. Together, we can ensure that contraceptive care is accessible, equitable, and available wherever and whenever it’s needed. #GivingTuesday #ReproductiveHealth #ContraceptiveCare #UpstreamUSA #HealthcareForAll #SocialImpact #DonateNow

They say that “listening is an act of love,” but listening is also essential when it comes to delivering high-quality, patient-centered healthcare! Every person deserves the right to ask for what they need and to be heard. Upstream’s healthcare partners know how to truly listen to patients, and we’re proud that our support gives clinicians and staff more time in their day to ask the questions that make a difference in patients’ lives. Pamela Valenza is a family physician and the chief health officer at Tapia Community Health Center. She is also an Upstream partner. Dr. Valenza says, “It's asking a simple question and hearing what's most important to them, and that might be not wanting to have children right away. That might be not wanting to have any hormones in their body but still wanting to have some form of contraception. Or that might mean they want to regulate their menstrual cycle, and want the method that will help them regulate their cycle and protect against pregnancy. And so it's really listening to each person… and understanding where they are coming from, what's most important to them, and how we can meet them where they're at for their contraceptive care.” Our wish this Thanksgiving is that we all take more time to simply listen to others. As we head out for a few days of gratitude, good food, and restoration we want to extend gratitude and the wish of a gentle Thanksgiving to our healthcare partners. You show up and do the work day after day, even when it feels hard. Thanks for being part of Upstream and for helping make contraceptive care accessible, equitable, and available wherever and whenever it’s needed.

New research in Obstetrics & Gynecology found that more women began using contraception after health insurers were required to provide contraception for women at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. https://hubs.ly/Q02YWK3Q0

💡 Webinar: A critical opportunity for health systems to close contraceptive care gaps💡 The growing disparities in women’s health and declining access to high-quality contraceptive services highlight a pressing need for change. Health systems can play a key role in bridging the gap, but face significant challenges like time constraints and staffing shortages. Join Upstream and Becker's Healthcare for a webinar on how your health system can deliver high-quality contraceptive care despite these challenges. 🔗 Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q02Yp_G20 #contraceptivecare #primarycare #webinar

Thanks birth control for your ability to change patients’ lives. You give them the opportunity to shape our lives in the ways that they feel best, whether that’s with five babies or none. You allow us to treat our symptoms from acne and other reproductive health disorders. We’ve been asking folks why contraceptive care is important, including HHS Region 9 Director Jeffrey Reynoso. Hear their incredible answers! Why would you say, “Thanks birth control?” #ThxBirthControl #ContraceptiveCareisBasicHealthcare #wywcontraception

We all play a role in ensuring that patient-centered contraceptive care is something every patient experiences. Join us for our webinar tomorrow with Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) as we explore the role that Medicaid managed care organizations can play. RSVP here https://hubs.ly/Q02X-l-20 #contraceptivecare #Medicaid #MPHA

“We deserve to have healthy bodies, healthy babies, healthy futures…” 👏👏👏 A few weeks ago we caught up with Tracy Bivins Davis, MA, Assistant Director of Equity and Training at the Community Clinic of Los Angeles County and asked her why she thinks contraceptive care is basic healthcare. Her answer is a source of inspiration to keep pushing for the contraceptive care that all patients deserve - watch it! #ContraceptiveCareisBasicHealthcare #wywcontraception #patientcenteredcare