Planned Parenthood Great NorthWest
Planned Parenthood Great NorthWest
ANNUAL
REPORT
Alaska. Hawaii. Idaho. Washington.
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MESSAGE FROM CHRIS
To call 2018 demanding would be an understatement: the previous year was one
of the most challenging and strenuous times the Planned Parenthood movement has faced.
But at the same time, I witnessed firsthand a level of optimism and determination to
protect reproductive health and rights that is simply unparalleled. Planned Parenthood’s
opponents are doing everything they can to stop us — But 2018 showed me that,
whatever they do, it won’t even slow us down.
This organization, which covers more geography Contrary to what you might read or hear from our
than any other Planned Parenthood affiliate, held opponents: the Planned Parenthood movement is
the defensive line against attack after attack, while strong. We are strong, we are united, and we are
remaining committed to fighting forward. Instead of fighting for the health and rights of all people.
scaling back our services and giving in to the attacks I would be remiss not to mention that in 2018
we faced in each of our states — and in Congress — we I celebrated my 30th anniversary with Planned
broadened access, expanded services, and introduced Parenthood. As the longest serving CEO in the
Gender Affirming Hormone Care in all 27 of our Planned Parenthood federation I truly feel like I have
health centers. seen it all. And I will say again that the level of support
and resolve being shown by our patients, staff,
We launched Planned Parenthood Direct, a mobile volunteers, and supporters at this moment in time
app that provides access for patients in Alaska, Hawaii, is absolutely unmatched.
Idaho, and Washington, as well as 18 other states and
Washington, D.C. The app builds upon decades of I am proud and humbled to continue leading this work.
innovative health care and information delivery from And I remain absolutely certain that, together, we will
Planned Parenthood and its affiliates nationwide. continue to find new ways to expand access to needed
To better serve our patients, Planned Parenthood’s reproductive health care and build a more free, just, and
websites were updated to include English and Spanish inclusive world. No matter what.
versions of all content, expanding access to accurate,
unbiased information about contraception, sex, and
reproductive health care to millions more people.
Planned Parenthood knows that the best way to serve our community is to first listen to our
patients. To this end, we were thrilled to launch life-saving and life-affirming Gender Affirming
Hormone Care in all 27 of our Health Centers, making services more accessible to members
of the transgender community. In addition to the expansion of other important services, the
health centers in our four state region are now safe places for the transgender community to
receive compassionate, high-quality care.
In a continued effort to make care more accessible in our health centers, we introduced
Mobile Check-In to allow patients the convenience of checking in from home on their mobile
device. As an organization committed to education and equity, we value the opportunity to
train our medical staff to be culturally attuned to the communities we serve, ensuring we can
provide the full spectrum of reproductive health services that are needed. We also began a
project to expand our already robust reproductive health care training to community partners
and providers outside of our organization because we believe compassionate, inclusive
reproductive health care should be a standard in every communities.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Our Education Department found new, innovative ways to deliver
comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education in 2018. However, even
these common sense programs faced adversity. We won several lawsuits
to restore funding for evidence-based sex education programs
in the face of attempted cuts by President Trump’s Department of Health
and Human Services. Based on our legal success, a class action lawsuit
was filed by the 80 remaining Teen Pregnancy Prevention grantees who
also won their case.
Throughout 2018, we continued listening to the needs of youth around our region to improve
and expand our programming. We tested new curriculum for the Linking Families and Teens
(LiFT) program, which promotes teen pregnancy prevention in rural communities with an
emphasis on family communication skills. The INclued program curriculum was also evaluated
in order to better promote access to health care for LGBTQ+ youth, including training on self-
advocacy and inclusivity starting at the clinic-level. We replicated successful evidence-based
programming for communities with teen pregnancy rates above the national average with the
In the Lives of Teens program by creating community and youth advisory boards to amplify
the needs of the community. In a continued effort to support our community partners,
we created the Stronger Together program to build the long-term capacity of local
organizations working to deliver sex education through training, coaching, and technical
support. Our education team continues to be at the cutting edge of sex education
programming through meaningful, constructive dialogue with the communities we serve.
For detailed numbers about our education work, check out page number 9.
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GLOBAL PROGRAMS
In 2018, PPGNHI’s Global Programs team expanded its partnership with
the Módulo Anexo Materno Infantil (MAMI) program, a division of Clinica
de Familia La Romana, in the Dominican Republic with a new initiative to
support adolescent mothers. The project, funded by Grand Challenges
Canada through the Government of Canada, includes a digital support
network using WhatsApp groups to share educational messages and
provide a forum for questions and conversation with the aim to support
family planning, increase attendance at well-child and vaccination
appointments, and expand support networks.
To carry out this program, staff from multiple departments traveled to the Dominican
Republic to conduct a user-centered design process and develop the content for the project.
Twenty adolescent mothers provided input on what they wanted from a support network.
Information on family planning was identified as a priority topic. They also shared their
personal experiences as adolescent mothers. This project will help participants learn about
a number of important health topics.
Global Programs also continues to support our partner in Vietnam, the Center for Creative
Initiatives in Health and Population, in their sexuality education work with young people aged
11-15. This year, Global Programs also completed a two-year project with VillageReach in
Malawi, funded by the U.S. Department of State as part of the DREAMS Innovation Challenge.
Through the project, we supported the creation and launch of youth-friendly sexual and
reproductive services at a national health hotline and engaged providers in improving the
quality of sexual and reproductive health services for youth at 11 rural health centers.
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Our advocacy didn’t stop at the state house,
ADVOCACY PPVNH took our activism to the voters by supporting
ballot initiative campaigns, including the Fair Anchorage
In 2018, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest campaign, the first-in-the-nation initiative campaign
and Hawaii* continued to protect access to health that successfully defended access to public services
care and defend reproductive rights through fierce for the transgender community, and the Idaho Medicaid
advocacy. We mobilized our supporters to speak out expansion initiative that successfully expanded
in opposition to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh coverage and ensured health care access for
to the U.S. Supreme Court. And it worked, Senator thousands across the state.
Lisa Murkowski heard us in Alaska and voted with her
constituents, standing with Alaska women in opposing The Planned Parenthood advocacy team showed
Kavanaugh’s confirmation. In the face of one of the what the power of activism can accomplish by
cruelest attacks on reproductive rights, PPVNH also centering the voices of marginalized communities
took on the Trump administration’s dangerous Title X and those impacted by policy decisions. The PPVNH
rule by galvanizing our supporters to tell their stories team will continue to act no matter what and fight back
about what the nation’s only family planning programs against the shameful attacks on health care and rights.
has meant for them and the medical community
who would be unable to provide medically-accurate, *Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii
comprehensive information to their patients. is a separately incorporated, nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization educating residents and policymakers
about reproductive health issues in Alaska, Hawaii,
After seven years, we were finally able to pass the Idaho,and Western Washington.
Reproductive Parity Act in Washington state with the
newly elected pro-reproductive health majority. The
12 months of birth control bill moved forward in both
Alaska and Idaho, making progress in hostile legislative
environments. We defeated multiple anti-reproductive
health bills ranging from Title X funding attacks to
parental consent laws. In Hawaii, Governor Ige signed
a law that bans conversion therapy, making Hawaii the
12th state in the nation to ban this practice. Hawaii also
codified Affordable Care Act protections into state law.
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EQUITY & INCLUSION
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands
remains steadfast in its commitment to racial equity and inclusion.
For our patients, our employees, and our communities, it is critical
we address all forms of oppression and promote human rights. Planned
Parenthood knows that putting words on paper is not enough, and we
must show up with policies, practices, and programs throughout the affiliate.
This was the year we boldly moved from planning to strong action.
To better ensure all aspects of our equity goals are integrated in our work,
the Equity Department was restructured under Human Resources to align
the departments’ goals and affirm that equity work starts at home with
our people. This year, we also launched a cross-departmental initiative,
named BE REAL (Building Equitable and Reciprocal Engagement Among
the LGBTQ+ Community and People of Color), to expand and redefine
the ways we support our communities, particularly young LGBTQ people
and people of color. BE REAL is focused on expanding initiatives to
better relate with the community and bridging communication between
our patients and organization leadership. Along with several equity
committees, BE REAL and the Equity team have methodically undertaken
the 2018 equity goals, making meaningful progress that has already made
impacts on the organization
We continued to invest in and grow our work in racial equity during 2018.
The organization rolled out the first phase of affiliate-wide trainings on
implicit bias and racial anxiety, which included 18 in-person trainings
across our region. We were also proud to hold the first affiliate-hosted
Solidarity, a two-day retreat for staff of color centered on the unique
experiences and challenges that they face. In total, 48 employees
representing our four states joined the conference to build
relationships, develop support networks, and seek opportunities
for professional development.
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In partnership with our
communities, we advocate,
educate and provide health
care to support sexual health
and wellness for all.