Planned Parenthood North Central States

We're proud to announce that after completing the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) assessment, PPNCS has been named a 2024 high performer for providing LGBTQ+ inclusive health care policies and practices! We are continuing to strive to close care gaps and break down barriers to enhance patient, participant, and staff experience.

Earlier today, we held a Two Years Without Roe Roundtable with our President and CEO Ruth Richardson and our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sarah Traxler. It also featured our storyteller Brittany, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, South Dakota Representative Erin Healy, Nebraska Senator Michaela Cavanaugh, Nebraska Senator Megan Hunt, Iowa Representative Jennifer Konfrst, Minnesota Senator Alice Mann, Former North Dakota Representative Ruth Ann Buffalo of Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, and Iowa Abortion Access Fund! Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/ger9X4F7

Our PPNCS board member, Dr. Hardeman, has been named one of Time's 100 most influential people of 2024! Please join us in congratulating her on this wonderful accomplishment and her groundbreaking research in antiracism and health equity. #Time100 https://lnkd.in/gdxwH4BT

Planned Parenthood protects, promotes, and provides reproductive and sexual health care for all people—no matter what. Our staff are at the core of this vital work, and we are currently seeking passionate professionals to join us. Learn about working with us at our Virtual Hiring Fair on April 17 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Can we count on you to join us? https://lnkd.in/g6Qtwgzs

Check out the conversation about sexual and reproductive health with Alexis McGill Johnson and Representative Mary Frances Clardy from their visit to our Saint Paul Health Center off Rice Street.

“We must continue to stand for equality and justice. In the face of eroded voting rights nationwide and after the striking down of affirmative action in college admissions and women’s reproductive health and abortion rights by the Supreme Court, I—indeed we—must continue to stand… We can and must do better…for you see—our very future as a people and a democracy hinge on it… The soul of our state and our nation hangs in the balance and challenges us to use our political muscle, indeed our civic and social capital, NOW, to move the needle on equality and justice.” Teree Caldwell-Johnson It is with a heavy heart that we share that our PPNCS Board Vice Chair Teree Caldwell-Johnson died Sunday morning, March 31, 2024, after a battle with cancer. An unrelenting champion for underappreciated communities, Teree was beloved in Des Moines, Iowa and across our region. She lived an extraordinary life of service and was known for her courageous voice as she was often described as speaking truth to power. Her leadership was powerful and intersectional. Teree Caldwell-Johnson was a force of nature and may her memory be a blessing.

Want to know one of the best ways to support Planned Parenthood? Work with us! Learn more about working for Planned Parenthood North Central States at our Virtual Hiring Fair on April 17. Register now: https://lnkd.in/g6Qtwgzs

Our President and CEO, Ruth Richardson, made history when she established the nation's first ever Task Force and Office of Missing & Murdered Black Women & Girls. She is now featured in "Vice News Presents: When Black Women Go Missing" talking about her experience. Following families, friends, and activists, this documentary brings attention to a crisis that needs more public attention. Watch the full documentary for free here: https://lnkd.in/esqTAHag

"My great-grandmother was a Black midwife in Mississippi. I learned early on, from the stories of my mom, of my aunt, grandmother, my great-grandmother — I learned that health care is not the same for everyone. I didn't know words like social determinants of health, or health equity. But I knew what I was hearing wasn't just. I also learned it didn't have to be that way." -PPNCS President and CEO, Ruth Richardson https://lnkd.in/gGXtcX9W

ICYMI: We were honored to have Vice President Kamala Harris visit our health center last week. At Planned Parenthood, we’re putting everything we have into improving care and meeting increasing patient needs and are grateful to share what this essential work looks like with the Vice President.