COVID may have slowed us down recently (and rightfully so), but we are now seeing signs from across the state that our work is ready to take off. As we kick off summer here at Upstream, we have some exciting developments to share!
We are thrilled to announce that Upstream MA has partnered with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts to bring a clinical training program to our health center partners. We are also pleased to welcome Hilltown Community Health Center and Outer Cape Health Services as new Upstream partners. To meet this new and exciting work head on, we’re hiring for new positions on our program team to lead our health center engagements!
We are grateful for the continuing support for our work across the Commonwealth and look forward to welcoming more partners throughout the rest of the year and beyond.
Clinical Training Partnership with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts
Upstream is pleased to announce that we have formalized a clinical training partnership with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts!
Through this program, providers from Upstream’s health center partners will be able to attend precepting clinics at PPLM’s Boston location following Upstream’s training, where they will practice the necessary skills for IUD and Implant placement and removal.
Precepting is critical for solidifying skills and knowledge gained from Upstream’s training, and this partnership with Planned Parenthood will ensure that Upstream’s partner health centers receive the best clinical training possible. PPLM is a leader in contraceptive care provision, and these precepting clinics offer our partners the unique opportunity to learn from their expertise.
The first Upstream partner to take advantage of this incredible opportunity is Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. The first clinics will launch this summer!
If you’re interested in learning more about partnering with Upstream MA, email ma@upstream.org
New Health Center Partners! ????
Upstream is honored to welcome Hilltown Community Health Center (HCHC) and Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS) as new health center partners!
Founded over 70 years ago, Hilltown Community Health Center’s mission is to create access to high quality integrated health care and promote well-being for individuals, families, and communities. In keeping with their founder, Nurse Bates’, original vision, no one is ever turned away due to an inability to pay for services.
“Partnering with Upstream was the obvious right choice both for our organization and the patients we serve. Discussions about contraception should never happen at the end of a visit as the patient is walking out the door. What a missed opportunity. It is our responsibility to create an environment where our patients feel comfortable and supported from the moment they enter our clinic. To do this thoughtfully requires training — for everyone. This partnership will help in our effort to break down barriers, get personal, and have the kind of important conversations that lead to real, lasting effects on poverty and health outcomes.”
— Marisela Fermin-Schon, RN, MSN, FNP-C, Medical Director, Hilltown Community Health Center
Outer Cape Health Services is a federally qualified health center that serves residents of and visitors to the outermost towns of Cape Cod, including Provincetown, Harwich Port, and Wellfleet.
They were founded in 1987 and serve nearly 18,000 patients each year. Outer Cape cares for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, and recently added a Structured Outpatient Addiction Program to their recovery services.
We look forward to beginning our work with Hilltown Community Health Center and Outer Cape Health Services, and doing our part to help improve access to a full range of contraceptive methods and excellent patient-centered care.
We’re Hiring!
We are currently hiring for two Program Implementation Advisor positions and two Program Implementation Coordinator positions in Massachusetts.
Program Implementation Advisor Position Summary
The Program Implementation Advisor (PIA) drives the implementation of Upstream’s technical assistance and quality improvement program with partnering health care agencies in the US.
The PIA will lead the engagement, ensuring that health center locations have the best-known practice guidance, resources, and tools necessary to meet the goal of reducing unintended pregnancy by providing same-day access to all contraceptive methods.
Program Implementation Coordinator Position Summary
The Program Implementation Coordinator (PIC) supports Upstream’s contraceptive access programming at health care agencies by providing critical project management, meeting coordination, and logistical support for Program Implementation Advisors (PIAs). The PIC plays an important integration role, capturing and processing information related to the program team’s activities at health centers and making this information available to the full team via Upstream’s internal data tracking and reporting systems.
To learn more about these open positions, check out our career opportunities page, as well as learn more about our team.
In Case You Missed It…
- May’s Guttmacher Policy Review, “Powerful Contraception, Complicated Programs: Preventing Coercive Promotion of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives,” highlights Upstream as an organization committed to implementing effective contraceptive initiatives that center patient choice and guard against coercive practices.
- Last year, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program worked hard to build an entire COVID-19 care system from scratch to care for unhoused patients. Dr. Denise De Las Nueces and her team set the example for Health Equity and Patient Centered Care.
