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2020 IMPACT REPORT
OUR BELIEFS VALUES Our mission is to protect expand and enhance equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all people WELCOME The past year has been an extraordinary one in so many respects We have battled a global pandemic in COVID 19 that has impacted our relationships our work and nearly every aspect of our lives We have watched and grieved as loved ones got sick and in some cases died from this silent omnipresent threat And we have born witness to the disproportionate devastation this virus has inflicted upon communities of color and those living in poverty in our nation We have experienced and been part of a national reckoning with longstanding systemic racism as highlighted by COVID statistics and through cumulative traumatic instances of police brutality leading to the murder of Black people and violence against members of the AAPI community in cities and towns across our country Each of us has a role to play in shutting down pervasive racism and white supremacy For our part AccessMatters has committed to a concrete set of actions to break down systemic racism and support people and communities who face racial oppression in our workplace and in our larger field of public health You can find our statement of commitment on our website And we felt the weight of a campaign and election season filled with lies false accusations and inflammatory statements that heightened tensions and deepened divides diverting precious time energy and resources that could have been utilized in service to fight the COVID 19 pandemic and ongoing systemic racism All people should have access to sexual and reproductive health care and information In response to this unparalleled set of circumstances and adapting to constantly changing public health guidance and local regulations we have seen our staff our healthcare provider network and our community partners rise to the challenge providing continued access to health services and information They have done so by using new safety protocols shifting to virtual engagement and implementing other innovative strategies Our capacity building and advocacy work effectively pivoted as well as our trainings shifted to online formats and informative webinars and virtual hearings replaced in person advocacy days keeping our issues in focus with legislators and with our advocate partners The pages that follow offer a window into the breadth of our work the innovative strategies we have collectively undertaken to adapt to providing a continuum of care in the midst of a pandemic and the depth of our commitment to realizing our organizational vision that every person has the health care and information they seek in order to thrive With thanks for your commitment to that vision and for your support of our work at AccessMatters Melissa Weiler Gerber President CEO Sara Woods President of the Board That care should be excellent and compassionate and that information should be accurate complete and free from bias Sexuality and sexual health are part of life We need to erase the stigma We must break down the systemic barriers of racism and other oppressions that result in unequal health outcomes We need to provide people with healthcare services and information that are culturally responsible and trauma informed Everything we are working for can be attained We all have an important role to play and we are committed to doing our part OUR WORK AccessMatters innovates empowers and works to make sure that all people have access to the sexual and reproductive health services and information they seek Our programs reach over 100 000 people each year in the Greater Philadelphia area across Pennsylvania and throughout the nation expanding access to vital care and information AccessMatters fights for equity and access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for everyone every day while working to eliminate racist and oppressive systems that lead to inequities in health care and health outcomes We focus on serving people and families with low incomes and people from historically oppressed and marginalized communities AccessMatters fulfills its mission by providing services and information directly to people by supporting a large network of healthcare provider organizations and through research training and advocacy OUR IMPACT 115 000 30 000 people served 1 youth reached 2
PROVIDING HEALTH SERVICES AccessMatters provides guidance referrals testing and case management directly to clients through public health programs and AccessMatters Information Hotline FY2020 Highlights In FY20 AccessMatters provided direct services through the Brothers United Program the Anti Retroviral Treatment and Access to Services Program AccessMatters Information Hotline and the State Opioid Project Our patient navigation programs provide warm referrals individualized support for appointments and linkage to care for services related to family planning HIV prevention or treatment substance use disorder and breast and cervical cancer screening among other services AccessMatters also provides community outreach information and education services through AccessMatters Information Hotline Our trained counselors provide compassionate confidential and comprehensive information and referrals for services The hotline includes both phone and texting capability Counselors provide answers to their questions health counseling and referrals to care on issues ranging from sexually transmitted infections STIs to adolescent health to birth control and consent Hotline staff also provide outreach services at health fairs and community events Brothers United AccessMatters HIV prevention screening and linkage to care program serves populations that are at higher risk for HIV and often historically underserved with a mobile screening program that brings HIV testing into neighborhoods most impacted by HIV With the impact of COVID this program began implementing home based and telephone counseling to ensure people could still access HIV screening services 3 833 667 3377 Over 1 600 requests annually via text or phone reach our trained hotline counselors Despite a complete shutdown of in person outreach and testing services due to COVID 19 in March 2020 nearly a third of FY20 the Brothers United Program still reached 96 of its pre COVID client goal providing HIV tests to 1 335 people throughout Philadelphia Of those clients reached for testing and counseling 88 were at high risk for HIV transmission which speaks to the effectiveness of the program s outreach in the community Spotlight Linkage to Care Linkage to care is a crucial step in HIV treatment helping bridge the gap from testing for HIV into antiretroviral therapy ART initiation to viral suppression This reduces HIV mortality and morbidity and reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others 1 Rapid linkage to care is essential in providing people living with HIV the earliest possible opportunity to engage in HIV treatment 2 1 CDC 2020 August 17 How to optimize HIV treatment CDC HIV Treatment and Care https www cdc gov hiv clinicians treatment treatment clinicians html 2 University of Washington 2020 August 25 Lesson 5 Linkage to HIV Care National HIV Curriculum https www hiv uw edu go screening diagnosis linkage care core concept all 15 366 condoms distributed by AccessMatters Info Hotline where2find Reply now w ur question Thank you for contacting AccessMatters How can I help you today where do i go 4 birth control sti testing reaching 154 of the FY20 goal despite the impact of the pandemic The State Opioid Project which links people in treatment for opioid use disorders to family planning services expanded in FY20 to offer group education and individual counseling sessions onsite at four behavioral health agencies in the Philadelphia area double the number from last year 4
SUPPORTING A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER NETWORK AccessMatters provides funding and specialized support for network partner organizations working in the community We anchor a broad network of over 50 healthcare provider organizations providing community based sexual and reproductive health care supporting them with grant funding quality management and guidance on best practices in care and delivery AccessMatters Title X Family Planning Program supports a network of healthcare provider organizations serving people the majority living at or near the federal poverty level with confidential high quality patient centered sexual and reproductive health services These vital services include the following affordable FDA approved birth control pregnancy planning breast and cervical cancer screening testing and treatment for STIs HIV testing and FY2020 Highlights In FY20 our healthcare provider networks touched more than 115 000 people across Pennsylvania including 81 174 youth and adults served by the Title X Family Planning Program 3 639 youth visited a Health Resource Center referrals for other critical services such as prenatal care substance use disorder treatment and primary care Along with providing adolescent health services through the Title X Family Planning clinic based sites AccessMatters manages a statewide network of Health Resource Centers serving young people in Pennsylvania schools and communities 5 AccessMatters also manages the Ryan White Part D HIV network in Philadelphia serving over 3 600 people annually with comprehensive family centered care the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region reaching 2 600 uninsured or underinsured people with early detection and treatment services and the Pennsylvania Perinatal Partnership a statewide network of perinatal and family health programs We also engage with partners in fields such as substance use disorder treatment and other health and social services 1 075 Women infants children and youth living with HIV were served by the Part D Program 26 667 youth were reached via Health Resource Center outreach 2 667 Specialized Support Services Data Collection Analysis Clinical Training Site Visits Patient Satisfaction Efforts Best Practices for Delivering Care Technical Assistance Recruitment Strategies Updates On Policymaking Analysis Of Impact Spotlight Innovation During Uncertainty In FY20 AccessMatters supported and managed critical healthcare provider networks including family planning adolescent health breast and cervical cancer detection health services for pregnant and birthing people and HIV prevention and treatment All of these networks were forced to adapt to COVID 19 shutdowns with some providers temporarily suspending services entirely as they adapted service delivery models to COVID prevention protocols Title X funding provides us with the resources to reach these members of the community with critically important programming services and access to care By the end of FY20 a majority of providers had resumed services with a hybrid model of telehealth and in person care with heavy COVID precautions This widespread rollout of telehealth services is unprecedented in our networks and presents a very exciting opportunity to increase accessibility of services for people who have been underserved in the past adult breast and cervical cancer screening clients 6
ENGAGING IN RESEARCH TRAINING ADVOCACY Through research AccessMatters evaluates healthcare providers success in implementing best practices and assesses the effectiveness of innovative interventions AccessMatters Research Evaluation and Data Team conducts communityinformed research program evaluation and needs assessments frequently partnering with leading academic institutions AccessMatters Training and Capacity Building Team provides critical online and in person professional development training By serving people directly and providing specialized support to a broad network of healthcare providers AccessMatters is attuned to the profound impact of public policy on service delivery and access at every level AccessMatters Advocacy Team weighs in on local state and national policy outlining effective policy change and program strategy to address the issues that impact AccessMatters programs and the people they serve Comprehensive Sexuality Education HIV STI Prevention Treatment STIs HIV 7 40 ACTIVITIES TO ADVOCATE FOR POLICY CHANGE Funding for Sexual Reproductive Heath Care Equitable Outcomes for Pregnant Birthing People RESEARCH EVALUATION DATA AccessMatters recognizes the need for ongoing advocacy to underscore the importance of continued funding and support for this vital work and speaks out to shape opinion and policy on key issues Since the start we have held a firm belief that access to sexual and reproductive health care is key to a person s overall health and well being and that advocacy is key to securing access In FY20 AccessMatters Research and Evaluation staff published a peer reviewed article in the Journal of Women s Health related to rolling out HIV pre exposure prophylaxis PrEP in family planning settings This publication represents the culmination of a multi year study funded by Gilead Sciences Inc in partnership with the now closed Drexel Women s Care Center and the YHEP Health Center at Philadelphia FIGHT The team also conducted 24 literature reviews needs assessments and environmental scans and prepared 17 county profiles TRAINING AccessMatters supports long standing nationallyrecognized research evaluation training and quality management programs providing tailored guidance for hundreds of healthcare and social service providers helping individuals and organizations do their part to eliminate systemic racism and other oppressions and work in trauma informed and client centered ways on topics related to sexual and reproductive health client centered care health equity and social determinants of health including racism to thousands of health medicine and human service providers as well as staff of foundations corporations and government agencies locally regionally and nationally AccessMatters Training and Capacity Building Team conducted more than 70 skills building trainings in FY20 many of which were planned to be delivered in person and had to be adapted for virtual implementation due to COVID By the end of FY20 the team had already converted their entire training catalog into fully interactive virtual offerings a remarkable achievement given the tight turnaround COMMUNICATIONS ADVOCACY AccessMatters trains organizations in best practices researches public health issues and evaluates quality of care We center health equity break down stigma ensure confidentiality and work to normalize discussions of sexuality and the provision of sexual and reproductive health services FY2020 Highlights The Communications and Advocacy Team at AccessMatters expanded the organization s social media presence with over 2 500 social media followers in FY20 and in partnership with subject matter experts from across the organization they exceeded their initial goal of 100 social media posts by 420 520 total The team also spearheaded the Pennsylvania Coalition for Sex Ed building a membership of over 30 organizations and individuals statewide Despite the pandemic the team engaged over 20 elected and appointed officials to take action on important bills and other legislative and advocacy opportunities related to sexual and reproductive health WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING This training was exceptional Being someone new to the professional public health world this has certainly opened the door to better equip me with tools to be a resource to adolescent teens adults This training was really transformative I appreciated that we were required to do the microaggressions portion first The second day made me reflect on my own values and how I can better serve youth I work with The facilitators were both amazing models as trainers I definitely feel equipped to train others and apply the conversations we had in all of my work this was the most useful training we ve had during our racial equity work 8
CONNECT WITH OUR FINANCIALS GET INVOLVED FY202O 15 343 589 FY2019 14 364 415 TOTAL REVENUE TOTAL REVENUE Together let s look ahead with hope and resolve We are fighting for equity and access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for everyone every day and we can t do it without you TAKE ACTION 979 174 7 increase between 2019 2020 62 of our total budget is re granted to our network provider organizations DONATE Your support will enable us to reach even more people in our community Please join us Make a donation at accessmatters org support us CONNECT WITH US TODAY accessmatters org Note Other program expenses include staff salaries supplies equipment and other related programmatic expenses Support Services include consultant fees and technical support services 9 10