Jackson, MS-
Converge is so proud of our Co-Founder, Danielle Lampton, for serving as panelist on yesterday during the Democracy in Action Convening held at the Jackson Convention Complex.
The conversation was entitled, “Civic Engagement and Reproductive Justice.” They spoke on various topics including: Policy Advocacy & Legislation, Expanding Access in Rural Areas, Intersexuality in Reproductive Justice, Engaging Youth Voters, Community Engagement & Grassroots Organizing, Role of Storytelling, and Building Alliances with Other Movements.
We’re thankful to be led by women who aren’t afraid to be advocates for reproductive justice and are willing to have the uncomfortable conversations. Great job to Danielle and her fellow panelists.
Virtual Course-
Converge is thrilled to announce our MLE (Measurement, Learning, and Evaluation) Team has been partnering with UMMC on a self-paced course for Physicians, Nurses, Social Workers, and any other interested healthcare workers. The course is entitled, “Addressing Interpersonal Violence and Substance Use Disorder Among Pregnant Women.”
We are extremely proud of Dani and Carmen and all the work they’ve put in to make this course and this partnership a success.
Clarksdale, MS-
Yesterday, our Community Engagement Coordinator, Dasia Dyson, and one of our Patient Experience Council Members, Genvieve Martin, kicked off our College Tour Initiative at Coahoma Community College. CCC hosted an event called, “Connecting the Healthcare Dots.” During this event, students and staff visited different booths and tables speaking with various organizations about ways to stay healthy and learn about ways these organizations can be of service to them.
Our GetPersonal table was full of information about our many services and goodies for our visitors to take. This was just one stop on the College Tour our Engagement Team has planned. During this tour, we hope to share our services with college aged students in hopes to fill the gaps in our state when it comes to sexual and reproductive health.
To add your campus or your event to our tour, please contact Dasia Dyson, ddyson@convergeaccess.org.
Mound Bayou, MS-
Yesterday, our Communications Manager, Mara Scott- Campbell, attended the Mississippi Delta Maternal Health Roundtable Discussion in Mound Bayou, MS at Delta Health Center. This event was hosted by the Health Resources and Services Administration in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, and the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The conversations throughout the day were broken into sections; enough time for participants and guests to discuss each one: Improving Maternal Health in the Mississippi Delta: Challenges, Best Practices, and Opportunities for Action, Addressing the Syphilis/ Congenital Syphilis Epidemic: Challenges, Best Practices, and Opportunities for Action, and Leveraging Federal Resources and Partnerships.
Mara was excited to share what Converge has been doing to combat the syphilis spread by explaining to attendees how our Free At-Home STD/STI Testing Kits work. Listeners were thoroughly pleased to hear of this service and were willing to pass this information on within their various organizations.
The federal partners in attendance left with a new outlook on the issues communities in the MS Delta are facing on a daily basis within the reproductive and sexual healthcare field. We look forward to having more conversations of this nature as we continue to be advocates for Mississippians.
VIRTUAL MEETING-
Last week, Converge Connect hosted a live Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling introductory training open to the public. This was an abridged version of the full-length course available on convergeconnect.org. We had a total of 61 attendees from all over the U.S., in states such as California, Idaho, Texas, New Jersey, Washington, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio, Michigan, and more!
Attendees were able to learn what patient-centered vs. person-centered care is, what person-centered communication looks like, and practice the skill of shared-decision making using a case study. During the case study attendees were also able to practice using the newly released and updated Birth Control Methods Chart from RHNTC to help provide decision support for a patient considering their birth control options. Attendees who were CHES certified and those certified in nursing were able to earn one continuing education credit hour for attending.
Special thanks to our Training Manager, Dani Lahn for hosting this training and our Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Manager, Carmen Cummings for her assistance. We look forward to more great things from Converge Connect!
NBC NEWS-
As birth control costs continue to rise, the concerns for family planning care rise as well. NBC Reporter, Kaitlin Sullivan states that free or low cost contraceptives are becoming increasingly difficult for women to access as clinics close or struggle with funding problems and policy restrictions.
These restrictions don’t help those women who are already struggling to find affordable care, most of which who live in states with the strictest abortion laws, especially those in the rural, southern states. Of course, the vast majority of these families are poverty stricken and people of color.
The amount of clinics that are closing within these poverty stricken areas is another area of concern. Title X isn’t enough to combat all of these issues, but Converge will continue to work as hard as possible for those families within Mississippi (and Tennessee).
“In Mississippi, it’s common for women seeking a clinic to travel two hours for an appointment, said Jitoria Hunter, Vice President of External Affairs at Converge, a nonprofit that allocates federal funding for family planning services in Mississippi and Tennessee.”
To read the full article, please click the link below.
JACKSON, MS-
Colleen Swanson is an accomplished operations executive with an impressive background spanning over 15 years. Throughout her career, she has successfully led high-performance teams, playing a key role in formulating and achieving corporate objectives. With a unique blend of business, financial, and strategic acumen, Colleen excels at optimizing cost savings while preserving and enhancing productivity. Her commitment to recruiting, training, mentoring, and empowering individuals has consistently delivered top-performance and helped her team members achieve their professional goals. Colleen’s collaborative nature shines through in her ability to work with cross-functional teams, especially in healthcare operations, where she has made significant strides in improving patient outcomes. Her passion lies in translating her extensive experience into nonprofit, healthcare, or corporate environments. Colleen’s track record speaks for itself, having successfully managed multi-million-dollar budgets and leading large teams of up to 16 direct reports and over 50 indirect staff.
She possesses a proven track record of driving operational excellence and strategic growth. With a career spanning over a decade, she has held key leadership positions in prominent healthcare organizations, consistently delivering exceptional results. She held her most recent position as the Regional Director of Operations at Planned Parenthood since 2020. Colleen was responsible for orchestrating and aligning the center’s objectives, staffing, and daily operations. Colleen brought a visionary leadership style to her role, prioritizing staff training and development to ensure flawless execution of strategic initiatives. She successfully revamped schedules, achieved team meeting budgets for the first time in 8 years, leading to significant financial growth. Colleen’s adeptness in regulatory challenges and driving growth is evident in her collaboration with C-suite executives to navigate industry laws effectively, resulting in a remarkable 70% surge in patient visits.
Colleen’s commitment to patient-centered care is demonstrated through her pioneering of the Development of the Management Advancement series, fostering best practices, individual growth, and patient-centered care. Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood was recognized among the top 5% in the federation for Q2 and Q3 2022, and Q2 2023. She has also championed the modernization of telehealth for clinicians, seamlessly integrating with in-person visits and enhancing patient care and access to services through innovative technology solutions.
Prior to her role at Planned Parenthood, Colleen served as the Senior Vice President of Operations at Generations Healthcare Network from 2019 to 2020. In this role, she oversaw a team of over 200+ direct and indirect reports, exhibiting exceptional managerial skills. Colleen managed a diverse range of healthcare services across a portfolio of 600+ beds in Illinois and Indiana, ensuring exceptional quality and patient outcomes.
Before her role at Generations Healthcare Network, Colleen served as the Regional Director of Operations at Infinity Healthcare Network. In this position, she led a diverse portfolio of behavioral facilities and skilled nursing homes, overseeing 1000+ beds across a wide 400+ mile radius.
Converge is excited to have her expertise and leadership join the team as we continue to grow and flourish throughout Mississippi and Tennessee.
JACKSON, MS-
At Converge: Partners in Access, we are committed to offering high quality training using cutting edge design, interactive content, and research. Converge Connect offers training to healthcare professionals, organizations, advocates, and students to improve sexual and reproductive healthcare practices focusing on contraceptive care delivery.
Converge Connect is excited to announce that beginning July 1st, all four of our courses will qualify for continuing education credits for Certified Health Education Specialists, certified through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc (NCHEC). Participants will be able to earn four continuing education credit hours and four continuing competency credits for each self-paced course on Person Centered Contraceptive Counseling, Health Equity, LGBTQ+ Inclusive Care and Adolescent Friendly Healthcare!
Follow our Converge Connect LinkedIn page to stay in the know about all things training!
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/converge-connect/
JACKSON, MS-
Please join us in congratulating Jitoria Hunter on her new role as Chief of Staff.
Jitoria began her career in state government, working at the Mississippi State Department of Health and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. These roles provided her with a solid foundation in public health and community engagement.
Since joining Converge, Jitoria has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to Converge’s mission. She began as the Director of Clinical and Community Engagement, where she spearheaded numerous initiatives that significantly enhanced our community outreach and engagement efforts. Her exemplary performance led to her advancement to Director of External Affairs, where she continued to excel by building robust relationships with external stakeholders and fostering partnerships that advanced our organizational goals.
Most recently, as Vice President of External Affairs, Jitoria played a pivotal role in elevating Converge’s presence and influence. In this role, she successfully managed our brand, communication strategies, and media relations, further enhancing our visibility and impact. Her strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in driving our success and growth.
We are incredibly proud of Jitoria and her accomplishments. Her transition to Chief of Staff is well-deserved, and we look forward to her continued leadership.
Welcome to the C-Suite, Jitoria!
JACKSON, MS-
Converge had an amazing time with our Patient Experience Council during our Annual Summer PXC Summit. During this time, we were able to meet and discuss future plans for our PXC, our GetPersonal brand, and our Personally brand. Our PXC was very helpful in creating media content for our brands and ideas for community outreach
The highlight of the summit was being able to partner with The Pupa Project, a local nonprofit, on donating menstrual products to those in need.
This group is vital to the work Converge does for the state of Mississippi and Tennessee. It is truly an awesome team and we are extremely grateful for them.
Visit www.personally.care to learn more about the PXC and information on how to join the team.
All people deserve access to quality, affordable reproductive and sexual health care. Your support helps us expand access, training, and advocacy to improve the patient experience for everyone.