July 2022: Issue 7

This newsletter was developed (in part) with federal funds from the Office of Population Affairs. For more information on the rules and regulations that apply to our programs, please visit
The Wyoming Health Council works to ensure that all people can access safe, unbiased, high-quality sexual and reproductive health care.
The devastating impact of the Supreme Court decision on June 24,2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade is reverberating across the country, putting the health of everyone at risk. In this moment, as family planning providers, Wyoming's Title X clinic play an even more critical role as a source of safety, trust and information for our patients.

Title X core services are all the more essential now, especially access to a full range of birth control options and medically accurate information on all of a pregnant patient's options. Safety-net family planning providers are working hard to strengthen their networks and improve access to care at a time when reproductive rights are under attack across the country. We will continue to urge Congress to take action, and fund Title X .

The Wyoming Health Council, and our Title X clinics, make the commitment to continue to empower women and people with uterus’s to make their own decisions about when, if, and how many children they hope to have.
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July is Disability Pride Month
Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July, the month in which the Americans with Disabilities Act was first signed into law in 1990.

Following this legislation, Boston, Massachusetts held the first-ever Disability Pride Day event, and Disability Pride Month was born. Since then, Disability Pride events have been held across the country and the world.
Understanding Disability Pride Month

"As people celebrate Disability Pride, they prove that disabled people haven‘t just been surviving in the face of oppression—they’ve been thriving. As we celebrate Disability Pride, we honor the progress that the disability community has made thus far so that we can have these public events, so that we can be in public as ourselves. But we also express hope in building a future that’s even better for the disabled people who will come after us,” Brooks says.
Many Doctors Are Still Befuddled by Accommodating People With Disability

"I could not safely get onto the high table using the room’s small step stool. As the appointment time was running short, the physician did a cursory breast exam with me seated in my wheelchair. As a researcher studying health care disparities for people with disability, I know this experience was not uncommon. I have interviewed hundreds of people with various disabilities who described their experiences receiving substandard care because of failures to accommodate their disability..."
In June, the Wyoming Health Council team attended the Wyoming Developmental Disabilities Conference in Casper, WY.

The two day conference was designed to share new and innovative ideas with practical application in the disability community.

The conference was put on by the Wyoming Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, which is a unique, governor-appointed body of people who have developmental disabilities, family members of people with developmental disabilities, and professionals who work together to promote choice, independence and the full inclusion of all people with developmental disabilities in community life.

Wyoming Health Councils Executive Director, Rob Johnston, led a Breakout Session on Family Planning and Reproductive Health For Persons with Developmental Disabilities. The session was a round table discussion on how Title X Family Programs in Wyoming could best serve those clients living with developmental disabilities.

Below are some of the answers from the clients themselves and advocates!
Question 1:
What are some cognitive issues that people with disabilities may face in seeking family planning?
Question 2:
What are some system issues that persons with disabilities may face in seeking family planning services?
The Wyoming Health Council hopes to use the information gathered to improve services for persons with disabilities in our Wyoming Title X clinics and continue our mission of inclusion and equity!
Non-Binary Awareness Week July 11th-17th
Non-Binary Day July 14th
July 11-17th is Nonbinary Awareness week and July 14th is International Non-Binary Day! This is a week and day to add extra focus to the nonbinary community as well as the vast gender spectrum. Nonbinary people experience gender between the binary of male and female and sometimes completely outside of the binary all-together!
Why There's No Such Thing as 'Looking' Nonbinary

“I feel like all my life I have struggled with being ‘in between’ categories,” says Em Matsuno, PhD, an assistant professor of counseling and counseling psychology at Arizona State University in Tempe. Dr. Matsuno is a psychology researcher who develops interventions to improve mental health and increase well-being among trans and nonbinary people.

Matsuno says that identifying as a biracial Asian and white person growing up in Laramie, Wyoming, they felt like they didn't belong among their majority-white peers. "I struggled a lot with my race," they say. When they lived in Japan briefly at age six, they felt like they didn’t belong there, either.
“I’ve had a similar struggle with gender,” Matsuno says. “My experiences didn’t match up with other trans people I knew, but they also didn’t match up with cis people either....Those experiences motivated their work. Matsuno set out to study, among other mental health issues in LGBTQ+ communities, the unique stressors that nonbinary people face."
Providing Affirmative Care For Patients With Non-Binary Gender Identities

All members of a health care organization—front-line staff members, clinicians, and administrators—play a crucial role in offering an inclusive, affirming experience for all people, including those with non-binary gender identities. Everyone, no matter their gender identity or expression, appreciates friendly, courteous, and effective care. In addition, non-binary people, who have gender identities other than male or female, have unique needs when interacting with the health care system. Non-binary people face numerous health disparities as well as stigma, discrimination, and a lack of access to quality care. However, you do not need to specialize in non-binary health care to give your non-binary patients an affirming experience.
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is observed each July to bring awareness to the unique struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face regarding mental illness in the United States.

Racial and ethnic minorities often suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to the cultural stigma and lack of access to mental health care services.

Wyoming is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) for mental health, with 64% of the population living in a mental health shortage area.
Wyoming Equality

Wyoming Equality believes in a Wyoming where the dignity and humanity of all LGBTQ Wyomingites are celebrated and protected in the communities we call home. Find mental health resources on the website!
AAKOMA Project

AAKOMA believes that to meet the mental health needs of Youth of Color, we need to operate at three levels – raising consciousness among individuals, providing accessible tools for ongoing management, and shifting systems to receive youth and provide better care.
WeRNative
Mental Health

Comprehensive health resource for Native youth, by Native youth, providing content and stories about the topics that matter most to them. We strive to promote holistic health and positive growth in our local communities and nation at large.
Find mental health resources on the website!
New 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Beginning July 16, 2022, 988 will be the new three-digit dialing code connecting people to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, where compassionate, accessible care and support is available for anyone experiencing mental health-related distress—whether that is thoughts of suicide, mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

You can find 988 printable Wallet Cards, Magnets, Posters, and Safety Plan forms and more below!
National Nude Day
July 14
National Nude Day is a holiday that’s observed and celebrated all over the world on the 14th of July. As the name of this holiday suggests, it’s a day on which people are encouraged to remove all of their clothing and enjoy their nakedness. Not only does the act of being naked make a person feel free, but it’s also a good way to cool off on a hot day—and there are pretty good odds that the 14th of July is likely to be a hot day in many parts of the world.

It’s also a good day for people to embrace naturism and to think about how they connect to the rest of nature. This holiday originated in New Zealand—where it was highly successful—but has quickly spread to other Western countries. Now, it’s celebrated on just about every continent. 

National Nude Day is also a great day to celebrate, learn about, and explore your own body!
Anti-Fat Bias Is Pervasive and Insidious: Combating It's harm in Sexual Health and Education

The commitment to learning and checking our anti-fat bias is important because it affects our work. Whether we are a sex educator or a health professional, we should aim to make sure everyone has the knowledge and skills to take care of their bodies, however their bodies look or work. (And let us be clear—there is no wrong way to have a body.) Not surprisingly, this learned and internalized body shame can find its way into sexual decision making. Let’s see how anti-fat bias shows up in sexual health and education.
Real Women On The Things They've Learned to Love Most About Their Bodies

Something we don’t talk enough about in the realms of body love, body positivity and body acceptance is that it takes work. Unlearning the heaps of body negative, ableist, classist and racist garbage that contributes to the ways we might hate or dislike our bodies is a journey that we all need to embark on at one point or another. Once we start to realize that we’ve become our own worst critics, cultivating a better, more loving relationship with our bodies is something we do for ourselves and to make sure we’re modeling the most positive body attitudes for our kids and the young people who look up to us.
Where Do Men Fit Into the Body Positivity Movement?

Many men have expressed concerns over body image, with around one in every thousand living with anorexia nervosa at some point in their life.

Men may have body image concerns because of media portrayals of the "ideal man" or because of the pressure put on men to meet societal expectations. In particular, the condition muscle dysmorphia, or "bigorexia," disproportionately affects men.
World Hepatitis Day
July 28

What is Hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, most commonly caused by a viral infection. There are five main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. These five types are of greatest concern because of the burden of illness and death they cause and the potential for outbreaks and epidemic spread.

What makes hepatitis a global health problem?
Every 30 seconds, someone dies from a viral hepatitis related illness. However, with the existing prevention, testing and treatment services that are available every hepatitis related death is preventable.
Hepatitis can affect anyone, but it has a disproportionate affect on the people and communities most underserved by health systems. 
WHO Says at Lease 650 Children Have Developed Mysterious Hepatitis

"New data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that hundreds of children have developed mysterious hepatitis symptoms in recent months.
The WHO reported that at least 38 of the children ended up needing liver transplants, and nine had died due to the symptoms of hepatitis.
The U.K. has reported the highest number of cases with 222. The U.S. has reported 216 suspected cases. Most children affected by the condition were under the age of five.
The cause of the mysterious hepatitis remains unknown, although officials suspect a type of virus called an adenovirus may be involved. At least 180 children with hepatitis were tested for adenovirus, and 110 tested positive."
Hepatitis and Sex: Frequently Asked Questions

"It’s widely known that viral hepatitis can spread through consuming contaminated food or sharing dirty hypodermic needles. But the liver-destroying disease can also sometimes be spread through sexual contact. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself."
The Wyoming Health Council is sad to announce the retirement of our amazing Administrative Assistant, Janay Murphy. Janay brought structure and organization to our office, but even more importantly, sassiness and joy! She is off to Montana to be with family the cows on their ranch. We will miss her greatly, but we know, it's not goodbye, it's just see you later!
Reproductive Health Nurse
Laramie Reproductive Health
Laramie Reproductive Health is urgently hiring a Nurse Practitioner!
Follow the link below for more information and share with your networks!
STD Prevention Coordinator
Northwest Health Care
Northwest Health Care is seeking a full-time STD Prevention Coordinator. This individual will be responsible for promoting prevention, testing, and treatment for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C through public health programming offered at NHC. The ideal individual will be reliable, outgoing, self-directed, and detail oriented.

Minimum Qualifications:

Must have a phlebotomy certification
Possess a valid State of Wyoming driver’s license
Excellent verbal and communication skills
Be willing to work occasional weekends and/or after hours

To Apply:

Submit a letter of intent and resume or curriculum vitae to the following physical or electronic address:
Northwest Health Care

Attn: Michelle

PO Box 941

Cody, WY 82414

michelle@nwhealthcare.org 
WYOMING HEALTH COUNCIL
111 S. Durbin, Suite 200
Casper, WY 82601

Call Us: (307) 439-2033