June 2022: Issue 6
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The Wyoming Health Council works to ensure that all people can access safe, unbiased, high-quality sexual and reproductive health care. |
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Happy
PRIDE MONTH
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June is PRIDE Month! A great time of year to recognize, celebrate and learn more about LGBTQIA+ individuals, families, and communities!
"All people, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), need sexual and reproductive health care! And while health care providers should take this into consideration every day, PRIDE month is a good time to review policies and practices in health care and how we can offer more inclusive, quality care.
Several leading sexual and reproductive health associations have recognized these needs and have begun to integrate reproductive and sexual health for LGBTQ patients into their policies and guidelines. For example, the “Providing Quality Family Planning Services” guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs call for a person-centered approach that integrates the needs of LGBTQ patients. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has also adopted a number of position statements on transgender health, which call for providers to create a welcoming environment for transgender patients and introduce the concept of gender-affirming care." Guttmacher-Not Up For Debate: LGBTQ People Need and Deserve Tailored Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
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7 Ways to Make Your Practice More LGBTQ Friendly
A welcoming environment makes it easier for patients to interact with physicians so they can provide the best care.
Medical care requires vulnerability, a willingness to share intimate details of one’s life and expose one’s body for examination. A welcoming environment makes it easier for patients to interact with physicians so they ultimately get the care they need.
This is especially true for the 10 million Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ), many of whom continue to face health disparities linked to societal stigma, discrimination, and denial of their civil and human rights.
“Even with the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ patients are more likely to be uninsured, live with the burden of chronic disease, have difficulties accessing healthcare, and be more at risk for certain types of health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer,” says Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, the first openly gay person elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees.
Establishing an LGBTQ-friendly practice is the first step toward building loyalty and trust, says Ehrenfeld. Once patients are engaged, they’re more likely to have positive outcomes that ultimately reduce costs, he adds. Consider these seven tips to create an LGBTQ-friendly practice..."
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The Casper Pride Guide is a resource hub for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies in our community. You will find connections to local physical and mental health providers, substance abuse services, community-led projects, and more. It’s your virtual one-stop-shop for all things Queer in our community. |
Wyoming Equality strives to achieve equity for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, and queer Wyomingites by building broad and inclusive communities, shifting the hearts and minds of our neighbors, and achieving policy victories.
Over the years, Wyoming Equality has been at the forefront of LGBTQ and Two Spirit advocacy. We believe no road is too long or windy to stop our work and we invite you to join us by becoming a WE member today.
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LGBTQ+ Inclusive Sex Ed Week of Action
June 22-26
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"Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth – particularly those who are at the intersection of multiple marginalized communities – need and deserve to learn in settings that are inclusive of their experiences and that give them the necessary education to stay safe and healthy...
For LGBTQ+ youth to experience comparable health benefits to their non-LGBTQ+ peers, sex education programs must be LGBTQ+ inclusive. Inclusive programs are those that help young people understand gender identity and sexual orientation with age-appropriate and medically accurate information; incorporate positive examples of LGBTQ+ individuals, relationships and families; emphasize the need for protection during sex for people of all identities; and dispel common myths and stereotypes about behavior and identity."
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PRIDE in Wyoming
Here are some events around the state!
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Casper PRIDE at David Street Station
June 11
Come see the Wyoming Health Council
See other events in Casper HERE
Laramie PRIDEFEST in the Park
June 25
Come see Laramie Reproductive Health
See other events in Laramie HERE
Rawlings LOVE is LOVE
June 18
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A Focus on Young Men
"By the time most American adolescents reach the age of 13 they’ve stopped seeing a pediatrician – over 80% of all pediatric visits are by children under 13. For females 13 and over, however, gynecologists typically become their new health care provider, or “gatekeeper.” This transition is relatively seamlessly with the recommendation being that girls begin seeing a gynecologist between 13 and 15 years of age.
For males, however, there is no similar continuity of care. On the whole, with the exception of episodic school exams, sports physicals and visits to the ER, once they leave the pediatrician’s office adolescent and young adult (AYA) males are left outside of our health care system.
Yet, according to the most recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adolescent and young adult (AYA) males, or those between the ages of 10 and 25, are at higher risk than their female contemporaries for:
Death by suicide
ADHD diagnosis
Substance abuse
Homicide
Risky behaviors
Accidental injury
Certain STIs
It’s not surprising, therefore, that males do not become reunited with our health care system until they suffer from an acute or chronic illness later in life. Ironically, some of those illnesses are caused by a lack of preventive care in the intervening years...."The Partnership for Male Youth
Young men may feel left out when it comes to reproductive and sexual health care. While young women need to go to a clinic or provider for contraception and annual exams, young men can pick up condoms at the store and may not have anyone they feel comfortable taking to about sexual health matters. And young men need to know about their own bodies, others bodies, gender identity, consent, pleasure and healthy relationships too!
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Young men have questions, and the internet may not always have the best answers (enter unrealistic sex/relationships via porn and lack of digital and media literacy skills "I saw it on the internet....").
Have not fear though! Below are some good resources!
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The Porn Conversation
The Porn Conversation is a non-profit project that offers free and easily accessible tools for families and educators to talk to young people about sex - beginning with the topic of porn literacy
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Young Men's Health
Welcome to Young Men's Health, a website for teen guys and young men featuring up-to-date health information. Here, you can find answers to your questions, health guides, & more!
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The Partnership for Male Youth
The mission of the Partnership for Male Youth is to identify and address the unique and unmet needs of adolescent and young adult males ages 10 through 24 in order to optimize their health and ensure that they thrive."
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National HIV Testing Day- June 27 |
HIV Testing is Self-Care!
The NHTD theme for 2022 is “HIV Testing is Self-care.” Self-care has been a particularly important topic during the COVID-19 pandemic as the need for individual and community actions to promote physical and mental health remain critical.
- Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. have HIV. About 13 percent of them don’t know it and need testing.
- HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.
- In 2019, male-to-male sexual contact, accounted for 65% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States and 6 dependent areas.
- In the same year, heterosexual contact accounted for 23% of all HIV diagnoses.
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2018, 19% of the new HIV diagnoses in the United States and dependent areas were among women.
- In 2019, an estimated 34,800 new HIV infections occurred in the United States.
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HIV.GOV CDC.GOV
HIV testing is an act of self-care. Encouraging people to get tested and know their HIV status can help them stay healthy. Today, there are more free, easy, fast, and confidential HIV testing options available than ever before. Testing, including self-testing, is the first step to engaging in HIV prevention or treatment services. HIV testing is a critical tool to helping us end the HIV epidemic in the United States.
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Make an appointment at your local Title X clinic or check out the resources below for at home testing! |
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***** Griswold v. Connecticut *****
June 7th
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June 7th marks the 57th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut-the Supreme Court decision that affirmed the right to privacy and contraception.
The court’s landmark decision — coming five years after oral contraceptives became available to American women and 49 years after Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. — provided the first constitutional protection for birth control and paved the way for the nearly unanimous acceptance of contraception that now exists in this country. But is contraception the next issue on the chopping block?
“We are likely to see emergency contraception, at least, as the next step,” said Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “There are a number of hints of that happening. And to me, the largest indication was the concerted litigation campaign against the ACA’s contraceptive mandate, where it’s fairly obvious there was an attempt to confuse the public about what emergency contraception and IUDs do, and what they are.”
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#FUNDTITLEX #MakeItRightForTitleX |
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Following years of political attacks against Title X and chronic underfunding for the program, the nationwide network of family planning providers is struggling to keep services available in communities across the country. With so much on the line right now for abortion rights and comprehensive reproductive health access, we need Congress to make a significant investment in the Title X family planning program immediately so that everyone who needs contraception can access it.
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You can contact your Congress members even after the 7th to let them know you support Title X and contraceptive and family planning access. |
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Mills Satellite Clinic
Casper-Natrona County Health Department
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The road to wellness can take many turns, and now it’s going down Fourth Street!
Mills, we’re here for you – more than ever before. The Casper-Natrona County Health Department now has a satellite location at Small Hall at 426 4th St. in Mills.
The clinic will be open every second Monday from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. We hope to add more dates soon! It will better serve you, your family and your neighbors so that together, we can make our community a healthier, happier place.
Appointments include family planning consultations, birth control refills and prescriptions, annual women’s exams, immunizations and STD testing.
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WYOMING HEALTH COUNCIL
111 S. Durbin, Suite 200
Casper, WY 82601
Call Us: (307) 439-2033
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