TAKE FIVE!

March 23, 2021

Amanda Langseder:
Hi, I’m Amanda. Welcome to Sullivan 180 Presents… Take Five!. Our guest today is Ashley Raynor, a health educator with Planned Parenthood. Welcome Ashley, and thank you so much for being here today.

Ashley Raynor:
Hi, Amanda. Thanks for having us.

Amanda Langseder:
Absolutely. Can you introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit more about your role at Planned Parenthood?

Ashley Raynor:
Yes. So I am a health educator with Planned Parenthood for the past 13 years. I work with youth in the community to provide sexual and reproductive health education. We provide comprehensive education programs that last more than a single session, and this has been proven to be effective in behavioral changes among youth and at PPGNY (Planned Parenthood Greater New York) we have grants that allow us to support youth to community connectedness, and we work to provide youth with readiness life skills, such as college prep, job readiness, cooking demos. Just to name a few examples.

Amanda Langseder:
That’s great. Yes. I know you all do a ton of different work and different ways to connect with youth. How many years have you been doing this? If you don’t mind me asking.

Ashley Raynor:
I have been here for 13 years

Amanda Langseder:
Now. I thought so. I remember working with you way back. Please explain a little bit of what types of services and programs does planned Parenthood offer.

Ashley Raynor:
So we offer our evidence-based programs, which are all provided to schools and community-based organizations. We also offer our health center services. So we have STI screening, abortion care, cancer screenings, birth control options, annual well visits, just to name a few. And we’ve also during these challenging times when in-person visits aren’t possible, we have offered high quality affordable healthcare by phone or through a virtual platform. And this is an effort to keep our patients and staff safe and allow people healthcare, no matter where they are.

Amanda Langseder:
That’s amazing. Yeah. I was just going to ask what has changed during COVID-19, but it sounds like really some of the clinic services and the way that you serve people has changed!

Ashley Raynor:
Right? So of course we still offer in-person visits, but we start with that phone interview or through that virtual platform to see what the needs of the clients or the patients are. And then if they need to be seen in person, we would schedule an appointment for them to come in.

Amanda Langseder:
Great. Where is the clinic in Sullivan County?

Ashley Raynor:
It is in Monticello.

Amanda Langseder:
Do you know what the hours are by any chance?

Ashley Raynor:
So currently they are just doing virtual visits in Monticello as we work with the state to safely reopen our clinics.

Amanda Langseder:
Perfect. Thank you so much. I’m just wondering how you see Planned Parenthood involved in our larger Sullivan 180 “Empowering a Healthier Generation” school-based wellness movement.

Ashley Raynor:
So I see the opportunity to continue building relationships with Sullivan 180 and the communities and the schools by continuing to provide this access to education and our reproductive health education in the communities. And by working together, I believe this is how we’re going to create a healthier generation.

Amanda Langseder:
Absolutely. Totally agree. So, anything else that you would like to share about Planned Parenthood or your work in Sullivan?

Ashley Raynor:
I would like to share that we have taken all of our education programs and transitioned them to virtual platforms so they can be delivered and everyone can still be able to participate and keep everyone safe. For example, we converted our seven part curriculum to be delivered virtually, and this is an evidence-based program through New York state and it’s interactive and it’s engaging. So we’re still out there providing that education. And one last thing I would like to add is that we are always looking for volunteers in our advocacy department, and we have so many ways for people to become involved! So, you can always take a look at www.plannedparenthood.org, and you can look under activist and find ways to become involved and engaged with us.

Amanda Langseder:
Fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining us today, Ashley, Thank you for all that you do for Sullivan County residents. It really means a lot to us, to our youth and to empowering a healthier generation.

Ashley Raynor:
Thanks so much for having us, Amanda, glad to be here!