Good snowy morning from northern Wisconsin. The snow and slick roads this morning reminded me about one of the least favorite parts of my job-playing meteorologist. Now this is quite contradictory to my childhood years. I used to love watching the weather report by meteorologist Gary Cannalte out of the News 3 station in Madison. I was fascinated and intrigued and thought that someday I want to be a meteorologist too. So here I am, playing meteorologist-without any training. It is one of the most stressful things!

So, there is this amazing group out of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, UW CORE-Collaborative for Reproductive Equity. They conduct some very important research regarding reproductive health, and value reproductive autonomy, dignity, and equity. With that being said, I always look forward to reading their updates and current research.

Their latest update came out on Monday, and I was in such shock and awe, that I have had to spend several days processing. Several of the researchers from CORE published a study on September 28^th in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology titled, Physician Beliefs about Contraceptive Methods as Abortifacients. Here is the link for those who are interested https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.09.039.

Election day came and went last week. But what do the results really mean? Let’s first take a look at things on a more national level. Five states: California, Michigan, Kentucky, Montana, and Vermont, had abortion rights and access on the ballot. Constituents in all five states, overwhelmingly, supported the right to choose. California voters enshrined abortion rights in their state constitution. Kentucky voters rejected an anti-abortion amendment that would have removed the right to abortion from the state’s constitution. Michigan voters adopted an amendment to their state constitution ensuring the right to abortion access. Montana voters rejected a legislative referendum that would have raised criminal charges for health care providers in regard to abortion. And in Vermont, with a 77.2% vote, voters added abortion rights to the state constitution. But let’s not forget about Kansas in August either.

Mission drift is a thing. A very real thing for non-profit organizations. Why? Because we want to save the world. It is in our blood to do the most good for the most people. So, when opportunity presents itself, we often jump asking and figuring out how we can fill the gap. However, an important lesson for all of us is the one that teaches us to stay in our lane.

Protestors or prayer walkers? Who are they and more importantly, why are they here…outside of my clinics? Frequently there are groups of people with anti-abortion signs and the rosary walking up and down the sidewalks near Healthfirst locations. When I started, I did not know what to say or do. Do I just let them be? Do I engage in conversation?

I am finally sitting in that cozy chair in the corner of my office as I write this. There is a small table next to it, that I pulled in front of me to create a workspace. After a busy day of pulling month-end reports, it was time for a change of scenery today.

For those of you who follow us on social media, you may recall that Healthfirst recently had a can sculpture contest. Historically, we have participated in United WeCan with the Marathon County United Way. Some of their strategies have changed, and they transitioned away from the event. However, we had the money budgeted to participate. So after some thought, we decided to bring it in house.

Wisconsin continues to be in the spotlight for so many things, most importantly though, the upcoming election. Many have even said that the Senate race in Wisconsin is the most important in the country. But there are also 12 state legislative races that could result in a Republican supermajority, as well as the gubernatorial race. Now I am not going to sit here and say go vote for this person and do not vote for that person. I truly want to encourage everyone to research the candidates they are voting for. And then make a plan to vote.

Transparency builds trust, let us say that again, but altogether, transparency builds trust. Effective leaders are transparent both inwards and outwards. That builds a culture of trust within the organization, but also builds community trust outside of the organization.

Dobbs, Roe, post, pre, EC, plan b, morning after….I feel like I frequently talk in code-which I apologize for. So, let’s start with some of the basics. In June of 2022, June 24th to be exact, the United States Supreme Court issued their opinion on a specific case they heard, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Everything since that date has been termed Post Dobbs in the reproductive health world.

As leaders we should always be up to something big, reaching to obtain our why. Leaders are not lane fillers or worker bees. Now don’t get me wrong, those are important positions within an organization, as they help the wheel move. But there needs to be a driving force to inspire greatness, impact, performance, and outcomes. Those individuals are leaders.