Dates and Time: May 8, May 15, and May 22 at 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET

Overview

Accessing comprehensive adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) services, including for contraception and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), is crucial for fostering adolescent health and well-being and advancing health equity. Join NACHC and national experts in adolescent and sexual reproductive health for Closing the Adolescent Care Gap: Putting Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health QI Strategies into Practice.

Learning Objectives

During this series of three virtual sessions, we will delve into how health centers can improve the quality of their ASRH services. We will explore evidenced-based clinical guidelines and quality improvement goals and strategies in STI testing and treatment, contraceptive care, and welcoming spaces for teens. 

We will also introduce NACHC’s newly launched Quality for Teens (Q4T), a digital quality improvement package for ASRH services. Developed by health centers for health centers, Q4T is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in implementing or enhancing essential and equitable ASRH clinical services and youth-friendly practices. Save the dates. Registration for all sessions is encouraged but not required. 

Continuing Medical and Nursing Education Credits available. 

Each session will be held at 2:00 pm ET for 60 minutes. 

Facilitator

Each session will be facilitated by: 

• Mikayla Bobrow, MA, Trainer and Technical Assistance Specialist, Cicatelli Associates, Inc. 

Mikayla Bobrow is a Trainer and Technical Assistance Specialist at CAI. Her work is centered on building the capacity of health centers and community-based organizations to improve access to and quality of the services they provide. Mikayla has managed CAI’s role in the development of the Q4T (Quality for Teens) Package, which has collated goals, implementation tips, and resources to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in primary care settings. Prior to working at CAI, Mikayla provided training and technical assistance at the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault, where she managed the largest Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) training program in New York State. She also previously worked as a Family Planning Health Educator at a community health center in NYC where she counseled patients on a range of sexual and reproductive health topics and facilitated a comprehensive sexual health curriculum in middle and high schools. 

Sessions

Session 1 – May 8, 2024 

Youth-Friendly Strategies for STI Prevention and Treatment at Community Health Centers   

Featuring: 

• Natalie Neu, Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Medical Director, NYC STD Prevention Training Center 

Natalie Neu, MD, MPH is the Medical Director for the NYC STD Prevention Training Center and a Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center, NY, NY. Dr. Neu is trained in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and has specialized in adolescent HIV and STI care for the past 25 years. Dr. Neu participated in the writing of the 2021 CDC STI Treatment Guidelines as a Workgroup member. Dr. Neu treats children of all ages, from infancy to young adulthood with a specific area of interest in sexual health concerns such as sexually transmitted diseases, vaccines, and HIV.    

Session 2 – May 15, 2024

Applying CDC’s Contraceptive Guidance in Community Health Centers to Reduce Barriers for Adolescents 

Featuring:  

• Anna Brittain, Health Scientist, Fertility and Epidemiology Studies Team, Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Anna Brittain, MHS, is a Health Scientist with the Fertility and Epidemiology Studies Team in the Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has authored multiple papers on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and has helped lead multiple adolescent reproductive health projects. Currently, Anna leads the Quality and Access for Reproductive Health Equity for Teens project. Anna’s work supported the development of Providing Quality Family Planning Services: Recommendations of CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs. This support included systematic reviews covering youth-friendly family planning services, confidentiality, and repeat teen pregnancy.  

• CAPT Naomi K. Tepper, Medical Officer, Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

CAPT Naomi Tepper, MD, MPH, FACOG serves as a Medical Officer in the Division of Reproductive Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Tepper’s work focuses on women’s health issues including contraception and family planning, birth defect surveillance and research, perinatal infections and maternal immunization. Dr. Tepper also practices clinical obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine, where she is Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is also a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 

• Kerri Vandiver, Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, Community Health Connection 

Kerri Vandiver, APRN has been a Nurse Practitioner for over 20 years specializing in women’s health and Title X services. Kerri is the Women’s Health Director at Community Health Connection (CHC) in Tulsa, Oklahoma and has a passion for serving the reproductive health needs of teens and adolescents. Throughout her tenure at CHC, Kerri has helped thousands of women, men, and adolescents gain access to compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health services. 

Session 3 – May 22, 2024

Partnering with Young People to Strengthen Youth-Centered Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Community Health Centers 

Featuring: 

• Laura Davis, Director of Adolescent Sexual Health Services, Advocates for Youth 

Laura Davis (she/her) is Director of Adolescent Sexual Health Services at Advocates for Youth (Advocates). Laura has more than thirty years’ experience in program planning, project coordination, teaching, training, and organizational development in the field of reproductive and sexual health. She has managed an adolescent family planning clinic, directed several multi-year cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Office of Adolescent Health, and conducted trainings for youth, sexuality educators, health providers, and youth service workers in over 35 states. 

• Karen Torres, Program Associate, Division of Adolescent Sexual Health Services, Advocates for Youth 

Karen Torres (she/her/ella) serves as Program Associate in the Division of Adolescent Sexual Health Services at Advocates for Youth. Karen has over six years of experience working on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues and peer-education. She is one of the early founders of the Reproductive Health Access Project, a youth-led intervention designed by Advocates for Youth and El Rio Community Health Center in Tucson, Arizona, to improve the quality of SRH services for teens and young adults. Karen currently oversees Advocates’ partnerships with iFoster and the International Rescue Committee and is responsible for Advocates’ efforts to integrate AMAZE in clinical settings. 

• Glorimar Irizarry, Women’s Health Program Lead, Holyoke Health Center 

Glorimar Irizarry is the Women’s Health Program Lead for the Holyoke Health Center, a community health center in Western Massachusetts. In her current role as Women’s Health Program Lead, Glorimar oversees sexual reproductive health programming integration through the clinic’s primary care services. Glorimar is a trained facilitator in contraceptive counseling approaches for adolescents and educates clinical staff on how to properly provide family planning services to a patient population that is predominantly Spanish speaking. Glorimar co-chairs community engagement projects through the mayor’s teen pregnancy prevention committee and in 2013, Glorimar received the Youth First award from the Mass Alliance on Teen Pregnancy for her work in supporting efforts to decrease teen pregnancy in the city of Holyoke.  

• Tatum Hathaway, Youth Board Member, Holyoke Health Center 

Tatum Hathaway is 17 and a senior at Northampton High School. This fall Tatum will be studying abroad in London through UMass Amherst where she plans to major in Public Health. When she is not in school, she is captain of her high school Ultimate Frisbee team and works as a cashier at the Williamsburg Market. She has been a member of the Youth Board since 2023 and is so pleased about this opportunity.