PHS’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Capacity Building (SRH-CB) Program supports primary care practices and other health care settings to provide patient-centered contraceptive care and ensure access to high-quality services. PHS provides quality improvement coaching, training and technical assistance on contraceptive care best practices, patient-centered care strategies and the Sexual and Reproductive Justice (SRJ) framework, as well as technical solutions to improve billing and revenue cycle management. SRH-CB Program offerings integrate a strong equity lens and are specifically aimed to address critical inequities in SRH care. Participating healthcare settings have seen remarkable improvements in the number of patients screened for SRH needs, increased on-site availability of contraceptive methods, and bolstered staff capacity to provide patient-centered and equity-driven care. Now, PHS is bringing SRH and substance use service sites together to improve screening and referrals through a collaborative partnership and is implementing a virtual training initiative that aims to expand the impact of the SRJ framework in the field of SRH care.  

Current Programs

Past Programs

For more information on any of our programs or to partner with us in the future, please contact Dayana Bermudez, Program Manager, Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs, at dbermudez@healthsolutions.org.

Partnership to Advance Integrated Referrals (PAIR), 2019 – Present

A quality improvement research project to partner sexual and reproductive health centers and substance use service sites for improved screening and referrals to care.

In 2019, PHS launched the Partnership to Advance Integrated Referrals (PAIR), an Office of Population Affairs (OPA)-funded research project that aims to address the unmet need of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Substance Use (SU) care for persons capable of pregnancy who use substances and who aim to prevent pregnancy or achieve a healthy pregnancy. Through the PAIR project, SRH and SU services sites will join together to improve screening, interventions and referrals to partner organizations. Year one of this project was dedicated to designing quality improvement tools, evaluation tools and training curricula necessary to carry out a Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative (QILC), which was done in parentship with a Collaborative Advisory Board comprised of representatives from 7 SRH and SU service sites in New York City. In the fall of 2020, PHS launched the virtual QILC with 9 partner sites across New York State, including Harlem United, Family Planning of Syracuse, Livingston Reproductive Health Center, PHS SRH Centers, the Door- A Center for Alternatives, Arms Acres, Bridging Access to Care, CASA-Trinity and Crouse Health Hospital.

Beyond the Basics: Exploring Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) through a Sexual and Reproductive Justice (SRJ) Lens Webinar Series, 2020

A webinar series to train sexual and reproductive healthcare providers to integrate the sexual and reproductive justice framework into the fundamental aspects of sexual and reproductive healthcare.

With COVID-19 changing how clinical providers offer contraceptive services— especially in NYC, one of the outbreak epicenters, PHS and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) designed a new webinar series to offer staff at healthcare facilities the tools needed to conduct inclusive and comprehensive reproductive telehealth services while having a space to discuss challenges and successes in a metropolitan setting.

This webinar series was based on conversations and feedback from our community partners as part of the Quality Improvement Network for Contraceptive Access 2.0 (QINCA 2.0) project, a quality improvement and capacity building program that partners with primary care settings to introduce and/or expand contraceptive services, guided by the sexual and reproductive justice framework.

Webinars included: Introduction to Sexual and Reproductive Telehealth, Providing Contraceptive Counseling via Telehealth, Billing and Coding for Telehealth Sexual and Reproductive Services during COVID-19​, and Emerging Best Practices for Inclusive Telehealth Policies and Procedures.

Quality Improvement Network for Contraceptive Access (QINCA), 2019 – 2020

A quality improvement learning collaborative, conducted in partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, aimed at improving sexual and reproductive justice (SRJ)-informed sexual and reproductive health services in primary care, postpartum and post-abortion settings.

In 2019, PHS launched the Quality Improvement Network for Contraceptive Access (QINCA) 2.0 project, in partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This project sought to incorporate the Reproductive Justice[1] (RJ) framework into contraceptive access quality improvement efforts at 7 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and hospitals in New York City. QINCA 2.0 has adopted a strong equity lens in collaborative activities, which has included integrating the RJ framework into all trainings and tools, and prioritizing patient autonomy and equitable choice of contraceptive care services. PHS recently concluded cohort 3 of this project and plans to bring RJ learning into its future contraceptive care capacity building offerings.

New York State Contraceptive Care Collaborative, 2018 – 2020

A quality improvement learning collaborative aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health services in primary care and assessing the effectiveness of a streamlined version of the SRH-CB Program’s pilot project.

In 2018, PHS’ SRH-CB Program launched a QILC in New York, funded by the Ira W. DeCamp Foundation and the New York State Health Foundation, to evaluate a streamlined version of the QILC model that was carried out in the Pilot. The New York State Contraceptive Care Collaborative (NYSCCC) included 7 FQHCs and hospitals and implemented a more rigorous evaluation to compare results to the pilot project. Participating sites received QI coaching and trainings on quality improvement, contraceptive counseling, insertion and removal of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARC), billing and coding and more. Between August 2018 and February 2020, the percent of patients assessed for contraceptive needs increased from 33% to 52% and the percent of persons not seeking pregnancy provided an effective contraceptive method increased from 17% to 45%.

South Carolina Initiative, 2018 – 2019

A quality improvement and training-centered collaborative aimed to improve sexual and reproductive health services across 12 Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) systems in South Carolina.

In 2018, PHS’ SRH-CB Program kicked off a partnership with the South Carolina Initiative, an initiative funded by an anonymous donor, to conduct trainings and a learning collaborative on comprehensive contraceptive care at FQHCs across the state. PHS trained over 800 clinical staff across 52 sites within 12 FQHC systems. Between April 2018 and December 2018, the percent of patients assessed for contraceptive needs increased from 22% to 63% and the percent of persons not seeking pregnancy provided with an effective contraceptive method increased from 24% to 35%.

Young Women’s Initiative, 2016 – 2018

A quality improvement learning collaborative with adolescent health settings in NYC, aimed at improving adolescent-focused sexual and reproductive health services and access to contraceptive methods.

In 2016, PHS was funded by the New York City Council to launch the Young Women’s Initiative, which aimed to improve contraceptive care for young women in New York City. From 2016 to 2018, the SRH-CB Program ran a Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative (QILC) with 5 adolescent clinics within the NYC Health + Hospitals system, which aimed to improve contraceptive care services for adolescent patients, focusing on adolescent specific priorities including confidentiality and contraceptive counseling for adolescent-aged patients. Sites participating in this collaborative also saw dramatic improvements in care delivery. Between February 2017 and June 2018, the percent of sexually active adolescents assessed for contraceptive needs increased from 79% to 100% and the percent of non-pregnancy seeking adolescents provided with an effective contraceptive method increased from 68% to 94%.

Understanding Patient and Provider Preferences for Pregnancy Intention Screening in Primary Care, 2016 – 2018

A Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project conducted in partnership with Columbia University and Ryan Health, examining patient and provider preferences around pregnancy-related conversations and concept of pregnancy intent.

After completion of the pilot, PHS observed a high percent of patients that stated they were not seeking pregnancy but did not select to use contraception. PHS sought to understand the validity of the “pregnancy intention” screening question itself, and from 2016 to 2018 PHS partnered with Columbia University and Ryan Health, one of the pilot FQHCs, to conduct a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project seeking to understand patient and provider preferences around screening and pregnancy-related conversations, exploring the concept of planning a pregnancy, and the patient and provider roles in those discussions. A community advisory board was comprised of representatives from the local community in Harlem, New York City, and staff from Ryan Health, PHS and Columbia University. In-depth interviews were conducted with patients and providers, using interview guides developed by the advisory board. This project resulted in three published manuscripts that have informed our continued work in this field and include recommendations from both patients and providers on how to conduct pregnancy related conversations, as well as findings from the CBPR process itself.  You can read the manuscripts here:

The Pilot, 2014 – 2016

A pilot quality improvement learning collaborative to improve contraceptive care services at non-Title X funded Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in NYC.

In 2014, the SRH Capacity Building Program (formerly Family Planning Capacity Building Program) began with a pilot Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative (QILC), partnering with 4 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in NYC, aimed at improving contraceptive care in primary care settings. During this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published its guide Providing Quality Family Planning Services,[2] which endorsed many best practices implemented in this project. In 2015, PHS’ SRH-CB Program published its Contraceptive Care Toolkit, which includes practical quality improvement tools aimed to help primary care settings implement their own improvements in the provision of contraceptive care. As a result of this project, funded by the New York State Health Foundation and an anonymous donor, participating sites saw dramatic improvements in the delivery of care. Between 2014 and 2016, the percent of patients assessed for contraceptive needs increased from 3% to 80% and the percent of non-pregnancy seeking women provided with an effective contraceptive method increased from 2% to 55%.

[1] Reproduce Justice, Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice

[2] Providing Quality Family Planning Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/qfp.htm.