Filling Critical Gaps in Reproductive Healthcare in Emergency Departments

PHI’s Access Bridge fills critical gaps in reproductive health care in emergency departments (EDs) across the U.S. by building the capacity of EDs to serve as reproductive health safety nets, focusing on communities with limited access.

From October 2024 through March 2025, Access Bridge cultivated its second fellowship class, secured new partnerships, strengthened program leadership and diversified its reach. Their second cohort had 25 fellows in 15 states, a U.S. territory and one tribal hospital, with six of their fellows working in states with abortion bans.

The 2024–2025 Fellowship Cohort: Midpoint Impacts

The first half of the fellowship centered on goal-setting and clinical education. Survey findings show significant changes in clinical knowledge, practice, and leadership:

• Confidence in Care Delivery:
  • 23 of 25 fellows are confident in treating miscarriage with medication, up from 5 at baseline.
  • 22 of 25 are confident in prescribing contraception from the ED, up from 13 at baseline.
• Translating Confidence into Patient Care:
  • Fellows have provided emergency contraception or contraception to at least 150 patients.
  • Over 50% have prescribed emergency contraception to patients from the ED.
• Driving Hospital, Norms, and Systems Change:
  • 22 of 25 plan to present new reproductive healthcare clinical pathways to their peers.
  • 21 of 25 would like to implement medication abortion in their ED, meeting the moment to make Access Bridge a meaningful part of national abortion expansion.
• Fellows Value the Experience:
  • 21 of 25 said their individual coaching calls were useful or very useful.
  • 24 of 25 believe Access Bridge is supporting their ability to accomplish their goals.

Access Bridge Resources: Scientifically Backed Clinical Protocols

In early 2025, Access Bridge updated its novel and essential clinical protocols to reflect recent research and the current policy landscape. The protocols have been viewed over 2,000 times in the six-month interval, and 100% of fellows found them to be useful or extremely useful in the midpoint survey.

Key improvements include:

• Additional references that reinforce the evidence-based content of each protocol.
• Streamlined language and design for ease of use in the ED setting.

New Partnerships and Reaching New Audiences

Since fall 2024, Access Bridge has formally partnered with:

• Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare (TEACH): Training 20 emergency clinicians on medication abortion as part of California’s Reproductive Health Service Corps.
• FemInEM: Partnering to provide high-quality educational videos featuring Access Bridge clinical protocols and building learning support networks in all 50 states to reach FemInEM’s network of over 6,000 women trailblazers in emergency medicine.
• The Reproductive Health Hotline: Launched in March 2024 by UC San Francisco, the hotline will use Access Bridge clinical protocols for real-time clinician-to-clinician advice and support.

A version of this impact story first appeared in the Access Bridge Spring 2025 Impact Report.