This as-told-to essay is part of a short series exploring abortion access in Illinois, which is preparing to become an abortion “island” as surrounding states have banned or have signaled that they will ban abortions in the wake of the end of Roe v. Wade. This piece is based on a conversation with Jessie Wakeford, one of the clinic’s medical staff at Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois.
We have patients who come in who are just completely distraught because they can’t receive the care that they need in the state that they’re from. Some of them take a little bit more time to just get a rapport going. We’ve got to make them feel comfortable. We want to make them feel like they’re family when they’re here, just so they have someone to rely on, even if they don’t have anybody back home.
Everybody’s a little different, so we feel out the patient themselves. Some patients just are going to require more attention to make them feel more safe while doing this procedure. You have to read the room. One of our things we do is we talk food with patients. Patients who are coming in from out of state, first thing they want to go do after this is go get something good to eat. So they throw out their favorite food and then we run through recommendations of everywhere within like 25, 30 minutes that they can go find somewhere good to eat. Talking about animals, other siblings or family members. If they have any support back home. Open those up and then you have more avenues to travel down to get them to feel closer.
Volume increase is definitely the most predominant change since the Dobbs trial. We’ve also had patients bring us stuff because they know everything that’s going on. And they’re like, “We got to support you guys, because you’re supporting us.” While abortion access has changed, our patient care, what we’re doing for the patients has not changed. We’re not going to change that because Roe fell.
Some days are just extra exhausting, because you can never know what stories you’re going to have from patients. What led the patient here. That sometimes is very difficult for them to talk about. And it can be hard on the staff, depending on what kind of past trauma staff has as well.
Everybody’s a little tired. There’s no getting around that. We’re trying to find time to focus on ourselves and trying to make sure our employees are getting the therapy that they need. And they’re just being taken care of just as much as our patients. It’s not only hard on the patients, but the staff, because we went from a quarter of the patients we were seeing to what we’re seeing now. And not to mention, we brought on staff that needs to be trained. So it’s just, it’s a little wibbly-wobbly until we are able to, I guess, find a flow that works.
Mostly everybody’s trying to keep it as positive as we can. There are some days where it’s just gloomy. Everybody who comes in is just sad. And then it just brings the vibe down in the building, but as long as you just push through, it’ll get back.
And personally, it’s rewarding too because these people need this. It’s just so rewarding to know that these people are able to continue their lives. And these people who come in pregnant, can have procedures done and continue their lives, not pregnant. Nobody should have to carry a pregnancy just because they had a hiccup or a contraceptive failure or something along those lines.
