Nestled in the oldest city in Georgia, ThriVe Express Women’s Healthcare sees a high volume of women in search of help during unplanned pregnancies. With a population of 150,000, the city receives a multitude of services through ThriVe including pregnancy tests, STD/STI testing, ultrasounds, pregnancy option counseling and social service referrals.
Near the end of 2020, Vitae worked with ThriVe to launch a new online chat tool. Kristi Burnsed, ThriVe’s Medical Center Manager said, “We routinely see three or more contacts every day from live chats.”
ThriVe’s website also allows their staff to view website activity live. “All day long we can see them navigate through the website to see what pages they are using. It definitely gives us a better idea of what they are looking for and how we can help them,” Burnsed said.
Vitae’s Client Relations Manager Kasarah Ferrell also weighed in. “We are incredibly pleased with the results we are seeing from ThriVe Savannah’s chat tool. In fact, we have seen an immediate increase in traffic at every PHC that is using this convenient and private mode of communication.”
Derren Dettloff, Vitae’s Director of Digital Marketing was also thrilled with the results. “ThriVe Savannah was the first center we launched the live chat service with, and we saw immediate results. Within the first day or two we had an abortion-determined woman make contact, come into the center and choose life.”
This is her story…
“Monique”
After she got home from work, Monique was feeling stressed. She quickly made dinner for her husband and children and during the meal, her husband could tell she was not herself.
“Are you okay Monique?” he asked. She brushed off the question and with a sigh saying, “Yeah, I’m just tired.”
Monique was a week late and the stress had been building ever since. She could not imagine what she would do if she were pregnant. After she cleaned up dinner, she rushed to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test.
When she saw the positive reading on the test, the color flushed from her face. “I can’t do this. I’ve already got kids to take care of, and there is no way I can take care of another child right now,” she thought. As she bathed and read books to her children that night, the stress built, “What am I going to do?”
A few weeks went by, and Monique decided it was time to make a decision. She picked up her phone and googled “abortion” and ThriVe Women’s Clinic came up in the search results. Seconds after she arrived on the website a box popped up that said, “How Can We Help You Today?” She clicked “Chat Now” and began a conversation with a ThriVe employee. Monique booked an appointment that day.
After she arrived, ThriVe matched Monique with a patient advocate who listened to her story. “I’ve had some pretty traumatic experiences with childbirth, and I’m not sure I can do that again. When I had my twins, there were complications, and I had to have an emergency c-section. I’ve also gone through multiple miscarriages. I don’t know if I want that kind of stress on myself or the baby,” Monique explained.
Monique appeared to be considering abortion. After hearing more about the abortion process and learning about the wealth of resources available, she began to reconsider parenting.
“Another concern I have is that I have no insurance. If I choose to keep this baby, how will I be able to afford it?” she said. The Patient Advocate explained she could enroll in pregnancy Medicaid services.
The Patient Advocate took a deep breath and asked, “So, now that you have more information on your options, have you decided what you’d like to do?”
With pride, Monique answered, “I have decided to carry!” The women shared a smile and a hug to commemorate the special moment.
The ThriVe staff went on to confirm the viability of the pregnancy with an ultrasound. Monique was seven weeks pregnant and began to feel the excitement of being a parent again.
Over the next few weeks, Monique worked with ThriVe on her Medicaid paperwork and underwent a follow-up ultrasound at 13 weeks.
Monique’s newest family member joined the family in early July of this year.
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If you would like to help Vitae with its mission of reaching women and connecting them with life-affirming Pregnancy Help Centers, please donate today.