{"id":1780387,"date":"2022-12-19T13:37:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T18:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1780387"},"modified":"2022-12-19T13:49:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T18:49:23","slug":"south-dakota-gov-noem-announces-retirement-of-state-health-sec-after-report-revealed-she-contracted-with-trans-activist-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-dakota-gov-noem-announces-retirement-of-state-health-sec-after-report-revealed-she-contracted-with-trans-activist-group\/","title":{"rendered":"South Dakota Gov. Noem Announces Retirement of State Health Sec After Report Revealed She Contracted With Trans Activist Group"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsouth-dakota-gov-noem-announces-retirement-of-state-health-sec-after-report-revealed-she-contracted-with-trans-activist-group%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1780387&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Kristi-Noem-CPAC.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: South Dakota Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/12\/16\/exclusive-kristi-noem-terminates-health-dept-contact-transgender-activist-group-hospital-summit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kristi Noem<\/a> announced the retirement of her state health secretary, Joan Adam, days after the governor discovered that the state Health Department had contracted with a transgender activist group that will host a \u201cgender summit\u201d next month.<\/p>\n<p>Noem announced Adam\u2019s retirement Monday morning, four days after the Republican governor condemned the transgender health summit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGov. Kristi Noem is reviewing all Department of Health contracts and immediately terminated a contract with The Transformation Project,\u201d Ian Fury, Noem\u2019s chief of communications, told\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/author\/tyler-oneil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Daily Signal<\/a>\u00a0on Friday. \u201cThe contract was signed without Gov. Noem\u2019s prior knowledge or approval.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fury sent The Daily Signal a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com\/live_files\/2022\/12\/Transformation-Project-Term-Letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">copy of the document<\/a>\u00a0dissolving the state contract.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSouth Dakota does not support this organization\u2019s efforts, and state government should not be participating in them,\u201d Noem told The Daily Signal in a statement provided by Fury. \u201cWe should not be dividing our youth with radical ideologies. We should treat every single individual equally as a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noem did not mention the transgender issue in the press release about Adam\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoan has lived a life of service to the Pierre community and to the people of South Dakota,\u201d Noem said in the statement prepared for the release. \u201cShe has been able to put families first because she recognizes the importance of her own family. I am grateful for her advice and wish her the best on everything that she does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adam and her husband Karl live in Pierre, where they have raised five children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy time with the Department of Health has been very rewarding,\u201d Adam said in the statement. \u201cThe dedication of the department\u2019s employees is impressive and will continue to serve the state well. I am looking forward to focusing on family and personal commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noem <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sd.gov\/newsitem.aspx?id=30053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hired Adam<\/a> in March 2022, picking her to replace former Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon. Adam had previously served as division director for administration.<\/p>\n<p>Fury, Noem\u2019s spokesman, said that The Transformation Project had not complied with its state contract. The organization failed \u201cto submit required quarterly reports for two consecutive quarters,\u201d among other violations, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Noem terminated the contract after The Daily Signal reached out with questions about a \u201cGender Identity Summit\u201d that the state\u2019s largest employer, Sanford Health, will host next month with The Transformation Project. The project celebrates controversial medical interventions for minors and hosts events in which people ritually \u201cburn\u201d their \u201cold name or pronouns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The third annual\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sanfordhealth.org\/classes-and-events\/3rd-annual-midwest-gender-identity-summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Midwest Gender Identity Summit<\/a>\u00a0will take place Jan. 13 at the Sanford Research Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. According to its website,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sanfordhealth.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sanford Health<\/a>\u00a0is \u201cthe largest rural health system in the United States.\u201d It serves more than 1 million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. It operates 47 medical centers and employs 2,800 physicians.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota-based\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alphanews.org\/sanford-health-to-hold-midwest-gender-identity-summit-with-group-promoting-child-sex-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alpha News<\/a>\u00a0first reported the scheduled event, drawing attention to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.transformationprojectsd.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Transformation Project<\/a>, which puts forth as its mission \u201csupporting and empowering transgender youth.\u201d Attendees can earn up to 6.5 professional education credits.<\/p>\n<p>The Midwest Gender Identity Summit will include multiple workshops supporting the view that many biological males actually are female and vice versa, and these people are likely to commit suicide unless doctors give them drugs that stunt their growth, introduce what critics call a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/news-and-politics\/tyler-o-neil\/2019\/08\/25\/medical-expert-doctors-are-actually-giving-trans-kids-a-disease-its-child-abuse-n68343\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hormone disease<\/a>\u00a0into their bodies, and perhaps even remove healthy body parts. The summit frames this experimental medicine as \u201cgender-affirming care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transformationprojectsd.org\/summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Summit session topics<\/a>\u00a0include \u201cProviding Gender Affirming Care,\u201d \u201cGender Affirming Care and the Attitude of Affirmation in Assessment,\u201d \u201cHow My Journey as a Transgender Provider Has Impacted Patient Care,\u201d and \u201cLessons From Transgender Patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/TransActionSD\/posts\/2313418048821179\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Presenters include<\/a>\u00a0left-wing activists and social-justice-minded medical professionals such as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=510552641113304&#038;set=pb.100064757173093.-2207520000.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Mayson Bedient<\/a>\u00a0(who identifies his pronouns as \u201che\u201d and \u201cthey\u201d), Cody Ingle (a staffer at a suicide prevention nonprofit who includes \u201cLGBTQ+ advocacy\u201d on his\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/cody-ingle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn profile<\/a>), and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/natasha-smith-5539478b\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Natasha Smith<\/a>, Sanford\u2019s head of diversity, equity, and inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>The Transformation Project opposed a bill to make it a felony in South Dakota for doctors to perform sex-reassignment surgeries on children or prescribe them so-called puberty-blocking drugs that would stunt their natural growth. In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/tjwbM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opposing this bill<\/a>, the project highlighted the story of a 14-year-old boy, claiming that \u201chormone blockers saved his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the first edition of its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.transformationprojectsd.org\/_files\/ugd\/89547c_95a9f0e10ab64aa992ca4ccea256e45a.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Transforming South Dakota<\/a>\u00a0magazine in 2019, The Transformation Project featured the stories of gender-confused children and teens. It recounted the story of Cameron, who questioned his gender at age 5, and Sebastian, a 14-year-old girl who came to identify as \u201cnonbinary\u201d at age 11.<\/p>\n<p>The project also holds an annual event where participants, including children, ritually burn their \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/11\/10\/nevada-poised-pass-trojan-horse-for-gender-ideology-threatens-mandate-discrimination-critics-warn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">old name or pronouns<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><\/figure>\n<p>The South Dakota Department of Health had hired The Transformation Project to \u201cCreate a Community Health Worker (\u2018CHW\u2019) Program\u00a0with \u2018at least one certificate-level CHW.\u2019\u201d The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2014which certifies community health workers\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/dhdsp\/pubs\/toolkits\/chw-toolkit.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defines CHWs<\/a>\u00a0as \u201ctrained public health workers who serve as a bridge between communities, health care systems, and state health departments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The contract also required The Transformation Project to develop infrastructure for the CHW program, develop awareness efforts to promote it, participate in the Community Health Worker Collaborative of South Dakota annual conference, collect clinical data, provide success stories, provide quarterly reports, and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad to see that the governor is cleaning house,\u201d Linda Schauer, the South Dakota state director for Concerned Women for America, told The Daily Signal on Monday following the news of Adam\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need people in our state government who will reflect South Dakota values and protect our children,\u201d Schauer added. \u201cOur leaders must recognize the destructive indoctrination of our youth in transgender identity and the costly practices of sex reassignment that cause irreversible damage.\u00a0The Department of Health\u2019s contract with The Transformation Project is one example of how institutions in our state are being co-opted to promote a reckless agenda harming our children. It needs to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was quite a shock to learn that the South Dakota Department of Health was partnering with an activist group that pushes gender ideology on minors,\u201d Jay Richards, director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at the Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in a Monday statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m grateful that Governor Noem took swift action to sever the contract once she learned about it. But someone was responsible for the debacle. Surely the buck stops with the health secretary, who has now announced her retirement,\u201d Richards added. \u201cThough the press release announcing the state health secretary\u2019s retirement doesn\u2019t mention this incident, the timing is suggestive. It\u2019s hard to imagine that the event happened without the knowledge of Secretary Joan Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s hope other state health secretaries take note of what\u2019s happening in South Dakota,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>This is a breaking story and will be updated.<\/p>\n<p><em>Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"mailto:letters@DailySignal.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>letters@DailySignal.com<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0and we\u2019ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular \u201cWe Hear You\u201d feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and\/or state.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announced the retirement of her state health secretary, Joan Adam, days after the governor discovered that the state Health Department<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1780390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[5327,4156,5458,10346,5751,8338,4964,8794,3819,7620,4688,3960,7037],"class_list":["post-1780387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-activist","tag-announces","tag-bongino","tag-contracted","tag-dakota","tag-gov","tag-health","tag-noem","tag-report","tag-retirement","tag-revealed","tag-south","tag-trans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1780387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1780390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1780387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1780387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1780387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}