Brainerd’s Planned Parenthood clinic, a fixture here since 1972, will close Aug. 1.
Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, said cuts in the nation’s 41-year-old Title X family planning funding program were the reason clinics in Brainerd and five other Minnesota locations were closing.
“It’s extremely frustrating,” Stoesz said in a phone interview. “We’ve been mulling it over. That’s the last thing we want to do in Brainerd or anywhere in the state.”
The other clinics that will close are in Thief River Falls, Red Wing, Owatonna, Albert Lea and Fairmont.
In a news release, Planned Parenthood officials said the closings were prompted by a 5.5 percent cut to Title X funding. The cut is retroactive to September of last year and therefore represents an 11 percent cut to Planned Parenthood’s budget. The Title X program provides low-income women with such services as birth control, annual gynecological exams, STI testing and treatment and cervical and breast cancer screenings.
Two people are employed at the Brainerd clinic other staff members travel to Brainerd to provide services, Stoesz said. The two employees who work in Brainerd have been offered positions at other Planned Parenthood locations.
Stoesz said Title X has had broad bipartisan support, until recently, when it has become and “ideological football.” She said in a statement that the cuts were driven by ideological attacks on women’s health, not a desire to fix the economy.
Jan Anderson, director of Patient Care Services at Essentia Health Brainerd Clinic, said all of the services provided by Planned Parenthood would be available at Essentia Health Brainerd Specialty Clinic at 2024 S. Sixth St.
Anderson said the specialty clinic has some funded programs available for people who cannot afford the services but probably not all the funded programs that were available at Planned Parenthood. She said the planned addition of six physicians in primary care in late summer and early fall should help medical personnel deal with any increased demand for services currently being handled by Planned Parenthood.
Although abortions were not performed at Brainerd’s Planned Parenthood clinic it was sometimes a location that drew controversy.
An August 1994 fire gutted Planned Parenthood and destroyed three other businesses. The other businesses that were also gutted by the fire were Giovanni’s Pizza, Bresnan Communications and the office of Bruce A. Johnson, C.P.A. On July 4, 2002, five shots were fired into the office, breaking windows, damaging a door and leaving bullet holes in walls and ceilings.
Pro-life rallies routinely mark the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision by marching from the corner of Sixth and Oak streets, near the clinic, to the Historic Crow Wing County Courthouse.
MIKE O’ROURKE may be reached at mike.orourke@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5860.
Comments (50)
Add commentGreat
news, now lets get the rest of em closed and the funding cut off-----
More info desired
I wonder what the usage has been in the past few years. That should have been in the story. And now it will be more expensive for care for women.
And now the haters of PP can start commenting. How many will be women?
I suppose closing Auschwitz
I suppose closing Auschwitz would have resulted in a loss of jobs as well. Get some perspective.
If you are one of the many
If you are one of the many women who will now find yourself without health care because of this vote you can voice your concerns with Rep. Chip Craavack.
He's got an office in town and dollars to donuts he voted to take away your health care.
I posted his contact info but that got my post censored.
"The Title X program provides
"The Title X program provides low-income women with such services as birth control, annual gynecological exams, STI testing and treatment and cervical and breast cancer screenings."
It's no wonder the rich old white guy Republicans cut funding.
Planned Parenthood
It is sad to see that Planned Parenthood is going to be closing. I wonder how many people know how much outreach they have provided for the area. Programs that went in the wayside like Wise Guyz that help educated young boys to become successful young men. It saddens me that they are going to be closing.
Essentia covering the need?
That sure is funny!
After spending a goodly part of an hour trying to get through via phone for an appointment, you'll be bombarded with personal questions.
Just the thing to encourage scared or privacy-conscious young kids to try to get help!
oh well plenty of other programs.
There are so many programs and assistance available for those that need it. It is about time cuts were made to some of them. I live a lower middle class life and can still find a way to pay for health insurance and birth control with out any assistance. It it about time we stop with the hand outs!
Stupid comments
made by both retired and fish. Maybe you would prefer we go back to the days of hangers? It sure seems the nut jobs like pro-lifers rally against places like PP but have no problem with pro-destruction, pro-vandalism, or pro-executions!!
birth control + planning = fewer abortions
When I was in college all my friends went to PP, it was low cost and they did not dare go to the family MD. How many pregnancies (and abortions) were prevented by the pill we will never know, but it had to be lots from what I saw. Never mention children born to 18 year olds who were no where near prepared to parent.
Whack PP all you want, but if there's an increase in teen pregnancies in this area = do the math.
minnesnowda
Don't always see eye to eye with you, but this time you are 100% right.
Wake up!
Planned Parenthood is not a handout or always free. I used the clinic for years and paid similar to what I pay now. It was simply convenient while being away from college and not wanting to deal with insurance or a new doctor.
Also, it's not all about abortions or promiscuity. An annual pelvic exam is a good thing for any girl over 13 to make sure she is healthy. And, if people are going to have sex, they should be tested annually and know what options are available for contraception.
Graydo: Seriously? Read the facts - if you were referring to abortions.
• Forty-two percent of women obtaining abortions have incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level ($10,830 for a single woman with no children). Do you really want them trying to grow a healthy baby during pregancy anyway?
• In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions occurred. Looks like the OLDER generations are the ones who abused the operation more often and didn't use contraceptives, not the 15-25 year olds who are NOW using the clinics.
• Forty-six percent of women who have abortions had not used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. Of these women, 33% had perceived themselves to be at low risk for pregnancy, 32% had had concerns about contraceptive methods, 26% had had unexpected sex and 1% had been forced to have sex. So, you see that Planned Parenthood services could have reduced these numbers!
Lastly, women OR MEN who need birth control want to find the method that is best for them. And each has different needs when choosing a method. If they are trying to choose, learning about each method will help you make your decision. Planned Parenthood assists with learning and guidance.
Only the individual can decide what is best for them. A staff member at Planned Parenthood health centers can discuss all of your birth control options with patients and help get the birth control needed. This in turn, will eliminate the people who should not reproduce from doing so! And, it will keep people HEALTHY and REDUCE HEALTHCARE SPENDING, and encourage PREVENTATIVE CARE.
teen pregnancies
PP was a helpful place for sexually active teens, but if teen pregnancies go on the rise I wouldn't blame bureaucrats. Teenagers are all covered by their parent's health plan and have access to doctors.
Call me what you will, but I think a person responsible enough to be sexually active should be responsible enough to take the proper precautions. Whether the precautions are free and discreet or costly and require a conversation with one's guardian, the availability is still here.
Check yourself
Teenagers are all covered by their parent's health plan and have access to doctors...IF their parent's can actually afford health insurance, IF their parent's are not laid off, and IF their employer actually provides it!
Planned Parenthood and Title X Funding
A clarification needs to be made here. Planned Parenthood, even though they receive Title X funding, does NOT provide breast cancer screening. They take the Titile X monies, AND Komen for the Cure monies, and do nothing more than refer women for mammograms to another provider. They skim off the top and pay the other provider. If this was a regulated business, it wouldn't stand the smell test.
Planned Parenthood is built on deception and the sooner they are out of business, the better. The Title X monies are better given to legitimate health care centers who do not profit from terminating pregnancies. Just because the money is being taken from Planned Parenthood does not mean that other providers; i.e., community clinics, public health clinics, charitable clinics and CPC's won't step in and take up the slack. At least the women would then be treated by hands that are free from the stench of death. Planned Parenthood is an abortion business; they should stay out of public health. Abortion is not, nor has it ever been health care. We should not be funding an abortion business with our tax dollars.
The Local Clinic was Booked but PPH has a New Direction
People drove in from an hour to an hour-and-a-half away to use the local clinic. Clinic hours had been reduced about three years ago and the hours offered had became less convenient for high school students and working people.
This reduction in hours (and reduction in committment to our community) may have corresponded with the drop in foundation earnings and also the new direction that Planned Parenthood was taking on a national level.
In 2008, Planned Parenthood took a new direction and began to reach out to affluent clients located in suburbs. [See The Wall Street Journal article from June 23, 2008: EXTENDING THE BRAND, Planned Parenthood Hits Suburbia, Abortion Provider Goes Upscale; Aid For Poor Questioned By Stephanie Simon].
Planned Parenthood has changed; they are no longer the organization we grow up with; they are no longer the organization that many of us supported with annual donations.
Planned Parenthood
It's also worth pointing out that this location doesn't perform abortions.
Lizzie
Why don't they close the clinics that provide abortions and keep the others open? Brainerd does not perform abortions at their clinic.
Would you like all the crackhead [filtered word]s crawling around town with every STD known to mankind growing babies in their toxic stomachs and then trying to raise them? Mind you, they will likely have FAS, and other cognitive problems. Sounds like a great plan for the future of children, doesn't it? Plus, the mother's will attempt to suck off of every possible assistance they can to feed their addiction and avoid employement. Yes, let's do that. Sounds really, really effective...
sarah
don't waste your breath on the Lizzie's of this world. They are stuck with tunnel vision and cannot see beyond their little minds.
Abortion is a medical procedure
Lizzie, please don't confuse your personal views with reality. Abortion is a medical procedure that should be available. Whether or not you ever want to have an abortion is your personal choice. Whether or not I ever want to have an abortion is NOT YOUR DECISION. Please get your nose out of other people's personal lives.
crackhead [filtered word]s crawling around town
That's rich.
Sarah, are you saying that people who fit your description care enough about their own body to go to PP for regular health checkups?
JohnBrown
Not neccessarily, but they may consider an abortion. In that situation, it's the best option.
Want to end abortions?
It only stands to reason that there is no need to terminate planned pregnancies. Why not try supporting safe and effective use of birth control, family planning and educating our young people?
This is a very sax commentary
This is a very sax commentary onthe state of things these days. Our county already has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates inthe state, and this closure will only add to the problem. It's all well and good to say that teenagers should be responsible enough to use their parents insurance and go get an exam, but let's get real here - they're teenagers. They are by definition not responsible. This is the consequence of electing religious zealots into office.
And as for the comment about mammograms, most of PP's patients are well under the recommended age for getting mammograms. They provide breast exams instead which is the medical guideline for women of that age.
And lest we forget our history, Title X was created by a Republican president, which just shows how far right the current crop of Republicans has come. Every $1 spent on pregnancy prevention saves $4 in costs down the line on pre-natal care, etc. So the Republicans are actually increasing our future costs by voting based on misguided ideology.
Woot Woot!!! Yeeee haaaaa!!
Woot Woot!!! Yeeee haaaaa!! The death camp is closing!!!!
Nice Straw Men
Typical pro-death commenters. Nice straw man minnesnowda.
Oakleave: Abortion is an "elective medical procedure" like Kervorkian's "mercy killing" was a medical procedure. Both are procedures using medical equipment and drugs to kill people.
I understand you are saying that you would like me to stay out of your choice to ex-"terminate" your own children. I want you to understand that Title X monies are MY tax dollars and I don't want them used to kill innocent babies by abortion. That's MY choice. You want an abortion? Pay for it yourself. (That's hyperbole by the way - I don't think abortion is necessary under any circumstances. If a child dies in a medical procedure necessary to save the LIFE of his/her mother, that is not an abortion, that is a tragic secondary consequence of a life-saving measure.)
It would be great if the pro-abortion parrots could learn some new words.
You people
Let the disease and children flow freely. Now our tax moneys can go to support the children of the poor careless men and women who have nothing better to do than procreate.
nowtD I would rathar pay for prevention, also
good comment. We're going to pay for irresponsible behavior one way or the other. I think it's cheaper to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
There are some pro-lifers that are anti-birth control. Whassup with that?????????
Lizzie
Show me where Title X appropriates funds to abortions. (HINT: It doesn't.)
I don't support everything my tax dollars go to either, but I'm not an adult baby and recognize that I can't always get what I want.
Amen, Oakleaf! Thank you.
Amen, Oakleaf! Thank you.