Press Release 07-30-13: Statement from Ruth Lytle-Barnaby, President and CEO
For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014
Statement from Ruth Lytle-Barnaby, President and CEO
A lawmaker hosted a meeting today focused on comments from former staff members who worked at our organization almost a year ago, and who have been critical of the quality of our services.
As we have previously publicly stated, our high standards were not consistently met in the past and we have taken rigorous steps to address all outstanding issues. We agree that all Delawareans deserve the highest quality of care, and that is why we have hired new staff, retrained all staff, and instituted new policies that ensure we always live up to our high standards.
The Delaware Division of Public Health as well as Planned Parenthood's national accreditation team and a number of other agencies have conducted rigorous oversight over the past year, and have determined that while there were deficiencies in the past, we are currently meeting all standards of care. We anticipate ongoing auditing from oversight agencies, including the state health department.
Our priority is patient health and safety, and that is why we are concerned about information presented today about STD testing conducted in previous years at our health centers. Last year our senior medical staff conducted a thorough review of all patients with positive results from STD tests to ensure that every patient had the information they needed, and we followed up with direct patient contact in the small number of instances where we had any uncertainty. Planned Parenthood of Delaware has not performed colposcopy services since mid-2011, and we are confident that all patients received their results.
Ensuring that all patients are tested, notified and counseled regarding STD's is a critical part of quality reproductive health care. All quality assurance systems have been upgraded, all staff has been thoroughly trained, and all patients at Planned Parenthood receive their positive test results promptly.
We are confident that alarms raised during today's meeting regarding positive test results are unfounded. Nevertheless, considering that today’s statements made by former staff members may generate concern among patients, we are conducting a second audit of patients receiving care during the time period in question to again confirm that every patient received notification of positive test results.
Patients are our top priority and receive the highest-quality medical care, and our services are geared to be financially accessible to everyone. We ensure that all post-abortion patients with a medical need for RhoGAM have access to the treatment.
Planned Parenthood of Delaware insists on the highest standards of care. If we become aware of any instance that falls below that standard, we take swift action to remedy the situation.
Planned Parenthood of Delaware provides high quality, confidential health care that includes breast cancer screenings, birth control, prevention and treatment of STDs, Pap tests, sexual health education, abortion, and health counseling to more than 11,000 women, men, and teens each year throughout the state. We will continue to provide this care for those who need it most, no matter what.
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The mission of Planned Parenthood of Delaware is to ensure the right of all individuals to access the appropriate information and the services necessary to make and act on personal decisions related to their own reproduction, sexuality and health. Planned Parenthood provides family planning, gynecological services, abortion, cancer screening, STD testing and treatment, health education, and more. The agency serves all three counties, has operated in Delaware for 80 years, and serves 11,000 clients a year. For further information, check out www.ppdel.org.
Source
Planned Parenthood of Delaware
Published
July 30, 2013
Updated
August 01, 2013