CITING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF GREATER NEW YORK MOVES TO TEMPORARILY PAUSE DEEP SEDATION SERVICES IN MANHATTAN AND CLOSE FOUR HEALTH CENTERS 

NEW YORK, NY – Amid compounding financial and political challenges, today Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is announcing a temporary pause to its deep sedation pain management services at the Manhattan Health Center and the proposed closure of health centers in Goshen, Amsterdam, Cobleskill, and Staten Island. 

In Spring 2024, PPGNY began a strategic reconfiguring of its operations and prioritizing its resources to preserve access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. Systemic failures in the U.S. health care system have yielded unprecedented challenges that are forcing many health care providers, including PPGNY, to take serious and immediate cost-saving measures and pursue long-term structural shifts. These challenges include growing operating expenses, unreliable insurer reimbursements, ongoing pandemic recovery, a hostile political landscape, and a FY25 state budget that fell short of responding to the needs of sexual and reproductive health care providers. PPGNY leadership has taken several steps toward financial sustainability to mitigate painful impacts to patient care and community-focused education, outreach, and advocacy programs, including executive pay cuts and consolidating job functions and resources. Click here to read about the challenges pushing New York’s abortion access ecosystem to the limit.  

Center Closures 

PPGNY has made the difficult but necessary decision to consolidate resources and shift services from Staten Island, Amsterdam, Goshen, and Cobleskill to larger, full-service, and centrally located PPGNY health centers. By closing smaller or part-time sites, PPGNY can maximize resources to best deliver patient care throughout New York. Patients can continue their health care journey at their nearest Planned Parenthood or via telehealth through PPGNY’s virtual health center. Throughout this process, PPGNY will engage with local organizations and elected officials to refer their constituents to local and affordable medical providers. Site closures are scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2024, pending approval by the New York State Department of Health. 

Deep Sedation 

Effective September 3, 2024, PPGNY will temporarily pause deep sedation pain management at its Manhattan Health Center. Patients will still be able to access local anesthesia and moderate sedation for in-clinic abortion and IUD insertion and removal if needed.   

In an effort to invest in long-term, sustainable strategies, PPGNY will no longer outsource its anesthesiology services, and instead will utilize its trusted, highly experienced physicians and nurses to administer pain management to patients in Manhattan. During this time of deep financial crisis, PPGNY simply cannot afford to contract anesthesiology services in Manhattan without sacrificing other essential patient services and community-centered programs throughout the state. Our physicians and nurses are committed to ensuring high-quality, patient-centered care using safe and effective minimal and moderate pain management options.  

Abortion Later in Pregnancy  

The temporary pause to deep sedation services limits PPGNY’s ability to provide abortion at over 20+ weeks gestation at the Manhattan Health Center. Patients who need abortion later in pregnancy are among the most vulnerable among the communities we serve. We know many cannot afford the cost of procedural abortion, and we are heartbroken that PPGNY is unable at this time to absorb the cost of their sedation when provided by an outside anesthesia service. We are fully committed to resuming procedural abortion later in pregnancy in the near future. As a reproductive rights leader, PPGNY firmly believes patients deserve dignified, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care. We will continue to urge policymakers to enhance regulatory requirements that will allow New York abortion providers to expand their services, including their ability to provide the full range of pain management options.   

Patients who require abortion later in pregnancy or express a need for deep sedation will be referred to one of our trusted medical partners. PPGNY is fortunate to be part of New York’s ecosystem of health care providers who are committed to delivering compassionate, dignified health care including abortion. 

Statement from Planned Parenthood of Greater New York President and CEO, Wendy Stark: 

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York is in the difficult position of navigating financial challenges that are part of the overarching health care crisis in the United States.  As a leading health care provider in an abortion and gender-affirming care access state, PPGNY is striving to meet the demands of today, tomorrow, and the future.  We move into this next step understanding that the difficult decisions we are forced to make today are strategies to preserve our ability to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care in the long term amid ongoing fiscal and political challenges.  

Our mission requires us to ensure that we continue to be able to serve the most marginalized communities through our patient care, sex education, and advocacy for reproductive health and rights. We will continue to make long-term investments in our future and for reproductive freedom by advocating for higher reimbursement rates from Medicaid and private insurers. We are lucky to be in a position where we operate within a strong network of reproductive health care providers and advocates at the state and local level. We take this next step with hope for the future of our organization and movement as well as a deep commitment to our patients.”  

Amid these challenges, PPGNY is striving to improve health outcomes in communities that have historically been denied access to quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care and abortion services. We are doing this in the service of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people, families with low incomes and uninsured, people with disabilities, immigrants, those living in rural and medically underserved parts of the state, and people seeking essential health care from states where abortion or gender-affirming care are banned. PPGNY's critical partnerships and ongoing advocacy work to advance sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice in these health center areas remain, as does our commitment to building a New York of reproductive freedom for all.