Expanding our Services to Meet the Moment

Thanks to the steadfast support of donors and supporters, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is providing health care to people who can’t go without it. That support has taken on new meaning during this pandemic when you have enabled us to rapidly change how we care for patients, making us an even more vital part of the community safety net.

In a matter of weeks, we moved many of our patients’ health center visits to telephone and video appointments so they could safely shelter-in-place while receiving care. We also launched curb-side pickup of birth control and emergency contraception at all of our health centers, and we became one of only three Planned Parenthood affiliates to provide COVID-19 testing at many of our sites. Through it all, we’ve continued to provide in-person visits for minimal-touch abortion care, long-acting reversible contraceptives (like IUDs), and STI treatments.

We’re especially proud of our work with California county and municipal officials who requested that we partner with them to open drive-through COVID-19 testing centers for first-responders and members of the community. Our first public testing center in San Joaquin County’s city of Tracy was launched with municipal officials and Tracy Unified School District, where the site was set up in a school parking lot.

Most recently, we’ve opened drive-through testing sites in Monterey and Mountain View, also at the invitation of public officials. In the first few weeks, hundreds of people were tested at all three sites, and staff heard from many patients who were so glad we were there for them.

“We are grateful for this successful collaboration with our community partners to help meet the urgent need for COVID-19 testing,” said PPMM’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Laura Dalton. “We are committed to being part of the solution and proud to continue serving the community in every way we can.”

Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams said the new testing site is an important step to keeping the community safe from the spread of the virus.

“Planned Parenthood was there for Monterey County when we, and our residents, need them most,” Adams said. “The COVID-19 testing site they have been operating on the Monterey Peninsula is a critical component of our community’s ability to safely re-open and re-build people’s lives.”