As the COVID-19 pandemic hit our community and businesses and schools closed, Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley (PPPSGV) committed to serving our patients – both in-person and virtually – because we know they depend on us for their sexual and reproductive health care.
Ensuring our patients have access to health care in the midst of the pandemic remains our top priority. And we’ve been able to do this while keeping our patients, clinicians and staff safe through telehealth appointments. Our patients are able to get the care they need from an online doctor or nurse from the comfort and safety of their home.
We launched our telehealth service in March, and in one week we increased our telehealth visits by more than 700%. In the first month, PPPSGV served more than 1,300 patients. Five months later, we have provided more than 8,000 telehealth visits, not only maintaining but in fact expanding our patients’ access to essential reproductive health care. Licensed clinicians provide telehealth appointments for birth control, transgender hormone therapy, UTI evaluation, emergency contraception, and more.
Receiving care through a phone or computer appointment with a Planned Parenthood clinician allows our patients to receive the high-quality, non-judgmental, affordable care they depend on in the safest way possible. It also reserves critical PPE for more urgent health care needs, and reduces strain on hospitals, urgent care centers, and doctors’ offices.
One of our patients, a mother of three, needed treatment for her yeast infection. In addition to the stress of coronavirus, and her infection, her youngest child has autism and touches everything around him, making him particularly difficult to manage outside the house during the pandemic. She was moved to tears, when she learned that she could get the care she needed, while keeping her family safe, thanks to telehealth.
Our launch of telehealth services was supported by Cedars-Sinai’s grant-funded program, Moving Clinics Upstream, led by the Center for Care Innovations; from Health Net’s Community & Infrastructure Investments program; and from the Pasadena Community Foundation.
Your gift to Planned Parenthood San Gabriel Valley today will support our telehealth services, as well as the health care, education, and advocacy programs we continue to provide to our patients and our community during these challenging times.
Make an appointment at pppsgv.org or call us at (626) 798-0706 if you need assistance navigating care.
We hope you stay safe and healthy, and please know that we're always here to serve you.
In solidarity,
Sheri Bonner
President and CEO
Tags: telemedicine, telehealth