Planned Parenthood announces support for removal of neighborhood name

DENVER, CO- Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains released the following statement today, June 15, 2020. The statement is attributed to Adrienne Mansanares, Chief Experience Officer:

“Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) stands with our partners fighting for racial justice and vow to amplify and uplift their work. We know that racism is a public health crisis, with Black and Brown communities facing disparate impacts on health care access and quality care everyday. We commend the Stapleton Master Community Association (MCA) for taking steps to remove the name ‘Stapleton’ as it relates to the community and its operations. We fully support the MCA and stand with them in sending a message that Black Lives Matter. Changing the name is a small step in the right direction to unifying our community.

“Now is not just the time to call out violent racism gone viral; it is also a time to look inward. That is why last week, PPRM took action rename our flagship health center in Northeast Denver to the 'Park Hill Health Center.' We know for certain that words matter, and this is a small step in a much longer journey towards racial justice. It is one piece of our on-going work of dismantling racism.”

The health center, located at 7155 E. 38th Ave, was previously referred to as the 'Stapleton Health Center.' Nearly five years ago, Black Lives Matter 5280, based in Denver, urged a renaming of the Stapleton community, including the PPRM health center. While a dedicated PPRM staff team developed a proposal to make this change, the work stalled. Swift action was taken on June 9, 2020 to correct this mistake and eliminate the word “Stapleton” from the PPRM lexicon and further promoting PPRM values and capacity to grow and improve.

Planned Parenthood’s strives to build a world in which every person — regardless of their race, income, gender identity, sexual orientation, abilities, immigration status, or insurance coverage — can access expert, compassionate sexual and reproductive health care, information, and education without shame or judgement. We are committed to addressing and correcting implicit bias and structural racism within our organization so that we can continue to improve our delivery of health care and education to the people and communities we serve.