Dear Supporters,
Thank you for your support, well wishes, and concern for our staff, health centers, and the patients we serve.
As we tackle the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, I wanted to share an update on our affiliate and what we are doing to continue providing lifesaving care for the patients who rely on us.
I’m so grateful to let you know all of our staff members are safe. All of our eleven health centers are open and operating under normal business hours.
Hurricane Irma battered many parts of the state especially our South Florida region. Powerful winds and severe flooding forced many of our employees to evacuate and left others without power, internet capability or cell service for up to a week.
We know natural disasters like Hurricane Irma impact our patients’ ability to access the care they need. Our staff met this challenge head-on and worked diligently to ensure women in need of family planning or abortion services could come to Planned Parenthood before and after the storm:
- Patients could schedule an earlier appointment.
- Some of our health centers remained open in the days before the storm to provide abortion services for women who needed them.
- We provided health center updates on our website and social media pages.
- We re-opened many of our health centers and started seeing patients as early as Tuesday, September 12.
While we experienced some facility damage, we consider ourselves very fortunate.
After the storm, our staff went above and beyond in demonstrating our core values, seeing patients as soon as possible and spending hours volunteering in the community by removing downed trees and helping those in need.
We are assessing our future needs that will improve our ability to swiftly provide patients access to vital health care services during the event of a natural disaster.
The team work shared by you, our supporters, and advocates is amazing. We are truly living our promise to Care. No Matter What.
I hope you and your families are safe and secure. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Lillian. A Tamayo
President/CEO
Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida
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