A new Planned Parenthood facility opened Tuesday on Madison’s near south side, replacing the centers at the former Park and Mifflin Street locations.
The new facility at 2222 S. Park St. will offer the same services as the former locations. Officials from Planned Parenthood described the move as having been in the works for some time, with the Mifflin Street location being long overdue for renovations.
“Our two health centers were very overburdened and busy and badly needed some updating,” Planned Parenthood Regional Vice President Deborah Hobbins said. “We built the new center with all women in mind.”
Although one center has replaced two, Hobbins said the new facility is much more tailored to the needs of the community and will undoubtedly be able to accommodate individuals seeking their services.
Hobbins said the various Planned Parenthood health centers in the area served around 10,000 women last year and the new location will more effectively serve more members of the community.
The city of Madison will now have two Planned Parenthood health centers: the new location on Park Street and another at 3706 Orin St., which is the only facility in the area that offers surgical and medical abortions, according to Planned Parenthood’s website.
Addressing the issue of the new facility’s distance from campus, Hobbins said the Park Street location is only two miles from the Memorial Union and has bus routes servicing the area.
“I think students will appreciate the new center and they will be surprised how close it is to the downtown area,” Hobbins said.
Hobbins added that in addition to counseling services, breast and cervical cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and pregnancy testing, Planned Parenthood has recently introduced quarterly contraceptive kits, which are available every three months for up to a year.
Previously, individuals would have to visit the health center four times per year to receive birth control, but now they are available for home delivery to qualified individuals.
UW sophomore Lauren Wojcik said continuing to provide accessible and affordable health care for women in the area is of the utmost importance.
“For some women, centers like Planned Parenthood are their only way of getting the necessary and specific health care they need,” Wojcik said.
Hobbins said feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive and said she feels at this newest location, a much wider range and greater number of individuals in the community will be able to receive services.
“There’s just an unbelievable amount of support for Planned Parenthood in Dane County because people realize what a service it provides to the community,” Hobbins said.
Individuals interested in Planned Parenthood’s services or looking to schedule an appointment are free to contact them via their hotline at 1-800-230-PLAN, where they will be directed to the nearest location.
