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Could Delavan lose Planned Parenthood clinic?

DELAVAN—A Planned Parenthood facility in Delavan could be in danger of closing if state legislation is signed and funding...

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Could Delavan lose Planned Parenthood clinic?
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DELAVAN—A Planned Parenthood facility in Delavan could be in danger of closing if state legislation is signed and funding is diverted, a state spokeswoman for the organization said.

The Delavan Health Center is one of 18 in Wisconsin receiving federal funding from $3.5 million in Title X funds state representatives are fighting over, said Nicole Safar, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin's government relations director.

“I think losing this significant source of funding could potentially make it so we could no longer operate that clinic. It's not for certain. … We would have to make some very difficult decisions, and sometimes that comes with closing centers,” Safar said.

The Title X funding is applied for in each grant cycle, and the next is in 2018. Planned Parenthood currently is the designated recipient. Title X funding goes toward family planning, contraceptives, STD testing and breast and cervical cancer screenings. It cannot fund abortions.

In September, the state Assembly voted to apply for the Title X funding and, if awarded, send the money to private services, state and county agencies and nonprofits. All Republicans backed the bill. All Democrats opposed it.

The Senate has to vote on the bill. Republicans control the Assembly and Senate.

Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, introduced the legislation along with two other bills. One relates to adjusting reimbursements to Planned Parenthood for prescription drugs obtained through Medicaid. The other prohibits the sale and use of certain fetal body parts from abortions for anything other than medical research.

Jacque said possible cuts in Title X and Medicaid funding should not cause clinics to close.

“Planned Parenthood receives over $500 million in federal dollars nationally and over $120 million is excess revenue above expenses and building their assets. I think that clearly Planned Parenthood has been a beneficiary under the current funding system in Wisconsin,” Jacque said.

If clinics were in danger of closing, representatives should have testified to that during hearings in Madison, Jacque said.

Planned Parenthood submitted written testimony, and a representative from the Wisconsin Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which Planned

Parenthood is a part of, testified at a hearing, Safar said.

Money from the government, donors, foundations and service fees fund Planned Parenthood clinics. Government regulations determine how federal funding is distributed to its 22 facilities in the state. It has an annual operating budget of $24 million, Safar said.

Efficient care, short wait times and lower costs are some of the reasons people choose to go to the Delavan center, manager Kim Zellmer said.

Zellmer remembers a woman who struggled for a year to find an affordable health care provider to solve continuous bleeding.

The frustrated woman, who didn't have health insurance, visited the center and within a matter of weeks met with a doctor, accessed a state program to help pay for services and saw symptoms subside after being placed on a birth control, Zellmer said.

“We are staying busy, and we have had just a wonderful amount of support from our patients telling us what a great job we are doing and that they hope we can stick around for years to come to keep serving them,” Zellmer said.

The center, located at 312 S. 7th St., opened in 2010 after moving from Lake Geneva.

Last year, it served 1,645 patients, many of whom speak only Spanish.

“We feel that that is a lot, especially since we're only open three days a week and we have minimal staff,” Zellmer said.

The center offers dozens of services including physicals, STD testing, breast exams and birth control. It does not provide abortions.

Patients often are surprised they can get in the same day or within a week, Zellmer said.

The center is staffed by a nurse practitioner, two full-time support staff who speak Spanish and a support staffer who works when extra help is needed.

The majority of its clients are women seeking reproductive and preventative health care, Zellmer said.

People ages 20 to 29 make up the bulk of those served, according to Planned Parenthood statistics.

Statistics also show 979 patients treated at the center in 2014 were below the federal poverty level. That's $11,670 for a single-person household in 2014, $11,770 in 2015.

Interest in eliminating funding at the state and federal level has grown since videos taken by abortion opponents showing a Planned Parenthood official in California discussing the cost of fetal body parts for medical research were made public.

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