Pride Month

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, an annual month-long observance of LGBTQ history, achievements, community, and activism, celebrated with marches, parties, and other events across the country. This year marks the 45^th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, the event that sparked the modern LGBTQ rights movement.

At the time leading up to the Stonewall riots, LGBTQ individuals experienced fierce discrimination: police kept records of LGBTQ people, the U.S. Postal Service kept track of their addresses, and establishments known to welcome members of the LBGT community were shut down and their customers arrested and exposed in newspapers (often resulting in loss of employment or assault). Being gay or bisexual was considered a mental disorder, and sexual activity between people of the same sex was criminalized. 

On the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Planned Parenthood reaffirms our commitment to the rights and health of LGBTQ people. Planned Parenthood believes that reproductive rights are deeply connected to LGBTQ rights and is proud to be a provider for so many in the LGBTQ community. We care passionately about helping women, men, and young people lead healthy lives, no matter who they are and no matter where they live. 

In addition to high rates of stress due to systematic harassment and discrimination, which has been shown to affect physical and mental health, LGBT people face low rates of health insurance coverage, high rates of HIV/AIDS and cancer, and high rates of discrimination from medical providers.  LGBT people of color are at an even higher risk for these disparities.  Studies show that 3.5% of adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and an estimate of .3% of adults are transgender (roughly 9 million LGBT Americans).

Planned Parenthood of Collier County health centers offer a wide variety of preventive health care services.  Make an appointment today by calling 239-262-0301 or visit our website at http://www.plannedparenthood.org/collier-county/.

GYT

Responding to the fact that one in two young people will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by age 25. and most won’t know it, the GYT campaign is a youthful, empowering social movement to reduce the spread of STDs among young people through information; open communication with partners, health care providers, and parents; and testing and treatment as needed.

For a generation accustomed to communicating in shorthand, the GYT acronym presents STD testing in a context that is familiar and relatable to young people. Through GYT’s presence on MTV Networks, the involvement of music and celebrity talent, and special promotions, GYT encourages testing as an act of pride, not shame and promotes an open dialogue about STDs by encouraging young people to spread the word about the campaign.

GYT is developed as part of It’s Your Sex Life, a longstanding public information partnership of MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation, together with Planned Parenthood Federation of America and other national partners.

It’s Your Sex Life focuses on delaying and reducing sexual activity, talking openly about sexual health issues, using protection, and getting tested for HIV and other STDs. The partnership includes targeted public service ads, entertainment and other special programming, news segments, and free informational resources, including an extensive website: www.itsyoursexlife.com. It provides dynamic leadership that strengthens STD Programs by advocating for effective policies, strategies, and sufficient resources and by increasing awareness of the medical and social impact. 

Protecting yourself when you are sexually active isn’t just about preventing pregnancy, it’s about keeping yourself healthy. STDs like Gonorrhea and Chlamydia don’t always have symptoms and HIV certainly doesn’t. So, if you are sexually active, make it part of your annual health check-up to get tested for STDs.

April is the perfect time to start this habit of good prevention! Planned Parenthood of Collier County will be offering FREE STD testing for students of any age (student ID card required) and $50 STD testing for all non-students on April 23 -9am-5pm. Call 239-262-0301 for more information.

 

Girl Rising

What is Girl Rising?

Girl Rising is a global campaign for girls’ education. It uses the power of storytelling, leveraged through partnerships, to share the simple truth that educating girls can transform societies. Girl Rising unites girls, women, boys and men who believe every girl has the right to go to school and the right to reach her full potential. The mission is to change the way the world values the girl.

Why girls?

Educating girls can break cycles of poverty in just one generation. Educated girls stand up for their rights, marry and have children later, educate their own children, and their families and communities thrive. Yet millions of girls around the world face barriers to education that boys do not. Removing barriers such as early marriage, gender-based violence, domestic slavery and sex trafficking means not only a better life for girls, but a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for all.

Change starts with Courage.

Join Planned Parenthood of Collier County, April 8, in viewing the documentary, with nine stories about the power of education to change the future for girls, families, communities and nations.
Limited seating, reservations required, call 239-262-8923 ext. 300.

Ash Wednesday at PPCC

Planned Parenthood of Collier County provides access to quality and comprehensive healthcare for women throughout their lives, from teenage years to post menopause. In fact 98% of what our clinic does includes cervical and breast cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing and support, well women exams, birth control options, and menopausal healthcare. 

However, on March 5, 2014, Ash Wednesday, there were a record number of protesters outside our doors. Over 200 hundred community members, middle school students, teachers, priests, nuns, and others who are anti-women’s health, stood outside our clinic to place judgment on our patients. While they have the right to do this by law, it is important for each person in our community to respect another person’s opinion on any issue. 

We will continue to serve our patients from all areas of our service area including Collier, Glades, and Hendry Counties to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare regardless of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, and sexual orientation. Our staff is committed to our mission and proud to provide the services we provide through payments from patients, grants, and our wonderful donors.  We also are grateful to have our volunteers who committed 614 hours of their time in the past year.

 

International Women’s Day

On Saturday, March 8, International Women’s Day, Planned Parenthood will respond to a call from the UN for people around the world to define the #WorldWeWant with messages in support of women and young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. (Spoiler: In the world we want, access to health care doesn’t depend on your zip code. Or your gender. Or your sexual identity. Or the language you speak. Or the color of your skin.)

World We Want Manifesto

This is the world we want:

A world where access to health care doesn’t depend on your postal code. Or your gender. Or your sexual identity. Or the language you speak. Or the color of your skin.

A world where politicians don’t come between a woman and her health care provider.

A world where girls are just as likely as boys to stay in school, go after the jobs they want, and become leaders in their communities.

A world with no new HIV infections and where those living with HIV are able to make decisions about their health and lives, just like anybody else.

A world where young people are empowered and trusted with information about sex — so they can prevent unintended pregnancy and protect themselves from STDs.

A world where all people have equal protection and equal benefit under the law.

A world that is free of stigma, discrimination, and violence.

A world where reproductive rights are recognized as human rights.

A world that acknowledges that the only way forward is to protect and expand these rights.

A world where all people control their own bodies and their own destinies. 

“National Condom Week”

Valentine’s Day marked the beginning of Planned Parenthood’s annual “National Condom Week,” an advocacy effort to promote healthy sexual habits. In celebration, we passed out free condoms, safer sex informational materials and Valentine’s Day candy at a local watering hole, promoting safer sex is better sex!

Women and men need to feel empowered and advocate for safer sex. The U.S. has the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections in the developed world; do you want to be part of the statistic?  We know talking about safer sex with your partner can be difficult. But it’s important to communicate. Develop a plan and practice what you will say to your partner. Don’t be shy about communicating your needs and feelings. Send a message that condom use is essential every single time you have sex. A partner, who respects you, respects your health and their health as well.

Today there are so many different types of condoms… why not have some fun and experiment with all the varieties from glow-in-the-dark, flavored, studded, warming, pleasure shaped, kiss of mint, colored and latex free are just naming a few!  

Although we are now at the end of “National Condom Week”, we encourage people to use condoms every time they have sex! Condoms are a good way to feel more relaxed about your sex life. Many people say they find sex more enjoyable when they use condoms because they aren’t worrying about STDs or unintended pregnancy. Come into our health center for free condoms and education on safer sex!

Happy Birthday Planned Parenthood

On this day, 97 years ago Margaret Sanger opened the nation’s first family planning clinic in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Women lined up for birth control information. Nine days later, Sanger was arrested for violating the Comstock obscenity laws, which banned dissemination of information about contraception. Although the clinic was shut down a movement that revolutionized women’s ability to plan their families, improve their health and pursue their dreams was born. In 1923 Sanger opened the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau in Manhattan, later known as the Margaret Sanger Research Bureau, where physicians dispensed contraceptives and studied their health impact. A few years later Sanger assisted by courageous and prominent New Yorkers, opened additional clinics in Manhattan and the Bronx. Then known as “Mothers’ Health Centers,” they later became branches of Planned Parenthood. Because of Sanger’s courage and determination, Planned Parenthood has become a place for over three million people each year in need of high quality, affordable health care. Planned Parenthood has been able to grow to so much more then birth control, covering a wide range of preventive health care services including lifesaving cancer screenings, testing and treatment for STIs, and health education and information. We are proud to keep moving forward, not roll back, on women’s health. Thank you Margaret for all you have done for women’s health.

“Around the world one vasectomy at a time”

In celebration of World Vasectomy Day, Planned Parenthood of Collier County hosts a viewing of the newly released documentary, “The Vasectomist” featuring the world’s most prolific vasectomist Dr. Doug Stein. Vasectomies are a viable family planning option and Planned Parenthood of Collier County is the leading provider of affordable vasectomies in our community.

Dr. Doug Stein a Florida-based urologist, as well as Planned Parenthood of Collier County’s vasectomist, has devoted his life to “speaking the gospel of vasectomy”. He believes that for sexually active heterosexual men who no longer want to have children, getting a vasectomy is their best option. Dr. Stein has performed over 30,000 vasectomies throughout the US, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

Part dreamer and part visionary, Dr. Stein is committed to the impossible quest of lowering population on the planet, one vasectomy at a time. As he travels the world, Doug confronts the difficult ethical questions surrounding birth control and the reluctance of men to be involved in family planning.

“The Vasectomist” shares these difficult and divisive issues, crossing cultural, religious and political taboos. The film provokes a new conversation about over-population, over-consumption and the planet’s environmental tipping point.

Please join us October 29, 2013, as we view the documentary “The Vasectomist”, enjoy wine and cheese and comments from Dr. Doug Stein at Naples United Church of Christ, 4:30pm. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are $25 a person, please call 239-262-8923 ext. 300 to reserve your seat!

“Let’s talk about breasts!”

Women, we all have them… so why be scared of them!

Whether you have big, small, flat, saggy, perky, saline or silicone it’s so important that you take care of the breasts you have. Breast cancer is a serious health concern. After skin cancer, it’s the most common type of cancer among American women. About 230,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the U.S. and 40,000 women will die from it. In Florida an estimated 11,850 new cases of breast cancer in women will be diagnosed.

Breast cancer screenings, such as breast exams or mammograms help to detect cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage. These breast cancer detection tools can save lives. Some women may put off breast cancer screenings. They may be afraid of being diagnosed with breast cancer, they might not know they should be screened, they may have a hard time finding the right health care provider, or they may have concerns about the exams. It’s important not to let these fears and concerns get in the way of your health because knowledge is power!

Breast self-awareness is an important part of a woman’s breast health. This includes knowing what your risks are for breast cancer as well as knowing what is normal for your breasts. At Planned Parenthood of Collier County we offer education, counseling and referrals based on a woman’s risk for breast cancer along with financial help to those who qualify for discounted or free diagnostic or screening mammograms. Call to make your breast health screening appointment today, 239-262-0301!

To “LEEP” or not to “LEEP”?

A few weeks ago during a very overdue “girls’ night” my friend started to cry when taking about her recent Pap test results. She is a single mother with no insurance, and was told she had precancerous cells. She was told that she would need a LEEP treatment in order to stop the precancerous cells from turning into cancer cells or spread. The cost with her OBGYN was astronomical and she had no idea how she would be able to afford it.

After consoling her, she discussed further how Medicaid rejected her and her son from coverage because “she made too much money”. For her and her very active four year old, paying the bills was a stretch each month and to add the cost of private insurance was just not feasible. She was scared that she would never be able to come with the money and the “unknown” of what could happen frightened her and myself.

Once I heard this I did a little research. I came to work the next morning and checked out our pricing for LEEP treatments and was overwhelmed with the price difference from her OBGYN office and our clinic. I called her immediately squealing, yes that’s right squealing, that we could offer this to her at such a low cost and she could get this done and leave all of this stress behind her. She cried on the phone and couldn’t thank me enough. I cried back to her, “This is what we stand for, what we are here for and this is why I come to work every day and fight to keep our doors open.”

I can’t even begin to think, if we weren’t here offering these services what would happen to not only my friend but women all over the country. Because of our work and dedication there is now no question “To ‘LEEP’ or not to ‘LEEP’”.