Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi (PPTNM) launched its Title X services on Wednesday, November 29th, and has already served 129 people.
Ashley Coffield, CEO of PPTNM, said these services are meant to provide “free and low-cost family planning services such as birth control, STI testing and treatment, wellness exams, gender-affirming care, and more.”
PPTNM was awarded $3.9 million to be used over the next three years. According to Planned Parenthood Action Fund, this is part of a grant that was issued by Virginia League for Planned Parenthood through a “sub-grant.”
The funds were awarded so PPTNM could continue providing free care to patients in need after it was announced in April that the state of Tennessee was no longer eligible for Title X funding. This was due to the state’s inability to provide “abortion referrals upon client request.”
PPTNM is still dedicated to giving patients the “abortion care they deserve,” even with the barriers the state has imposed.
“We’re navigating patients out of state by arranging their logistics, giving them money for travel, and helping them with the cost of their services,” said Coffield “Through October, we have navigated 632 patients out of state for abortion services and have spent $97,429 on their travel expenses.”
The organization celebrated this milestone along with other 2023 accomplishments during its inaugural event “The Talk,” hosted on November 30th via Zoom.
Coffield was joined by PPTNM’s senior manager of education Victoria Freeland and Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood’s (TAPP) executive director Francie Hunt, who were present to provide updates in healthcare, education, and more. Officials also previewed some of the organization’s goals for 2024.
Aimee Lewis, vice president of external affairs and chief development officer of PPTNM, called 2023 a “transformational year” for the organization.
The organization celebrated healthcare wins such as the launch of its mobile health unit in Knoxville, opened to “restore access to in-person reproductive healthcare” for residents in East Tennessee. The original branch was burned down in 2022 and is set to reopen in summer of 2024.
The group has also launched vasectomy services in Memphis and Nashville in order to give men the ability to “control their reproductive futures.”
Planned Parenthood also celebrated the launch of its telehealth app, PP Direct. According to Coffield, this app gives anyone in Tennessee direct access to birth control, UTI treatment, emergency contraceptives, and more. Users can also talk to a Planned Parenthood provider, and even have their birth control delivered to their house.
“We have so far provided services to people in 85 of the 95 counties in Tennessee with PP Direct,” said Coffield.
In addition to expanding telehealth and in-person services, the organization has also chosen to include selected primary care services in their offerings. According to Coffield, if a person came to PPTNM looking for birth control, they also have the option to be treated for non-reproductive treatment such as hypertension.
“Knowing that Planned Parenthood may be the only healthcare provider a patient sees in a year, our health centers have added selected primary care services to address the systemic issues patients face, and the harms those issues can cause their bodies,” said Coffield. “We are a safety net for many patients, and we are expanding our services to meet their needs.”
Coffield thanked PPTNM’s supporters for their generosity as they helped to raise over $8.8 million for fiscal year 2023 (July 2022-June 2023.)
Looking ahead, the organization will be moving toward electronic medical records in 2024, and will also be expanding the range of services offered. It is also currently conducting a statewide “community needs assessment,” which, Freeland explained, allows the organization to “establish baseline information” in order to “tailor education programs and mutual aid distribution.”