Planned Parenthood will take over the former Tri-Rivers Family Planning center in Rolla starting Tuesday.
“In this moment where we know that Missouri continues to attack reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood is more eager than ever to show that we are here to stay, and that we are going to expand whatever services that we can to the folks in Missouri and rural America,” Dr. Colleen McNicholas told St. Louis on the Air.
The chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region & Southwest Missouri said the health center will offer contraceptives, pregnancy tests and other reproductive health services to residents throughout Missouri. She added that it’s especially important to offer these services in a state that bans abortions.
“Now, more than ever, it is so important that we’re also thinking about preventative care, primary care, contraceptive care — being able to give patients across Missouri the tools to be healthy to plan pregnancies and to prevent pregnancies when they don’t want them,” McNicholas said.
Hailey Kramer was a nurse practitioner at Tri-Rivers before it announced it was closing after about 50 years of operation, and she will stay on at the clinic once Planned Parenthood opens.
She said her patients were happy to hear they would have access again because the health center serves more than just Rolla residents.
“We have people from very far rural areas that don’t have any access to the care that they need where they are, that come from an hour and half [to] hours [and] even further away just to get their birth control with us.”
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
