Reaching the unreachable -- teen pregnancy prevention in Westchester County
April 27, 2009
Planned Parenthood Hudson-Peconic’s Smart Wheels vans fulfill a vital need, serving the most at-risk and hardest-to-reach women and men in our communities who may not have access to our medical centers and care. Thanks to the continued support of the March of Dimes, we are enhancing our core services aboard the Westchester-based van by increasing education and services to women of childbearing age and expanding sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing.
With an increase in both STIs and teenage pregnancy, Smart Wheels serves as a unique, visible venue to address both of these public health matters. For example, all four of our counties have experienced an increase in chlamydia rates:
- 2,480 cases of chlamydia were reported in 2007 in Westchester County, up from 2,129 cases reported in 2006.
- In Suffolk County, 3,181 cases of chlamydia were reported in 2007, 358 more than the previous year.
- 568 chlamydia cases were reported in Rockland County in 2007, 131 more than were reported in 2006.
- 65 cases of chlamydia were reported in Putnam County in 2007, 21 more cases than were reported in 2006.
Left untreated, STIs can lead to infertility, pregnancy complications, and other health problems for both a woman and her baby.
Patient education and promoting good health prior to conception are key to ensuring a healthy pregnancy. The project funded by the March of Dimes enables us to continue to educate at-risk and under-served women in Westchester County by providing them with information about preconception and prenatal health care.
Visitors to the van receive:
- information about HIV/AIDS/STIs and healthy pregnancies
- access to testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS
- referrals to PPHP or other medical centers and prenatal programs for ongoing care
- information about risk factors and their need for preconception, family planning, and prenatal health care.
This year, we’ve expanded services among both the Suffolk and Westchester vans allowing us to offer free testing and counseling for gonorrhea and chlamydia, and providing access to treatment at our medical centers.
Testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea on the vans required a Certificate of Need (CON) issued by the New York State Department of Health. We successfully demonstrated to the DOH that the need exists for these testing services delivered via a mobile van through our service area. After a lengthy and complicated process, and the persistence of SVP, Compliance and HR, Leslie Pargament, the CON was approved in March, allowing us to not only provide HIV and STI testing but also bill and be reimbursed by Medicaid for these services.
The complexity of testing, paperwork, and billing necessitated the creation of a Smart Wheels workgroup, led by Director, Education and Training Suzanne Witzenburg, to develop a coordinated agency-wide plan in accordance with protocols for patient and billing services.
Smart Wheels conducted the first STI testing in early April, and is working closely with Westhab in Yonkers and Mount Vernon, WestCOP (Community Opportunity Program) and the Grasslands Homeless Shelter to provide enhanced outreach services, STI testing and rapid HIV testing.
This page last updated May 3, 2009 11:37 .