Submitted by San Juan County.
During the Oct. 16 Board of Health meeting, San Juan County Health & Community Services and Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood announced they are partnering to make reproductive health services easier to access in San Juan County. Starting in January, MBPP will be operating out of HCS’s Friday Harbor clinic office one day per week.
MBPP will use the health department’s Friday Harbor clinic to conduct appointments and offer reproductive health services in our community. County residents can make an appointment directly with MBPP at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-mt-baker. By sharing clinic space, MBPP can provide important health care and HCS can expand reproductive and sexual health testing and services in a sustainable manner for county residents.
Beginning in January, MBPP will provide the following services out of the HCS Friday Harbor clinic every Thursday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment; PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis); HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) testing; birth control methods and supplies, including long-acting reversible contraception; emergency contraception; pregnancy testing and options counseling/referrals; wellness and preventive care exams and cancer screenings; menopause services; problem-focused visits; and sexual dysfunction.
HCS public health nurses will continue to provide HIV and chlamydia testing, pregnancy tests, emergency contraception, contraceptive starts and contraceptive counseling, and reproductive health referrals on an as-needed basis for people needing these services on days that MBPP is not scheduling patients in the Friday Harbor office.
Since the pandemic, MBPP has had difficulty retaining front office staff which is necessary to provide a safe environment for providers to see patients. HCS staff will not be checking MBPP patients in for appointments, but they will be available in the front office waiting room to assist with the check-in kiosk system if needed. Additionally, if an MBPP provider is unable to make it to the island because of weather conditions or other travel disruptions, HCS staff will be available as a backup to provide emergency contraception, contraceptive starts, pregnancy tests, and HIV and chlamydia testing. Without this unique solution, MBPP would not be able to continue offering reproductive health care services in our community.
We are excited for this opportunity to increase access and availability of services for our community in partnership with a long-standing organization. Please check our website, https://sanjuancountywa.gov/1908/Reproductive-Health-Services and MBPP’s website for updates as more information becomes available.
Access to health care was a top community-identified need in our county found in our 2023 Community Health Assessment. Read the full report online here and follow along with the project on the San Juan County Engage page at https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/community-health-assessment.
