Planned Parenthood To Open New Location in Seaford Delaware
SEAFORD,DE- A new Planned Parenthood is set to open its doors in Seaford, putting an end to nearly a decade-long absence of the service from lower Delmarva.
The new clinic centrally located on Delmarva will help cut down time spent driving to other clinics or waiting for care from other providers.
“We found it necessary to provide easy access and as short a driving time as possible to have our patients seen,” said Delaware Planned Parenthood CEO Ruth Lytle-Barnaby.
Lyle-Barnaby says the move was necessary as the closures of the Salisbury and Rehoboth locations left those who need reproductive care on Delmarva with two options; neither of them fast.
Either driving up towards Dover, or an even longer drive over the Chesapeake Bridge to Washington D.C.
She believes that a long drive doesn’t just delay care, for many it can stop them from going at all.
“When the access ended it became a bigger issue for our patients,” Lyle-Barnaby said, adding “those we see who have 1, 2 or 3 jobs and trying to coordinate that with getting to an appointment to get a Pap smear or birth control becomes a very difficult task.”
She says many services in Sussex County particularly have a primary care desert designation from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, indicating long wait times for patients without prior relationships or appointments with general practitioners or specialists in the county.
“our quick access allows people in much quicker if I call an ob-gyn right now I’m often on a 6-month waiting list just to get a pap,” Lyle-Barnaby said.
She says treating things sooner, cuts down on bad outcomes and reduces the strain on local emergency rooms that are left to pick up the pieces when problems can’t- be delayed any longer.
“I think it reduces the burden on emergency room visits for things that could be dealt with in an office and reduces cost for everyone,” she said.
Lyle-Barnaby told 47ABC that Planned Parenthood prides itself on the affordability and non-judgemental nature of its care.
She says for patients coming in with unwanted pregnancies, STD’s and other issues with stigma, she says patients are often more honest with Planned Parenthood about details that are crucial to providing adequate care.
The Seaford Location is set to open by mid-September and feature 11 medical professionals on-site to provide treatment for both women and men who need it on Delmarva.
