In the face of historic threats and cuts to federal funding, Planned Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI) is reducing its brick-and-mortar footprint and reorganizing operations statewide to ensure long-term sustainability. PPMI will permanently close three health centers in Jackson, Petoskey, and Marquette, effective April 30, with the last patient appointments taking place on April 25.
Additionally, PPMI will consolidate two health centers in Ann Arbor by May 5 and, over the next few months, work to expand its Virtual Health Center to offer telehealth 7 days per week, including morning and evening hours, providing key services like birth control, medication abortion, and gender affirming care.
As part of this reorganization, PPMI will also reduce staffing by 10 percent, impacting clinical, programmatic, and administrative teams. Planned Parenthood of Michigan is acting now to ensure the organization’s long-term sustainability in the face of increasing threats and challenges under a hostile presidential administration.
“The Trump administration and its anti-abortion allies have made clear their intention to defund Planned Parenthood and attack access to sexual and reproductive health care nationwide — so while these attacks are devastating, they are not a surprise,” said Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of PPMI. “Our decision to restructure reflects months of strategic planning and careful financial analysis. These necessary changes strengthen PPMI’s ability to adapt quickly in a challenging political landscape. While implementing difficult decisions is never easy, they are essential to protect our long-term capacity to fulfill our mission and serve Michigan communities for generations to come.
This week, the Trump administration is moving to freeze Title X family planning funds due to alleged violations of the president’s “DEI” executive orders. This will deal a devastating financial blow to health care providers like PPMI. And in the coming weeks and months, additional attacks against sexual and reproductive health care providers are expected, including restricting access to medication abortion, restricting Medicaid coverage of Planned Parenthood health services, further restrictions on Title X funding, or even ending the program altogether, as the administration has already done to so many other lifesaving Federal funding streams and agencies.
“As sexual and reproductive health care providers, we’ve faced wave after wave of challenges, from the first Trump administration to the historic overturn of Roe v. Wade, and we’ve continued to find ways to serve our patients,” said Dr. Sarah Wallett, Chief Medical Operating Officer at PPMI. “This evolution of our service model allows us to be flexible in how we weather the storms ahead, while still maintaining our commitment to provide care, no matter what. By expanding our virtual care services and focusing our resources more effectively, we can continue meeting patients’ needs wherever they are in Michigan, even as the health care environment becomes more restrictive.”
Despite the closure of some brick-and-mortar health centers, PPMI remains committed to providing critical health care services in impacted communities. Expanding the Virtual Health Center will increase appointment availability statewide and help ensure patients can continue to access needed care, particularly in rural areas. PPMI’s patient navigators will also continue to work closely with patients who require in-person care but need additional support getting to and from a PPMI health center.
Comments