Health center opens in southern Illinois with Tennesseans in mind
CARBONDALE, IL. — A new Planned Parenthood center in Illinois has opened with out-of-state patients in mind.
According to a news release, Planned Parenthood of Illinois held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Carbondale Health Center in the southern part of the state.
The release says that this new center expands access to reproductive health care services for both Illinois and out-of-state patients.
Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, shared how it can help Tennesseans:
“The new Planned Parenthood health center in Illinois means Carbondale will continue to be a safe place to access abortion care within a four-hour drive for most patients in Middle and West Tennessee. This adds to the access already provided by CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health of Carbondale, and countless patients in Tennessee are grateful for their care. Even though abortion is banned in Tennessee, Planned Parenthood will continue to do everything we can to guarantee access for our patients. If you need financial or logistical assistance, please call PPTNM, your local Planned Parenthood affiliate, at 866-711-1717.”
The center has four education rooms, four procedure rooms, three exam/ultrasound rooms, a kids playroom, a conference room, and administrative space, according to the release.
It will offer reproductive health care services such as cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming health care, medication, and in-clinic abortion, the release says.
“Carbondale needs Planned Parenthood of Illinois,” said Carrie Vine, Executive Director of the Rainbow Cafe. “And this is not just for Carbondale, but for the transwoman who lives in Nashville that needs HRT. This is for the transman who needs a trauma informed, life saving pap smear that is having to drive up from the panhandle of Florida. This is for the non-binary person who needs an abortion coming from Texas.”
According to a December news release, the Carbondale health center was made possible by Planned Parenthood of Illinois’s RESOLVE Campaign, a $40 million fundraising effort to expand and improve access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for those in Illinois and those forced to travel for care.
For more information or to make an appointment visit PPIL.org or call 877-200-PPIL.
