A Bloomington family planning clinic operated by the Monroe County Health Department is shutting down amid staffing shortages.
The Futures Family Planning Clinic at West Seventh Street and North College Avenue provided reproductive services to low-income and uninsured residents. Services included birth control, pregnancy testing, and STD screening and treatment.
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But a message posted to its website this week said the clinic will not be re-opening and will be transferring operations to the Indiana Family Planning Centers. The nonprofit is a Title X grantee for Indiana; it was providing funds to the Futures clinic.
“The clinic in Bloomington has struggled with staffing,” Kristin Adams, president and CEO of Indiana Family Planning Centers, said Thursday.
“We have determined that with our infrastructure, and without continual staffing changeover, that in order to serve the people of Bloomington and Monroe County, that perhaps it’s better for us to come in and do the operations at this given point in time.”
Adams said the nonprofit will soon begin providing reproductive health services to Bloomington residents through a mobile unit. She said the unit contains an exam bed and other equipment, offering full services to patients.
"Anything that can be done in any of our clinics can be done on that mobile unit. So, until we can find a place to lease, this is our best option,” she said.
Adams expects to get access to the mobile unit sometime in the next 30 days. In the meantime, the group is offering Telehealth services.
The health department is referring patients to other family planning providers in Bloomington and Bedford. A list of providers is on its website.
Former patients of the Futures clinic can visit the department building at Seventh and College to sign release forms to transfer their medical information.
