The Clinic!
Reproductive healthcare for women, men, and teens 12 and up

• services
• hours and location
• payment

The Clinic! could be in jeopardy
The program that pays for the clinic's services, Family PACT, is slated for reduction or possible elimination. Governor Schwarzenegger's proposal cuts the reimbursement that goes to family planning providers - like Women's Health Specialists, the group that provides the clinic's staff.

Family PACT is a California family planning program that provides reproductive healthcare for the uninsured and under-insured of California. Because these women and men have access to birth control that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, this program has reduced unwanted pregnancies by almost 300,000 - averting over 122,000 abortions - and has saved the state almost $6 billion (from conception to age five; the cost of healthcare and the raising of a child is about $20,000). That doesn't even include the savings and disease prevention/cure from STI testing and treatment...

The cost per year (in 2007 it was about $438 million) is offset by the federal government, who pays almost 2/3 to California. Every dollar that is spent on Family PACT saves almost $14.

The waiver for Family PACT has been extended to August 31, 2010, by the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The CMS) needs to approve a waiver for the federal government to fund this program. The status of the Waiver renewal is being negotiated between CMS and the California Department of Health Services, with a final determination expected prior to August 31, 2010. Updates will be posted to this web page when available

.35 organizations, including Citizens for Choice, signed a letter to the California congressional delegation urging them to save Family PACT.

The Clinic! Hours and Location
Mondays 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays noon to 6 p.m.
120 Richardson St., Suite A, Grass Valley (near the South Pine Cafe)
Please note that we've moved upstairs to Suite A
.No appointment necessary!

530.521.3273 The Clinic! This number will be answered during clinic hours; at all other times it will go to voice mail and checked daily.

800.714.8151 24/7 Women's Health Specialists

530.274.3331 Citizens for Choice. Voice mail; messages will be retrieved at least weekly.

A great many people equate "choice" and "reproductive healthcare" with abortion - and they are wrong. Reproductive healthcare includes pap smears and pelvics, birth control,... and prostate exams. Reproductive healthcare is for everyone. And everyone should have choices.

The Other A Word: If you're pregnant, adoption is one of your choices. Adoption Choices of Northern California is a program offering information, counseling, advocacy and support to all those involved in the adoption process, so that each adoption is imbued with dignity, and each participant is treated with caring and respect. Email them.

Grass Valley Teen Clinic
Services at The Clinic! are available to women, men, and teens from age 12 and up. Or you can visit the Miners Family Health Center; Miners however no longer has specific teen clinic days.

Payment at The Clinic!
The majority of our clients qualify for Family PACT; WHS will work with each woman individually on a care plan so that even if they may not qualify for Family PACT, she may still qualify for free or low cost services after speaking with the WHS phone counseling department. In the unlikely case of not qualifying for any program, WHS has a fee schedule which would apply.

Services (provided byWomen’s Health Specialists)

• Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing for women and men, of Chlamydia,Gonorrhea, herpes (if the client has a lesion at the time), HPV, HIV, Syphilis, and vaginitis for women
• STI treatment of the above infections, except for Syphilis and HIV, which treatments are specialized and are referred to an outside agency as recommended by the CDC
• HIV/AIDS testing for women and men
• Birth control, many kinds, including The Pill, IUD, Depo Provera, Nuvaring, the Patch, Cervical Cap, Diaphragm, Vaginal Film, Condoms, and Contraceptive Foam
• Emergency Contraception (EC is birth control and will stop you from getting pregnant - it will not cause an abortion). If you need EC on a non-clinic day, in California you do not need a doctor's prescription to buy EC at a pharmacy if you're 17 or older (cost $20 - $50). As of 6/910 the only Nevada County pharmacy listed in an EC website is K-Mart, 111 McKnight, Grass Valley CA, call beforehand, 530.272.2697; bring proof of age.
• Pregnancy testing – the results are given the same day
• Pap smear and pelvic
• Breast exams and Mammogram referrals
• Abortion referrals. WHS offers both medical and surgical abortions at their other facilities, and coordinates rides to the appointments through ACCESS. They offer referrals for any abortion beyond their scope
• Adoption referrals. WHS operates Adoption Choices of Northern California, a program designed to give birth mothers control of their adoption process.
• Pre-natal information
• Health information and education counseling, including options counseling for pregnant women; options counseling for birth control; self-help information; and health information counseling for HIV/AIDS and all forms of STIs. WHS does not provide mental health counseling or positive HIV/AIDS counseling and refers to an appropriate licensed therapist or County program. Self-esteem issues can be the tip of the iceberg of a mental health issue and so are also referred to an appropriate agency. Many women have visited a WHS clinic thinking that they needed some sort of mental health counseling, but after consultation with WHS staff realize that what they actually needed was unbiased and medically accurate information from a non-judgmental source.

HPV is not currently offered at this time but WHS will make referrals to appropriate providers. The typical cost of a three-shot vaccine is $120 per shot or $360 per series, a prohibitive cost for most. To read about HPV, visit this NIH (National Institutes of Health) webpage.

.530.272.3467 this is a 24-hour hotline for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition: DVSAC was formed to offer crisis intervention and safehousing services to the victims of domestic violence and their families in Nevada County.

Below is a chart showing typical services for February 2010.

Now Hiring! We are looking for a qualified Outreach Education Coordinator.

President Obama to exclude abortion coverage for high-risk women! Tell him NO!

Blog!

Facebook

Read the review for Carole Joffe's book, Dispatches from the Abortion Wars.

Fake clinics, or "crisis pregnancy centers" give you one choice - theirs. NARAL has just completed a two-year study on CPCs, Unmasking Fake Clinics. You really need to read this.

Read about our local CPC

Comprehensive Sex Education California law says it's mandatory that schools teach HIV/AIDS classes twice and if they choose to teach sex education, it must be comprehensive and must follow the guidelines in the California Education Code. How is Nevada County holding up to this legal requirement?

The Guttmacher Institute Media Update: California shows that sound policy is crucial in reducing teen pregnancy.

.

Are you pregnant and need a ride to your counseling or abortion appointment? ACCESS can help!

Questions about HPV (human papillomavirus)? This Nantional Cancer Institute Fact Sheet is a good source!

Abstinence-only education still doesn't work.