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Local News

Planned Parenthood opens health center in Flossmoor

Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) has opened a health center at 19831 Governors Highway in Flossmoor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 11, and the center officially opened Jan. 16.

  Planned Parenthood officals and staff cut the ribbon 
  to mark the opening of the organization’s new 
  health center in Flossmoor.
(Provided photo)
 

Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) has opened a health center at 19831 Governors Highway in Flossmoor.  

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Jan. 11, and the center officially opened Jan. 16.

PPIL officials said the new center is intended to meet the need of south suburban clients. Last year, PPIL provided family planning services to 1,200 south Cook County residents, according to CEO Jennifer Welch. 

The two closest PPIL locations are the Roseland Health Center and Orland Park Health Center. 

“Patients shouldn’t have to travel hours to get care,” Welch said. “We saw there was an unmet need. That’s why we chose Flossmoor.”

Another factor in the decision to locate in Flossmoor was its transportation resources, she said. Accessibility was important, in part, because nearly half of the 1,200 patients from the area are covered by Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income people. 

She said the center would offer all of PPIL’s services, including a variety of reproductive health care services like birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cancer screenings, medication and in-clinic abortion care and HIV testing and prevention. A list of services is available at the center’s website, bit.ly/2mWiYcf.

In November, village officials reported the renovated facility was expected to help boost the village’s property assessment numbers. However, as a tax-exempt non-profit organization, PPIL might not have to pay property taxes on the facility.

Flossmoor Mayor Paul Braun told the H-F Chronicle on Saturday that the village was not informed about the building’s occupant until last week. He said the project complied with village zoning and building code requirements, so no review by the board of trustees or the plan commission was required. 

“This is apparently Planned Parenthood’s standard method of not announcing their coming to a community until they open a facility, which is disappointing but legal,” he said. “The village is investigating whether real estate taxes will be paid on the property.”


Tom Houlihan contributed to this story.

  The new Planned Parenthood of Illinois health 
  center on Governors Highway in Flossmoor. 

  (Photo by Patty Houlihan/H-F Chronicle)
 

 

 

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