August's Continuing Education Event

Thank you Gloria!

Gloria came and spoke about Planned Parenthood of North East Ohio’s (PPNEO) Services, STD’s/STI’s, and Abortions. Here is some of the information that was covered (in case you were not able to make it).

PPNEO sees both men and women. They offer Gynecological exams, birth control (including emergency contraception), pregnancy testing and options information, HPV vaccination, Essure non-surgical permanent contraception, early cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment, Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment), HIV testing and education (confidential or anonymous), Urinary tract and vaginal infection diagnosis and treatment, first trimester medication and surgical abortion services, midlife services, referrals for other specialized medical care, AND they are also doing comprehensive sex education K-12 in the Cleveland Municipal School District.

STDs and STIs are mostly the same thing and used interchangeably.

Chlamydia, NGU, Gonorrhea Syphilis and Trichomoniasis are all curable STIs. Hepatitis B, Herpes, HIV/AIDS, and HPV/Genital Warts are not curable but are treatable.

Crabs is also treatable but people with crabs should not go to PPNEO. Treatment is available over the counter and if they do go to the center the whole room has to be shut down and sterilized.

STD/STI symptoms are often more obvious in men because discharge (which is a pretty common symptom) may be confused as normal in women where as discharge is never normal in men.

Gloria does education with the 9th and 10th graders in the Cleveland schools. The different curriculums used in the different grades can be found on the CMSD website if you search for “responsible sexual behavior education”.

PPNEO offers abortions as does Pre Term. There are two types of abortions medical abortions (where medicine is administered to the patient) and surgical abortions. Medical abortions may be performed if the patient is less then 8 weeks pregnant. After that they may have a surgical abortion which can be performed up to 14 weeks into the pregnancy. All individuals who are having an abortion must have two appointments (one where they get medically checked out and cleared and then another appointment for the procedure). Some insurances will cover the cost of an abortion for rape victims.

If there is someone on the hotline who is deciding if they want to have an abortion the important thing to do is to remain non-judgmental and do not try to sway the caller in any way. Support the caller in their process of making this difficult decision. There is also a hotline (NOT 24-Hours) that Gloria suggested, that talks to women who are considering an abortion or have already had an abortion. This hotline is also available to family members of people who are considering or have had an abortion.

If there are any people who would prefer/ feel more comfortable with a Spanish speaking facility, the Old Brooklyn site has several staff members who speak Spanish. This site is located at Broadview and W25th.

Again thank you so much Gloria! For additional information on PPNEO please visit http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppneo/