UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge has received a Title X Grant from the Family Planning Council of Iowa.

With this grant, UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge is introducing a new service, Trinity Family Planning, which will open Nov. 18.

UnityPoint Health — Trinity Family Planning will be located at 802 Kenyon Road, Suite 2C — next to UnityPoint Clinic OB/GYN. The clinic will be open every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening hours will be available once every month from noon to 6:30 p.m.

“Trinity Family Planning will help fill the gaps in care some community members face by providing important reproductive health care services such as health education, wellness tests and screenings, and birth control options,” said Leah Glasgo, president of UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge. “Access to these important health care resources is essential for communities like Fort Dodge and surrounding rural towns.”

Trinity Family Planning will provide gender-inclusive reproductive health services to individuals of all ages–from teens to older adults–offering education and resources on sexual health, birth control and pregnancy planning.

Dr. Abby Sexton, UnityPoint Clinic OB/GYN — Fort Dodge, will serve as Trinity Family Planning’s medical director. In addition to being a provider at UnityPoint Clinic Kenyon Road – Family Medicine, Bobbi Thacker, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, will provide care at Trinity Family Planning.

In 2023, FPCI’s network of health centers saw more than 21,500 patients at nearly 33,000 family planning visits.

Services include:

• Health education: Prevention of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS; impact of lifestyle choices on reproductive health and outcomes; abstinence; family planning methods; importance of preventive health screenings..

• Wellness tests and screenings: Birth control exams; tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections; cancer screenings including pap smears and breast exams; pregnancy diagnosis and counseling.

• Birth control options: Offering different contraceptive methods, as well as natural planning.

The costs of services at Trinity Family Planning are based on a person’s income and ability to pay. All patients are welcome regardless of insurance or ability to pay. The clinic will have team members available to discuss all funding options available to those in need.

“The Title X grant helps alleviate financial barriers that prevent some community members from receiving these important health care services,” said Glasgo. “We want everyone to have access to reproductive health care, no matter their ability to pay.”

All care at Trinity Family Planning follows HIPAA guidelines and has confidential billing as an option. If patients wish to share information with a family member — such as a spouse or parent — they will need to sign a Release of Information form.

The FPCI Title X program is a federally funded program created to provide affordable birth control and reproductive health care to people who can’t afford these services on their own. Services provided include contraceptive education and management, breast and cervical cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling. Title X services do not include termination of pregnancy as a method of family planning.

For more information or to schedule an appointment at Trinity Family Planning clinic, call 515-574-6650 after Nov. 18.