Planned Parenthood of Delaware announces it is opening its fourth facility in the First State.
The new Seaford facility will be Planned Parenthood’s first in Sussex County since a previous clinic in Rehoboth Beach closed down a decade ago.
The clinic in Seaford opens in September, and it will be on 800 Health Services Drive just off of Route 13.
The site will offer the same care other Planned Parenthood facilities, such as general wellness exams, screenings for breast and cervical cancers, birth control and family planning options, as wellas both medical and surgical abortion services.
It joins facilities already in Wilmington, Newark, and Dover, and Planned Parenthood of Delaware President and CEO Ruth Lytle-Barnaby says it will make it easier to serve people in Sussex County.
"We really had a desert in Sussex County, and it has affected people - especially people with transportation concerns and people that have been underserved trying to get to our other clinics for services. And so we've had lots of requests from folks when they have been trying to make their way up to stay for services to be able to access a Planned Parenthood that is much easier and accessible for them."
The facility will house 10 or 11 medical staff, and it’s the second Planned Parenthood on the Delmarva Peninsula south of Dover.
Lytle-Barnaby says it will be easier to offer essential health care services since the facility didn’t have to be retrofitted into a standing building.
"Most of what I've done in my 9 years here have been remodeling what we already have trying to retrofit. So to be able to start a clinic from the ground up and have the space we need hav it look beautiful and accommodating and considerate and thoughtful of our patients is what I'm really, really excited about."
The need in the area was great because of closures in Rehoboth Beach and Salisbury, MD over the last decade, and according to Planned Parenthood of Delaware, its Easton, MD facility doesn’t offer surgical abortions.
