The Planned Parenthood regional affiliate serving Kentucky announced the launch of its new Kentucky Virtual Health Center offering reproductive and sexual healthcare options to residents across the Bluegrass State.
Patients can connect with healthcare providers through Planned Parenthood’s video platform for services involving birth control, menopause support, emergency contraception, UTI treatment, gender-affirming hormone care, HIV prevention and erectile dysfunction.
Tamarra Wieder, the Kentucky state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the new virtual platform aims to bridge the gap between Kentuckians and healthcare providers, and to address barriers to healthcare in the Bluegrass State.
“Seventy-six counties [out of 120] not having, you know, a practicing reproductive healthcare specialist is a huge barrier to care, and we see that not only in reproductive healthcare, but in family medicine. Kentucky has huge disparities in healthcare across all fields, and so this is one way that we can help to minimize that gap,” Wieder said.
Wieder said the online platform could also help to combat the state’s cervical cancer mortality rates and rising syphilis cases by allowing patients to get screenings, consultations and referrals sooner.
Savannah Trebuna, abortion fund director at the Kentucky Health Justice Network, said a virtual platform like this could be especially helpful in underserved communities.
“Especially for folks in our rural communities that are living in regions that are considered birth control deserts, having a telehealth option is something that will dramatically improve the health outcomes for Kentuckians, especially considering how poor our maternal health outcomes are in the commonwealth,” Trebuna said.
She also believes the virtual health center is a step in the right direction when it comes to aiding patients seeking gender-affirming care.
“Opening a virtual health center, I think, is the right response when these legislative attacks on trans people are happening. We need people and we need healthcare providers who are willing to meet trans people where they’re at with low-cost and low-barrier healthcare, especially because that is something that has become so politicized,” Trebuna said.
Patients wishing to learn more information or book an appointment through the Kentucky Virtual Health Center can do so by visiting its website.
This story is republished with permission from WKMS. Read the original.
