p. 1

planned parenthood insider october 2009 planned parenthood of south florida and the treasure coast a newsletter a newsletter for elected from ppsftc president lillian tamayo for elected officials officials from ppsftc president lillian tamayo a message from lillian tamayo thank you for continuing to read the planned parenthood insider a newsletter specifically designed for the needs and interests of south florida s elected officials this summer marked my 10th anniversary with planned parenthood it s been an honor to work side by side with many of you as planned parenthood has grown from a small storefront office providing just pregnancy testing and counseling services to ten health centers serving an eight county region with a population size larger than 32 other states approximately 632,430 women in florida need publicly supported contraceptive services because they have incomes below 250 of the federal poverty level planned parenthood continues to meet this growing need for example in august we opened two additional health centers in broward county during this time of economic uncertainty opening additional health centers not only increases access to important family planning services but also is a commonsense investment in the health and well being of our community this issue of the planned parenthood insider includes helpful data and stories about the need for increased access to family planning services and comprehensive sex education i encourage your to contact us with any questions expanding our reach planned parenthood opens two health centers in broward members for the planned parenthood celebration included congressman meek congresswoman wasserman schultz sen deutch sen rich sen sobel rep clarke-reed rep gibbons rep porth rep sands rep schwartz rep skidmore rep thurston broward county commissioner gunzburger hallandale beach commissioner ross and oakland park commissioner sallee planned parenthood s two broward health centers are located in pembroke pines 263 north university drive and oakland park 3475 north dixie highway services available at the health centers include gynecological exams cervical cancer detection birth control access hiv and sexually transmitted infection testing and other related reproductive health care services the public can schedule appointments at the two broward health centers or one of the other eight south florida and treasure coast locations by calling 800230-plan or visiting www.ppsoflo.org to schedule appointments online if you missed the opening we invite elected officials and their aides to schedule a tour of any one of our ten health centers by contacting takeata king pang our public affairs coordinator at 561.472.9942 or email at takeata.pang@ppsoflo.org ribbon cutting ceremony on august 18 2009 parenthood of south florida and the treasure coast celebrated the opening of two health centers during a community breakfast and ribbon cutting ceremony planned parenthood is on the front lines of health care delivery providing basic preventative care says lillian a tamayo president and ceo of planned parenthood there is an overwhelming need for affordable reproductive health services and comprehensive sex education in our community and our expansion in broward increases access for women men and families honorary elected official host committee sincerely lillian a tamayo president/ceo

[close]

p. 2

young adults advocacy planned parenthood an intern s experience hello my name is kelsey i am 19 years old and i was an intern this summer at planned parenthood of south florida and the treasure coast growing up i split my education between the miami-dade and palm beach county public school systems neither school district provided me with comprehensive sex education that being the case i was excited when i was given the opportunity to attend the planned parenthood leadership committee pplc training in miami pplc is a pretty cool train-the-trainer program where participants receive intensive training around communication event planning and advocacy skills that we then use to educate the community and improve public policy around access to birth control and comprehensive sex education on a saturday morning in july my fellow palm beach intern megan and i made the two-hour drive to miami to participate in the program upon my arrival i was excited to find 35 other women in attendance the group included high school and college students teachers health care workers and mothers i benefitted a lot from talking to the other women and learning about their experiences with sex education one woman told us about the comprehensive sex-education she received as a public school student in massachusetts she said that her health course emphasized communicating with your partner about when you were and were not ready for sexual activity she said she is shocked by the ignorance and confusion she encounters with her peers who sat through abstinence-only programs in florida she said they take risks with their bodies that she never would the pplc has helped me realize that young people like me can be empowered to talk about the need for comprehensive sex education with our peers and our elected officials i m tired of legislation that pretends public health issues like what i most appreciated about the teenage pregnancy and sexually experience though was the transmitted infections don t exist unforeseen cultural exchange that i ve seen too many pregnant occurred a south asian and a classmates and comforted too caribbean woman each talked about many friends who find themselves how sex-education had been scared confused and feeling overlooked or avoided in their alone as florida s teens and households they shared how that young adults we are directly had impacted their adjusting to life impacted by abstinence only and education in america they programs we care about stressed their belief in receiving comprehensive sex comprehensive sex education in education and thanks to the pplc public schools that is culturally now i know what i can do about it sensitive medically accurate and you ll be hearing from us scientifically based planned parenthood voices there is nothing more compelling than local planned parenthood stories told in our patients own words the real stories in this column demonstrate the need to increase access to high-quality affordable reproductive health care services page 2

[close]

p. 3

florida supports comprehensive sex education we have a preventable public health problem in this country at last count an estimated 750,000 american teens will become pregnant this year and nearly four million will contract a sexually transmitted infection according to the 2007 florida youth risk behavior survey half of all florida high school students 49.5 have had sexual intercourse at least one time in their life for today s teens it can be a dangerous world popular culture can give them the wrong facts and influences and sometimes parents need help talking with their teens about sex we need education programs in our schools that will keep teens healthy by including information about abstinence as well as contraception healthy communication responsible decision making and prevention of sexually transmitted infections the florida healthy teens act sponsored by senator deutch and representative fitzgerald would create statewide standards for teaching comprehensive medically accurate and age-appropriate sexual health information in the last decade more than $1 billion has been wasted on dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny teenagers life-saving information it s time to put that money toward real solutions that will help prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among teenagers to learn more about the healthy teens act or planned parenthood s community-based sexual health programs please contact emily caponetti our public affairs director at 786.594.4741 or emily.caponetti@ppsoflo.org 2008 federal funding received for abstinence-only programs more than $2 million between $1 and $2 million less than $1 million white states opted out of the program entirely facts about sex education 72 of hispanic voters favor comprehensive sex education over an abstinence-only approach florida has the 6th highest teen pregnancy rate in the country from 1991-2004 there were over 354,000 teen births in florida costing taxpayers $8.1 billion planned parenthood ceo lillian tamayo honored by florida state tributes from the florida house of representatives are presented at a member s request to commemorate local achievements representative rader requested a tribute for lillian tamayo to celebrate her receiving the ruth green award the highest honor bestowed upon ceos of planned parenthood for lifetime achievement in executive leadership lillian is much deserving of this honor said representative rader she is a leader in our community and it has shown through her hard work dedication and passion for helping people it is a privilege to work for an organization which defends simple core human values the right to self determination the right to decide when and if one will become a parent the right to define one s own family and the right to love said president lillian tamayo the opportunity to translate these principles into action by assuring america s men women and teens have access to reproductive health care and education is the centerpiece of planned parenthood s legacy and truly my great honor on august 27 2009 lillian a tamayo was presented a tribute from state representative kevin j g rader page 3

[close]

p. 4

2300 n florida mango road west palm beach florida 33409 it s hard to imagine a world without planned parenthood trusted provider educator advocate planned parenthood to schedule a health center tour or to reach our public affairs staff judith selzer vp of public policy and communications 561.472.9940 786.594.4740 emily caponetti director of public affairs 786.594.4741 takeata king pang public affairs coordinator 561.472.9942 public_affairs@ppsoflo.org of south florida and the treasure coast did you know fully 78 of floridians support teaching sex education in public schools and favor comprehensive sex education by a 3-1 margin over abstinence-only programs half 49.5 of all florida high school students have had sexual intercourse at least one time in their life.

[close]