Family planning clinic to hold grand opening Tuesday night

Starting Tuesday, Bloomington residents will have more resources for reproductive health.\nThe Futures Family Health Clinic, 338 S. Walnut St., will have its grand opening from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, offering tours and refreshments. The clinic's focus is promoting healthy lifestyles for young adults and family planning.\n"The emphasis is about educating clients on reproduction," said Bob Schmidt, administrator of the Monroe County Health Department. \nThe clinic will offer birth control, STD screenings and tobacco cessation classes. It will also answer any questions clients might have, Schmidt said.\nThe clinic is funded by a federal grant from Title X-Family Planning, a program that provides funding for preventative health screening and family-planning services. Bloomington Hospital originally held the grant, which was later picked up by the Health Department. Futures Family Clinic is a division of the Health Department.\nAccording to its Web site, the Title X program is the only federal program with the sole purpose of providing family planning and reproductive health care. The Web site says the program is designed to provide access to contraceptives and information to everyone with an emphasis on lower-income individuals.\nClients will be asked questions to see where they fit on the clinics fee scale, but if a client cannot afford to pay for services, they will be provided free of charge.\n"We ask one time if they have insurance, but that's it," Schmidt said.\nThe fee scale for clients is based on factors such as the number of people in their family and their income.\nMost people will pay $28 or less for service, said Jackie Squires, a certified nurse-midwife.\nSquires is a health care provider and management associate for the clinic who was previously employed at the IU Health Center. She encouraged students to take advantage of the clinic's services.\nAlong with STD screenings, the clinic can prescribe and provide treatment for STDs. \n"People can walk out the door with medicine in hand," Squires said. \nThe clinic does not offer general physical exams or treatment for health problems not related to reproduction. The tobacco cessation service is educationally based and does not offer medicinal treatment. To contact the clinic, call 349-7343.