NorthJersey.com
November 4, 2009
Leslie Scott

From Nov. 9 to Nov. 14, the borough’s Planned Parenthood office will host Free Health Week. During this time, new clients can come in with or without an appointment and get a free blood-pressure screening and free Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing. Also, women can get a free annual exam.

Free Health Week follows an open house held on Oct. 29 to discuss what Planned Parenthood offers the community.

The Pompton Lakes office is part of the Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey group, which serves Passaic, Essex and Hudson counties. The group sees 37,000 patients annually, and the Pompton location sees 2,400 new and 3,600 return patients each year.

Planned Parenthood does not just serve women. Blanche Duke, director of social services, said that 10 percent of its clients are men.

The typical age group of the clients is between 17 and 24 years. But since the economy has changed, there has been an influx of older clients.

"We have 1,000 new patients this year because people have lost their health insurance along with their jobs and so we are doing so much more," said Brooke Tarabour, Metropolitan area president.

Clinical Manager Donna Ulrich said Planned Parenthood offers fees on a sliding scale that are much less than what a regular doctor’s office would charge.

"Most clients live at or below the federal poverty guidelines so we can’t turn anyone away and nobody has any money," said Tarabour.

Planned Parenthood offers much more than healthcare. It also offers educational programs and many social service programs.

"We provide education to schools, colleges, churches, prisons and shelters. Some are at no cost and some at a fee, so it really depends on how intense the level of education an organization wants," said Assistant Director of Education Outreach Reginald Rosarion.

"We see 14,000 kids a year in schools. We teach about self esteem, setting life goals, peer pressure, date rape, violence and sex education to kids throughout Essex, Passaic and Hudson county," said Tarabour.

Duke said Planned Parenthood also offers counseling for sexual assault and rape, domestic violence, and substance abuse, as well as family counseling, HIV testing and counseling and pregnancy options.

"Most people, when they think of Planned Parenthood, they think of terminations. We are so much more than that. We do more to prevent abortion in one day than anyone can think of," said Tarabour.

The local Planned Parenthood office is located at 750 Hamburg Turnpike in Pompton Lakes. Call 973-839-2363 for more information about Free Health Week.