Community Corner

Planning Big: Planned Parenthood Gets Comfortable in New Location

The new facility opened in May, but staff and community members celebrated Friday with an open house.

The Watsonville Planned Parenthood grew up this spring.

After 16 years in the same location, the Watsonville Health Center moved into a new, larger facility in May. Staff and community members celebrated the upgrade with a grand reopening Friday.

The new clinic, at 398 S. Green Valley Rd., is just across the street from Planned Parenthood Mar Monte's longtime location on Penny Lane but features eight exam rooms—up from five at the old site—and new equipment.

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The clinic space also is owned outright, thanks to a grant from the Packard Foundation. The clinic had rented space since it opened in Watsonville in 1995.

"I think we outgrew that facility a couple years ago," said Jessica Dieseldorff, a nurse practioner and the lead clinician at the Watsonville Health Center.

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Planned Parenthood's goal is to provide access to free or low-cost reproductive health services, but the clinic expands its offerings to include general medical services and pediatric care.

Dieseldorff said the clinic staff is in a great position to help women integrate caring for themselves and their whole families into their lives.

So having more space to serve its large clientele was key to the move. About 6,100 patients utilized the Watsonville Health Center in 2010, according to Lupe Rodriguez, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte in Silicon Valley, Alameda and San Mateo counties.

"We've had a lot of people come through," she said.

The new space also has interview rooms and a special space for teens to hangout while waiting for appointments so they can have some privacy. Dieseldorff said teenagers are welcome to knock on the backdoor of the clinic and be ushered into the private youth space, which includes a comfy couch, teen-friendly literature and an educational video playing on a loop.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s pregnancy prevention work reaches 1,500 young people from around the county through sexuality education in the schools and support groups for at-risk youth, with special emphasis on Watsonville and South County.

Planned Parenthood also is getting more tech-savvy. The clinic is moving away from paper charts to computerized medical records and started using a call center to book appointments.

"We're really happy to be here and just meet the need in the community," Dieseldorff said.

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