{"id":221547,"date":"2020-04-09T15:19:01","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T20:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=221547"},"modified":"2020-04-09T15:19:27","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T20:19:27","slug":"new-york-planned-parenthood-closes-insiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/new-york-planned-parenthood-closes-insiders\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Planned Parenthood affiliate cuts staff, closes facilities… but insiders say it’s not due to COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Staff cuts and temporary closures are taking place at several Planned Parenthood businesses in New York, following major financial deficits at a newly formed affiliate in the state.\u00a0After reviewing e-mails and speaking to Planned Parenthood staff “on condition of anonymity,” the Times Union<\/a>\u00a0reported layoffs, furloughs and terminations of staff at the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) affiliate. “Staff will be reduced by about 28 percent across all departments, either through permanent termination, or through furloughs and reduced hours through June 30,” the paper noted. Planned Parenthood blames the measures on COVID-19, but staff members claim the affiliate was in financial trouble long before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

In June 2019, PPGNY was formed<\/a> by merging five Planned Parenthood affiliates:\u00a0New York City,\u00a0Nassau County, Mid-Hudson Valley, Mohawk Hudson, and Southern Finger Lakes. But according to the Times Union, less than a year after the merger, the affiliate was “projecting a $6.2 million deficit for the first six months of the year and a $10 million deficit for the full year.” Earlier this week, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York President and CEO Laura McQuade cited the COVID-19 pandemic as “an incredible strain on our resources” in a letter to staff. She also said “financial modeling showed losses for the affiliate ranging from $20 million to $32 million for the remainder of the year, depending on how long the pandemic lasts and its impact on fundraising.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Abortion giant Planned Parenthood seeks PPE donations during COVID-19 pandemic<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Sadly, these losses will be catastrophic for PPGNY if we do not take steps now to reduce the financial impact on our organization,\u201d the Times Union quotes McQuade as saying.<\/p>\n

But former staff told the Times Union that “the crisis gave leadership cover to implement layoffs and closures it had already been planning” — a charge PP’s leadership denied.\u00a0Despite the consistent claim that health care access is important for their patients, staffers said the abortion corporation had made “no effort to keep offices open, even one or two days per week.”<\/p>\n

The move follows an announcement<\/a> that PPGNY had begun to roll out Telehealth services. “PPGNY\u00a0is\u00a0proud to\u00a0launch virtual health care services\u00a0to connect\u00a0patients\u00a0to\u00a0our trusted providers\u00a0without having to visit a health center,” PPGNY\u00a0wrote<\/a> in a press release. But perhaps the real reason for the move to “virtual” services is the closure (at least “temporarily”) of a dozen facilities.<\/p>\n

\"Image:

Planned Parenthood Greater NY telehealth tweet<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the\u00a0Times Union<\/a>:<\/p>\n

None of those locations are in the Capital Region, where the affiliate operates seven centers. Centers that have closed are located in the Bronx, Glen Cove, Goshen, Hornell, Kingston, Massapequa, Monticello, Oneida, Rome, Staten Island and Watkins Glen. A mobile health center that operates out of Nassau County has also closed…. The temporary closure of health centers will leave some communities… with no nearby options for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing or abortion services, according to staff at those centers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Image:

Planned Parenthood Greater NY closes facilities temporarily<\/p><\/div>\n

PPGNY spokeswoman Jacquelyn Marrero blamed the deficits on a drop in “non-abortion visits” and the cancellation of major fundraising events due to COVID-19. But she also claimed that while abortion visits dropped slightly, they began to recover in mid-March and the affiliate saw an “uptick” in early April after the affiliate began to receive “referrals” from other providers focused on COVID-19. In addition,\u00a0Marrero hinted at a loss in revenue due to a “slow down” in “philanthropic giving.”\u00a0Live Action News has documented<\/a> how abortion is a huge source of revenue for Planned Parenthood affiliates nationally. In addition, during Planned Parenthood’s fiscal year ending in June 2019, support for the abortion corporation showed a national decline<\/a> of nearly 400,000 individual donors.<\/p>\n

Marrero told the Times Union that 135 staff members were laid off, 111 were furloughed, and 35 received reduced hours. “Reductions were not specific to any one location and impacted all departments,” she said, noting that the goal is to “bring back furloughed staff once the organization stabilizes…. The facilities will reopen, Marrero\u00a0said, as the pandemic and risk of infection recedes.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Nearly a dozen California Planned Parenthood abortion business close during COVID-19<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood CEO Chelly Hegan also expressed a drop in revenue, and is reportedly attempting to “raise $100,000 by the end of April to help offset those losses.”<\/p>\n

This isn’t the first time in which Planned Parenthood staffers went to the media to expose<\/a>\u00a0the corporation’s cracking foundation.\u00a0Live Action News has reported<\/a>\u00a0how the employees exposed<\/a>\u00a0the abortion giant’s long-held secrets, inner workings, and toxic attitudes, including:<\/p>\n