Help finding low cost female medical services, for friend

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crazzeto

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I have a friend who is uninsured and is in depesperate need of finding some good quality low cost medical services, preferably specific to women. She tells me she’s had her period 5 times in the last two months, being a guy I’m no expert but that sounds excessive to me.

Part of what motivated me to write this is she made the comment “I wish there was a planned parenthood near by”… I cringed when she typed that on IM to me. So, here’s a challenge to us pro-lifers, probably more specifically the women here since I’m sure the guys (like me) will tend to be less aware of services available. Where can a impovrished woman go, to be checked up for an issue such as this, that doesn’t involve in some way supporting planned parenthood?

And maybe if we can’t think of any such place, perhaps we can start some discussions about creating such places. I checked birth choice’s website first, but they seem to offer pregnacy related services and not much else. Maybe it’s time we started offering more complete women’s health clinics, at low cost?

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If it’s any help, she’s in Greenville NC.
 
She may want to visit an area hospital that works with a medical school. Sometimes they provide services that are supervised by attending physicians but performed by interns and residents for a low cost. Not all do this, but some do.
 
On another note, I guess what I was suspecting might be true. Perhaps we pro-lifers have a big hole in our evangalization effort, we don’t provide general health services. As long as women are going to Planned Parenthood to have their menstration (and other such reproductive) issues looked at, at low cost, with friendly care they’ve got a foot in the door.

Shouldn’t we be working harder to close that? Women like my friend aren’t going to want to put this kind of effort into finding a non-abortion involved business to get help. And in this case she’s still (unfortunetly) pro-chioce, and agnostic (praying for her still).
 
Most cities (even smaller cities) have free clinics for just such situations. I used to go to one. You have to provide a proof of income, or unemployment, welfare, etc. I didn’t have any income when I went, so no pay stub, and they just wrote down my income as zero, I didn’t have to provide proof. It wasn’t planned parenthood, it was through the department of jobs and families, like WIC. Yes, they did hand out condoms, wrote scripts for bc pills, and the like. But, so does every OB here within normal driving distance. I would have to go to one two hours away to find one who just did NFP. So, you pick your battles. She sounds like she really needs to see someone. I would be more concerned with her health at this point than where she is receiving care.

Also, has she applied for Medicaid? With that, she could go to just about any hospital or ob.
 
lada said:
Most cities (even smaller cities) have free clinics for just such situations. I used to go to one. You have to provide a proof of income, or unemployment, welfare, etc. I didn’t have any income when I went, so no pay stub, and they just wrote down my income as zero, I didn’t have to provide proof. It wasn’t planned parenthood, it was through the department of jobs and families, like WIC. Yes, they did hand out condoms, wrote scripts for bc pills, and the like. But, so does every OB here within normal driving distance. I would have to go to one two hours away to find one who just did NFP. So, you pick your battles. She sounds like she really needs to see someone. I would be more concerned with her health at this point than where she is receiving care.

Also, has she applied for Medicaid? With that, she could go to just about any hospital or ob.
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I asked her about that previously, she’s in a odd “no coverage” zone… Her husband makes just enough that they can’t qualify in NC unless she has a child.

His job (Police officer) won’t giver her cost effective insurance

Her husband, doesn’t want kids because he doesn’t feel economically ready
 
freemedclinic.org/ ~Columbia

Greenville Free Medical Clinic Map: needymeds.org/free_clinics.taf?_function=map&street=600%20Arlington%20Avenue&city=Greenville&state=SC&zip=29601&name=Greenville%20Free%20Medical%20Clinic

Their Facebook Page(Low budget, I know): facebook.com/pages/Greenville-SC/The-Greenville-Free-Medical-Clinic/42698314804

One thing that you should be wary about: You may want to warn her to be wary of doctors whose first priority is to give her birth control. They seem to do this a lot at free clinics, and it will only cover up her real problems. If she cannot get the medical help she needs there, I highly suggest you do as lada said above and look for a medical college hospital, where she may get lower rates.

Also, you can inquire about getting financial assistance if you ask around at Social Services, etc. Depending on her financial situation, she may qualify.
Here is the site: greenvilledss.org/

About the new med school:city-data.com/forum/greenville-spartanburg-area/784515-new-medical-school-greenville.html
 
DihydrogenOxide said:
freemedclinic.org/ ~Columbia

Greenville Free Medical Clinic Map: needymeds.org/free_clinics.taf?_function=map&street=600%20Arlington%20Avenue&city=Greenville&state=SC&zip=29601&name=Greenville%20Free%20Medical%20Clinic

Their Facebook Page(Low budget, I know): facebook.com/pages/Greenville-SC/The-Greenville-Free-Medical-Clinic/42698314804

One thing that you should be wary about: You may want to warn her to be wary of doctors whose first priority is to give her birth control. They seem to do this a lot at free clinics, and it will only cover up her real problems. If she cannot get the medical help she needs there, I highly suggest you do as lada said above and look for a medical college hospital, where she may get lower rates.

Also, you can inquire about getting financial assistance if you ask around at Social Services, etc. Depending on her financial situation, she may qualify.
Here is the site: greenvilledss.org/

About the new med school:city-data.com/forum/greenville-spartanburg-area/784515-new-medical-school-greenville.html
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I wish she would sympathise with your comments, but she’s pro Planned Parenthood and currently “pro-choice”. She’s bought it all hook line and sinker, in fact I’m having a conversation with her right now about it (b/c she knows I’m against PP).

And this is our hole, that I"m talking about. By providing these services, they effectivly white wash their image. Why are we allowing this? Why don’t we put more effort into ensureing Birth Choice can provide a wider array of services.
 
crazzeto said:
And this is our hole, that I"m talking about. By providing these services, they effectivly white wash their image. Why are we allowing this? Why don’t we put more effort into ensureing Birth Choice can provide a wider array of services.
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We is you and me.

Do you donate to your local crisis pregnancy center? Do you volunteer and work at fundraising for them?

I sent sent a donation over to my crisis pregnancy center just a few hours ago. I challenge you to do the same!
 
kage_ar said:
We is you and me.

Do you donate to your local crisis pregnancy center? Do you volunteer and work at fundraising for them?

I sent sent a donation over to my crisis pregnancy center just a few hours ago. I challenge you to do the same!
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I think you missed the point, this isn’t a crisis pregancy… It has nothing to do with a pregant woman, it has to do with an irregular period. Now if there are some crisis pregnacy centers which offer a service, which is not pregnacy related then great. But we have no national organization, which will help pull young women like my friend out of planned parenthood, in this speacial case.

My friend is convinced PP is an awesome orginization. Why? They give her free BC (instead of good information), and most especially because when she has an issue with her period (not pregant) she can go there for what she views as compassionate care, but a compassionate medical clinic.
 
crazzeto said:
My friend is convinced PP is an awesome orginization. Why? They give her free BC (instead of good information), and most especially because when she has an issue with her period (not pregant) she can go there for what she views as compassionate care, but a compassionate medical clinic.
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But honestly - what’s the difference between PP and any standard OB office regarding your friend’s problem? Not much. :o
You’d be shocked to hear how many cases of “irregular periods” are “cured” by prescribing the pill. It’s standard procedure from most doctors… whether fully insured offices or low-income clinics. 😦
 
Em_in_FL said:
But honestly - what’s the difference between PP and any standard OB office regarding your friend’s problem? Not much. :o
You’d be shocked to hear how many cases of “irregular periods” are “cured” by prescribing the pill. It’s standard procedure from most doctors… whether fully insured offices or low-income clinics. 😦
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The primary difference is the gigantic PR gain PP gets by offering the services, which is no doubt part of why they do it… You tend to less want to fight abortion adn oppose PP if you’re getting awesome affordable care from PP.

Would I be happier if ABC wasn’t involved, sure… But that quite frankly is another battle. The primary one is the one on abortion, and PP is getting a major victory by offering something the pro-life movement obviously isn’t even thinking about.
 
crazzeto said:
And this is our hole, that I"m talking about. By providing these services, they effectivly white wash their image. Why are we allowing this? Why don’t we put more effort into ensureing Birth Choice can provide a wider array of services.
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Just out of curiosity, I called our local catholic-sponsored women’s center. You can go there if you are pregnant and they will help you with prenatal care. You can go there if you have children and get supplies. If you’ve got a female issue that doesn’t involve pregnancy, you’re SOL. So, I do think you have a good point. Women need medical care whether they are pregnant, married, sexually active, young, old, etc. If we are going to try to keep women out of pp, then we have to provide a better alternative. We can’t point fingers at PP for providing services which the better catholic option is not willing to provide.

It’s business, really. We’re not going to draw in the “customers” if we can’t provide what our competition is providing. We’re limiting ourselves to prenatal and postpartum care, and that’s just a small margin of what women need.
 
crazzeto said:
I think you missed the point, this isn’t a crisis pregancy… It has nothing to do with a pregant woman, it has to do with an irregular period. Now if there are some crisis pregnacy centers which offer a service, which is not pregnacy related then great. But we have no national organization, which will help pull young women like my friend out of planned parenthood, in this speacial case.

My friend is convinced PP is an awesome orginization. Why? They give her free BC (instead of good information), and most especially because when she has an issue with her period (not pregant) she can go there for what she views as compassionate care, but a compassionate medical clinic.
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No, you missed MY point.

Our teeny limited resources are stretched so thin that all we can address is pregnancy on a “for free” basis. Get us funding, a bit of the 3/4 of a TRILLION- that is trillion with a T- in tax money that goes to Planned Parenthood, and we can expand services to a full spectrum of medical services.

We gotta support what we have before we can grow.
 
crazzeto said:
Would I be happier if ABC wasn’t involved, sure… But that quite frankly is another battle. The primary one is the one on abortion, and PP is getting a major victory by offering something the pro-life movement obviously isn’t even thinking about.
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It is thought about every single day. You find the money for it, donate us a facility would be a great start - and our center will offer it.
 
crazzeto said:
Thanks for that link, that’s a little bit of a drive from Greenville for her. But I’ll check there more closely.
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sorry I had greensboro in my mind, can’t place Greenville
there are two dioceses, Charlotte and Raleigh, and both have Catholic Social Services in several cities so it is worth a few calls, my point is they may also know where services are in her town
 
crazzeto said:
I wish she would sympathise with your comments, but she’s pro Planned Parenthood and currently “pro-choice”. She’s bought it all hook line and sinker, in fact I’m having a conversation with her right now about it (b/c she knows I’m against PP).

And this is our hole, that I"m talking about. By providing these services, they effectivly white wash their image. Why are we allowing this? Why don’t we put more effort into ensureing Birth Choice can provide a wider array of services.
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That’s a shame. 😦 Pray for her.

Yeah, it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but these places really do offer birth control and abortion services especially to low income women, to attempt to control the birth rate of the lower income class. Margaret Sanger, the woman who started Planned Parenthood had this in mind.

Birth Choice centers or Catholic, and sometimes Christian Pregnancy Centers have a wide array of services. The secular ones are the ones that have the extra death choices.
 
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