“For many of our patients, telehealth is literally lifesaving.”
In response to the escalating attacks on sexual and reproductive health care nationwide, especially as hospitals around the state face potential closures due to federal budget cuts, Planned Parenthood of Michigan is expanding the hours of its telehealth services, allowing Michiganders to schedule appointments with their virtual health center seven days a week—including weekends, morning, and evenings.
“As we continue to navigate these difficult and uncertain times, we are working not only to meet the urgency of today, but to prepare thoughtfully for the future so that we can continue to fulfill our promise to provide care, no matter what,” said Paula Thornton Greear, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, in a statement.
While brick-and-mortar health centers remain a priority, Thornton Greear says that the telehealth expansion will help PPMI reach Michiganders who rely on them—especially those in rural communities, where in-person reproductive health care remains out of reach.
Related: Online reproductive health care is making a difference for rural Michiganders
“Our expanded telehealth services provide more options and represent a significant step forward, creating a scalable model that ensures more Michiganders can access care regardless of location,” Thornton Greear said.
In 2024, more than 10,000 Michiganders across the state accessed a variety of services through PPMI’s Virtual Health Center—including at-home testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control, emergency contraception, and gender-affirming hormone therapy via telehealth. More Michiganders are expected to use the Virtual Health Center this year, especially after PPMI successfully tested an expansion of the center earlier this summer.
“We’ve already seen more than 600 patients in our new morning, evening, and weekend hours, and we are reaching patients in areas across Michigan where we don’t have physical health centers, from the Upper Peninsula down to the Indiana border—and the feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Jess Agius, PPMI’s clinical director of telehealth. Patient response was so strong after the test that PPMI is considering expanding the program even further.
“For many of our patients, telehealth is literally lifesaving. Not only for patients who need abortion care and have few, if any, other options—but at a time when the trans community is under historic attack nationwide, we’ve had a number of patients tell us that telehealth is the only way they’ve been able to safely access the care they need to survive.”
To learn more about Planned Parenthood of Michigan’s telehealth services, visit ppmi.org/telehealth.
Related: Local advocates offer a message of hope for Michiganders using services at Planned Parenthood
