Our Goal

To provide access to family planning services and contraceptives of choice to help reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies among women and girls in Dallas County.

Our Challenge

Throughout the community, the need for contraception, sex education and sexual health care is outpacing the availability of these services. Cost and availability are big reasons why, as are the patient’s ability to make time for an appointment, and even having the ability to get there. We’re out to change all of that.

Our Solution

Already, Parkland is working to enhance accessibility at its ten women’s health centers by extending clinic hours, including offering Saturday and evening clinic hours. Additionally, Parkland has also procured a new mobile Family Planning van. In partnership with Dallas College and other community stakeholders, we will deploy this van to serve areas with limited clinic access.

As the delivery site for nearly one-third of all babies in Dallas each year, we’re also increasing access to care postpartum. Parkland will broaden the range of postpartum contraception options available to labor and delivery patients, with a particular emphasis on Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) like IUDs and hormonal implants. This enhancement will occur prior to patient discharge, eliminating the need to wait for an appointment and enabling quicker access to contraception, all while reducing the occurrence of unintentional repeat pregnancies.

What’s Next?

Parkland Health is currently investing $10 million each year to support our Family Planning programs. We plan to raise an additional $12.5 million to expand the program, providing access to Family Planning services and contraceptives of choice for nearly 30,000 women in Dallas County. This funding will help support the sustainability of our Family Planning program for years to come.

Learn More

Discover more about family planning here.