News and Stories: Madison Health Center Offering New Services to Patients Beginning July 22

(Indianapolis) – Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) today announced that its Madison health center, located at 220 Clifty Dr., will begin offering patients a number of new medical services on July 22.

Beginning the 22nd, the center will be providing its patients with the following services:

- Colposcopy, an examination of the cervix that utilizes a low-power microscope called a colposcope. This kind of examination is used to help diagnose abnormalities detected through Pap tests and to develop plans for treatment.
- Cryotherapy, an office procedure that rapidly freezes abnormal cervical tissue using liquid nitrogen.
- LEEP, a treatment option in which a fine wire loop with a special high-frequency current allows precise removal of abnormal tissue from a woman’s cervix.
- Implanon, a thin, flexible rod that is inserted under the skin of the upper arm and releases a hormone into the bloodstream. This is a long-term birth control option that protects against pregnancy for up to three years.
- Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUD/IUC) – sterile plastic device placed into the womb via the cervix. This excellent contraceptive option may be left in place for up to five or 12 years, depending upon the type chosen.

The Madison health center is now able to offer these services thanks to the generosity of a donor who recognizes the value of adding new reproductive health care options in the area. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 260 new cases of cervical cancer in Indiana this year. Colposcopy, cryotherapy and LEEP all help prevent abnormal cells from ever getting to that stage.

“It is gratifying to know that so many people share in our mission of providing comprehensive reproductive health care to Hoosiers,” said Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of PPIN. “Day in and day out we’re supported by people who truly care about others, and today we’d like to thank our kind donor, and so many others like him, for enhancing health care in the Madison area.”

Dr. John Stutsman, PPIN’s medical director, will be traveling once a month to Madison to make these new services possible.

In FY 2010, the Madison health center saw a total of 1,194 patients. Seventy-six percent of those patients were at or below 150 percent poverty.

To make an appointment with the health care professionals at the PPIN center in Madison, please call (812) 273-1172. Appointments for the new services are already being accepted.