Abortion and Reproductive Care Veronica Ades, MD, MPH, FACOG Vice Chair, Department of Ob/Gyn
What services do we provide at Jacobi when it comes to Abortion and Reproductive Care? How many patients do we see and treat in a year? NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi gynecologists provide comprehensive preventive and treatment services to patients throughout their lifespans. Our services include preventative gynecology such as pap smears, HPV vaccinations, and STI screening; adolescent gynecology; management of gynecologic conditions including uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and much more; comprehensive family planning services including contraception (i.e., birth control), abortion care, and miscarriage management; reproductive endocrinology and fertility; urogynecology (female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery); gynecologic surgery; and gynecologic oncology. All 11 of NYC Health + Hospitals acute care facilities – including NYC Health + Hospitals / Jacobi – provide abortion care with the option of both medication abortion and abortion procedures. In 2022 alone, Jacobi provided abortion care to just under 800 patients. People are seeing the headlines about abortion bans and the potential banning of Mifepristone; where do things stand within New York City and at Jacobi? NYC Health + Hospitals acute care facilities – including Jacobi – still offer medication abortion using Mifepristone. Regardless of the legal status of Mifepristone, we will continue to offer safe and effective medication abortion using alternative, well-studied medication regimens as necessary. Misoprostol-only regimens for medication abortion have been well-researched and endorsed by national and international organizations, including NAF and the WHO. While such regimens are generally not quite as highly effective as mifepristone-misoprostol regimens for medication abortion, efficacy and patient satisfaction are overall still relatively high. As a safety net hospital, we often see patients who are vulnerable and may not have family or social support for their abortion care. What are we doing to support these patients? in the summer of 2022, NYC Health + Hospitals hired a Reproductive Health Navigator to support patients in need of accompaniment with coordination of appointment scheduling; logistics related to transportation, lodging, childcare, and escort to the; and financial support for those patients who are traveling from outside of the five boroughs. In addition to this systemwide resource, Jacobi hired an Abortion Care Coordinator to support patients and providers. Many Jacobi employees work outside the field of abortion and family planning; what can they do to help? What is accurate information they can relate to their family, friends, and neighbors who could require these services? They can maintain community education and awareness of the comprehensive services offered at Jacobi/NCB, including abortion care. They can emphasize that people can get the full spectrum of reproductive health needs met at our facility. They can give our H+H phone number out widely so people can contact us: 1-888-NYC-4NYC.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | April 2023
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