Repro Hero of the Week: New Orleans Women’s Health Center
Since the spring of 2007, women of New Orleans have had a new place to access much- needed, affordable women’s health services. The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic (NOWHC), a project of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence New Orleans, opened its doors in May of 2007 with the mission:
“To equip marginalized and underserved women with the means to control and care for their own bodies, sexuality and reproduction through a holistic, community-centered well women approach to healthcare which integrates sexual health and reproductive justice.”
Their opening came in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which left many previously marginalized and underserved women with even less access to basic women’s health services. Not surprisingly, recovery efforts have been slow (one year after the storm, all the public family planning and STD clinics remained closed leaving 15,000 without care). However, the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic has been proactive—not waiting for a previously lacking healthcare infrastructure to be rebuilt.
Instead, they are challenging the accepted norms of sub-par care and offering an alternative comprehensive model of care to the women of New Orleans, regardless of their ability to pay. Since opening less than two years ago, NOWHC has served over 350 clients, offering a sliding scale for services through their Women’s Health Fund. The sliding scale at NOWHC puts health services within the reach of many women who otherwise could not afford them. Currently NOWHC offers a range of women’s health services including pap smears, pelvic exams, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy testing, preliminary obstetric visits, and contraceptive services. Recent partnerships with the Latino Health Outreach Project and CAMP ACE have also allowed for Spanish language services as well as free HIV testing at the clinic on a weekly basis.
In addition to the health services offered, NOWHC is more than a place to access affordable care. As Shana Griffin, organizer with INCITE! New Orleans explained in an August 2006 interview:
“It’s more than providing healthcare services it’s also about challenging the conditions that limit our access and our opportunities, such as poverty, racism, gender-based violence, imperialism, and war. We see it as more than just a clinic, we want it to also be an organizing center that can meet immediate needs while also working for racial, gender, economic, and environmental justice.”
If you’re interested in advancing the goals and efforts of NOWHC, send an email to nowhc_info@yahoo.com for more information on ways you can help.