Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center is our Share-Our-Plate recipient this May. They are an independent, non-profit comprehensive family planning clinic and gynecology health care provider. As the only Title X (federal family planning program) agency in Boulder County, Women’s Health primarily serves low income, uninsured, or underinsured people who experience barriers to accessing health care. For 40 years they have been a leader in providing high quality, comprehensive care for their patient population, responding quickly to fill gaps in the safety net of care for individuals who are most in need. In 2012, they served nearly 5,000 unduplicated patients at their clinics in Boulder and Longmont. In addition to their comprehensive services for adults, their specialized Youth Services program offers free comprehensive, medically-accurate, and culturally appropriate sexual health educational presentations to middle and high school aged students, as well as free Teen Clinic hours. In 2012, they reached almost 15,000 youth via clinical service, classroom presentations, outreach events, and a broad array of unique youth-specific technology initiatives. According to County Health Rankings, there were 1,585 teen births in Boulder County in 2012. Regardless of age group, averting unplanned pregnancies greatly reduces health and welfare costs in Colorado.
