Newswire

Planned Parenthood Dedicates New Clinic

Planned Parenthood Dedicates New Regional Clinic

CARLSBAD, CA. -- A dedication ceremony was held Thursday at the new Planned Parenthood center in Carlsbad.

The 3,000-square-foot Isabella Center at 1820 Marron Road, Suite 110, was opened in the summer, but was dedicated yesterday. Its name was chosen by Jinx Ecke's children, Planned Parenthood officials said.

Jinx Ecke and her three children, including Paul Ecke III of Encinitas, donated $250,000 to help open the $340,000 center, said Keith Limberg, vice president of development for Planned Parenthood of San Diego & Riverside Counties.

The new center is open Monday through Saturday, replacing the smaller Oceanside Clinic. Available to the coastal North County region, the Isabella Center's services will include emergency contraception, birth control, counseling, gynecological exams, pregnancy testing, medication abortions and menopausal services, as well as services related to STDs, HIV, and hepatitis B.

Opposition to the new center is evident nearly every Friday when a small gathering of protesters aims several-foot-high signs with graphic abortion-related photographs at passing cars.

"It's kind of bothersome to drive by them ---- it's almost every single Friday," said Geri Hughes, an employee at Household Financial next door to the clinic.

But, Thursday night, clinic officials were in a celebratory mood. Their new facility next to the Westfield Shoppingtown's Plaza Camino Real mall is nearly 1,200 square feet larger than their old clinic in south Oceanside. It has five exam rooms, five offices, a lab, a lunchroom and two counseling rooms.

Instead of serving 25 people a day, it can take up to 50, clinic manager Jeanette Redden said.

That's important because of the regional demand for the center's services, said Keith Limberg, vice president of development for Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties.

The center, expected to serve 14,000 clients each year, is the only such clinic on the North County coast. It replaced the closed Oceanside center, which was half the size of the Isabella Center, Limberg said.

The Isabella Center is one of 18 health centers operated by Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties -- the second largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country.

-- Staff and wire reports

Posted by Editor at November 18, 2005 07:57 AM