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Planned Parenthood North Central States Announces Footprint and Staffing Changes as Dangerous Attacks on Care Continue [1]

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Date: 2025-06

St. Paul, MN—Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) announced today that it will close and consolidate eight health centers with 66 staff members impacted by layoffs and an additional 37 staff receiving offers of reassignment. This comes after strategic prioritization of cost savings through gradual attrition, resulting in the elimination of 35 additional positions. The restructure comes as patient needs and preferences have changed, the broken aspects of our health care system have intensified, the organization’s Minnesota Title X funds have been frozen, and the U.S. House voted to advance a reconciliation package that defunds Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood North Central States is restructuring its footprint to build a strong network of health centers that consistently deliver expert sexual and reproductive health care, to meet patients where they are by providing online, virtual, and onsite care while expanding services to address critical gaps in our community’s care.



“My heart hurts as we announce the closure of health centers and the departure of trusted and talented colleagues, but our patients come first—always,” said Ruth Richardson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. “We have been fighting to hold together an unsustainable infrastructure as the landscape shifts around us and an onslaught of attacks continues. We know that many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood health center were to disappear from their state. Heart wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come. Make no mistake: care may look different but Planned Parenthood North Central States is here to stay."

In the coming year, PPNCS will reduce the number of brick-and-mortar sites to create regional centers for onsite care while continuing to invest in virtual and online care. The impacted health centers are:

Ames Health Center – Ames, Iowa

Alexandria Health Center – Alexandria, Minnesota

Apple Valley Health Center – Apple Valley, Minnesota

Bemidji Health Center – Bemidji, Minnesota

Cedar Rapids Health Center – Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Richfield Health Center – Richfield, Minnesota

Sioux City Health Center – Sioux City, Iowa

Urbandale Health Center – Urbandale, Iowa

That will leave 15 health centers within PPNCS along with virtual care that is available 7 days a week and currently serves almost 20,000 patients a year.

In April, Planned Parenthood North Central States was notified of a $2.8M freeze from Title X in Minnesota, the nation’s only federal program dedicated to providing affordable birth control and other reproductive health care to people no matter the person’s income or insurance status. The Health and Human Services budget now proposes additional severe cuts, including the elimination of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program which provides over $773k annually for education and outreach in Iowa and Nebraska. Meanwhile, Congress is advancing a reconciliation package that would defund Planned Parenthood and slash Medicaid—threatening access to care for the more than 30% of our patients who rely on Medicaid, among other impacts.

This is all happening amidst state-level attacks, the near-total abortion ban in Iowa significantly changed how many Iowans could access abortion care in their home state. In the six months after the ban, the number of abortions in Iowa dropped 60%, while Iowans traveling to Nebraska and Minnesota increased 239%. While medically unnecessary waiting periods and ultrasound requirements continue to drive up costs for patients and abortion providers. In Nebraska, a backdoor procedural abortion ban looms large in the last days of session. And in Minnesota, state politicians obsessed with attacking Planned Parenthood put pressure on the Minnesota legislature to cut state funds that empower Planned Parenthood patient care.

Like all health care providers, Planned Parenthood is working within a broken health care system. Reproductive care deserts are growing as infant and maternal mortality rates rise. Reimbursement rates remain stagnant as the cost of providing care increases. Common staffing shortages among health care providers are made more intense by OBGYN shortages in states with abortion bans and increased threats to staff as the Trump administration limited the enforcement of the FACE Act that protects our patients and staff from harassment and violence. While more patients seek health care without insurance or the resources to pay for their care.

The final network of health centers and virtual care currently serve 82% of PPNCS’ patient population, and data from previous health center closures show that even after a health center closure, thousands of patients continue to access care at Planned Parenthoods in their own state via virtual care and remaining nearby health centers. Planned Parenthood is committed to working with patients to adapt to new ways of accessing care.



Clarification added May 24, 2025: Most services will be moved out of the eight (8) health centers by July 1, 2025. When services stop at Ames, IA they will start being scheduled at Planned Parenthood’s Des Moines, IA (medication abortion only) and Iowa City, IA (medication and procedural abortion) health centers.

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Planned Parenthood North Central States and its subsidiary organizations provide, promote, and protect reproductive and sexual health through high quality care, education, and advocacy. A member of America’s most trusted reproductive health care provider, our affiliate is proud to support and operate health centers across our five-state region (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota). Each year, we provide health care to more than 93,000 people and health education to more than 58,000 people in our region.

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[1] Url: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-north-central-states/about-ppncs/media-relations/planned-parenthood-north-central-states-announces-footprint-and-staffing-changes-as-dangerous-attacks-on-care-continue

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