Program areas at Family Planning Council of Iowa
Family Planning Council of Iowa is a nonprofit organization that distributes federal title x Family Planning funds to serve 55 or Iowa's 99 counties. Through title x, the clinics fpci partners with provide reproductive healthcare services to adolescents and adults, with priority given to those with low incomes. Fpci has a provider network of 8 subcontracts and works closely with its 15 partnered clinic sites across the state to ensure patients receive the confidential reproductive health and Family Planning services they need. Fpci is committed to helping all people achieve their reproductive goals by allowing them to control if and when they become pregnant. To achieve this goal, fpci focuses on community education, outreach, and Family involvement in addition to clinical services. These efforts occur at the state and local level to make the public aware of Family Planning services as a part of an overall health promotion and disease prevention strategy. Fpci makes efforts to establish meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with community organizations around the state. Fpci has participated in local events and conferences to engage with community members and distribute educational materials and reproductive health resources. Additionally, fpci has collaborated with universities and colleges to share resources and educate students on ther reproductive health options. Evidence-based health education services are provided on a variety of topics, including contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and healthy relationships. While Family Planning services benefit individuals and their health outcomes, they also lead to broader financial benefits. In 2022, spending 2.85 million on Family Planning costs resulted in 17.7 million in net savings. In 2022, 15,278 iowans received title x-funded Family Planning services through fpci's clinic sites. These services prevented 2,800 pregnancies, 950 abortions, 530 miscarriages, and over 200 cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea. As part of the program, 2,339 pap tests and 2,438 clinical breast exams were provided in Iowa. Additionally, 16,344 sexually transmitted infection tests and 5,434 hiv tests were completed. These services are provided to all people who desire them regardless of their ability to pay. 77% of those served had household incomes below 250% of the federal poverty guideline; 47.1% of those served had household incomes below 100% of the federal poverty guideline.
Training and the provision of information are an important components of assuring access to high quality reproductive healthcare. Fpci develops and provides programs and events that give educational information and training on health issues to healthcare professional and to the general public. During the year, fpci sponsored a day-long training event for healthcare workers with 75 participants. Through fpci's community education programs with the subcontracting agencies, 13,933 individuals participated in 1,492 community education programs. Services were also promoted through social media programs with over 1,500 followers collectively. Fpci has taken a proactive role in outreach with the distribution of free reproductive health kits around the state. These kits include condoms, personal lubricant, pregnancy tests, emergency contraceptive pills, and a resource guide with sexual and reproductive health information specific to Iowa. Over 1,700 kits have been provided to title x clinics, universitites, and community organizations. More than 300 kits were ditributed at events, and over 150 have been mailed directly to individuals across Iowa. By circulating these kits, fpci is making vital reproductive health resources available to communities and individuals who may encounter barriers to access.
The Family Planning Council of Iowa is a partner in the national effort to implement prevention strategies to reduce complications, especially infertility, caused by chlamydia. The community-based screening services project is a cdc-sponsored initiative that brings together sexually transmitted infection programs and Family Planning programs to identify young women with chlamydia or gonorrhea and treat them and their partners under the direction of staff across the state, including Family Planning clinics, sti clinics, student health departments, correctional facilities, and other women's health centers. In fy 2022, 32,427 test were conducted through this project.
The Family Planning Council of Iowa continued to receive funding to establish a centralized data system to collect and analyze subrecipient clinic data. All subrecipients are successfully submitting data to the platform monthly for review and identification of opportunities. The system supports continuous quality improvement and simplifies the annual submission of the required federal Family Planning annual report.