Planned Parenthood Clinics Are Stripped of Affiliation After Complaints - NYTimes.com : A financial and administrative meltdown in recent years has led to the end of one of the largest Planned Parenthood affiliates in the United States. Patients visiting Planned Parenthood’s eight clinics in San Francisco and four other Bay Area counties often encountered wait times exceeding two-and-a-half hours. Shortages of critical supplies, including intrauterine devices, meant some patients were turned away. Doctors, nurses, midwives and physician’s assistants complained to the national organization about low morale and a hostile work environment at Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, the local affiliate that owned and operated the clinics.
Interviews with current and former staff members and executives of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, as well as documents obtained by The Bay Citizen, show a health organization that was unraveling under the strain of financial distress, even as it portrayed itself as a robust institution that attracted high-profile supporters. Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s leaders said the organization was undermined by a poor economy and lack of support from the national organization.
More than 100 local affiliates pay dues to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which operates an (800) number and a Web site connecting patients to the clinics in their area. Affiliates use the Planned Parenthood name, as well as the organization’s medical standards, guidelines and educational materials; they get discounts on supplies, like contraceptives, and support with fund-raising.
CEO Harrison won the admiration of wealthy donors and board members, who praised her as an innovative leader whose vision for social justice extended far beyond the Bay Area, even leading her to forge a partnership in Ethiopia to try to improve reproductive health care there. Yet many staff members saw Ms. Harrison and her team as out of touch with their daily realities, creating a dysfunctional corporate culture. Some former employees still hold occasional get-togethers dubbed the “P.P.G.G. P.T.S.D. Support Group.”
Financially, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate did not measure up to its public profile. According to a 2007 internal report by the national organization, its finances were the worst among the top 10 largest affiliates in the country. Planned Parenthood Golden Gate failed to meet four out of nine indicators of financial health that year, the report said. Some of those benchmarks — like maintaining 60 days of cash on hand — had not been met for years.
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