This morning, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) announced a temporary closure of its Glenwood Springs clinic, effective immediately.
The organization’s CEO, Adrienne Mansanares, said a nurse practitioner’s departure prompted the closure. Without that provider, who is an advanced-practice clinician with prescriptive authority, the clinic cannot offer in-person services.
PPRM said they have hired a replacement for the nurse practitioner, but it still needs to train them before the clinic can reopen to in-person visits.
In an exclusive interview with Aspen Public Radio ahead of the public announcement, Mansanares said a nationwide reproductive health care staffing shortage made it more difficult to find a replacement provider.
“Because of the continued political attacks nationally, that limits the opportunity for people to become trained into this highly specialized care,” she said, referencing dwindling access to abortion care training. “There's fewer providers that are available in the market that are available and looking for jobs.”
The Glenwood Springs location is the only Planned Parenthood clinic on the Western Slope. The next closest clinic is in Salida, and there are several other locations on the Front Range.
Patients at the Glenwood Springs clinic will still have access to some telehealth services, including birth control consultations, prescriptions, medication abortion care, sexually transmitted infection treatment and gender affirming care.
Mansanares said PPRM is currently in negotiations with SEIU, the labor union which represents its clinic staff in Glenwood Springs.
“We are currently working with staff on temporary leave options and look forward to welcoming our team members back when operations resume,” PPRM spokesperson Fawn Bolak said in a statement on Thursday.
SEIU did not immediately respond to a request for comment before the time of publication.
An analysis from health research organization KFF in June found that 57 Planned Parenthood clinics across 20 states have closed permanently since President Trump’s inauguration. The report said federal and judicial policy changes have severely impacted Planned Parenthood’s funding.
But Mansanares said that wasn’t a significant factor in the Glenwood Springs clinic’s closure. She said it mostly comes down to staffing challenges, which are more prominent in rural areas. To fill the staffing gaps, PPRM hires travel team members, but those positions are also difficult to fill.
“We have wonderful benefits and really great incentives for candidates who are willing to travel,” Mansanares said. “But that can be difficult, especially over the winter months, if we're thinking about mountain passes.”
In this interim period, Mansanares said PPRM will help refer patients who need in-person care to other local providers and provide transportation support to other Planned Parenthood locations, like in Salida or along the Front Range.
PPRM said it expects to reopen the Glenwood Springs clinic in late fall.
