(Photo taken from the Cortland County Health Department).
This is a press release from the Cortland County Health Department.
The Cortland County Health Department is announcing the closure of the Jacobus Center for Reproductive Health by September 30, 2020. Although the clinic will be closed as of that date, staff support in assisting current patients to transfer to other healthcare providers will continue until no longer necessary.
The Jacobus Center has been a beloved resource in the Cortland County community for many years. We have proudly provided quality services including family planning needs, education, preventative care, contraception, as well as STI evaluations and treatments for all of our residents. When this program began, the focus was providing reproductive healthcare services for community members who were uninsured, underinsured and low income because those services were not available in this community.
Interim Public Health Director, Lisa Perfetti, stated that the healthcare system in general has evolved and expanded. Many Cortland County area healthcare providers are now fully able to meet this need, and in fact are already providing these same services. We have seen a downward trend in visits to our clinic as residents are seeking this care in the community.
Perfetti also indicated that many county health departments in New York have experienced a transition from individual one on one health visits to population centered health activities. The Cortland County Health Department is no exception. Other recent successful transitions from the Cortland County Health Department to the community include the Home Care Agency, Hospice, Maternal Child Health Program and the MOMS program.
In view of these system-wide changes in healthcare, the Public Health Department had planned to slowly transition out of the Jacobus Center program over several months but the COVID-19 pandemic, recent staff resignations and the very recent retirement incentive announcement as a result of the county budget process has prompted this closure to be effective September 30th, 2020.
Current patients who require support to transition to local healthcare providers can call 607-753- 5027 for assistance. We are thankful to have been able to provide this service to our community and look forward to continued collaboration with local healthcare providers as we work together to improve the health of our community.
