Planned Parenthood to Shutter St. Johnsbury Clinic

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England plans to close its St. Johnsbury clinic this June in an attempt to cut costs amid mounting financial pressures.

The clinic is among only a few reproductive health care providers in the Northeast Kingdom but has been posting significant losses that the nonprofit can no longer afford, according to Jessica Barquist, the organization’s vice president of public affairs.

The clinic sees far fewer patients — 688 in fiscal year 2024 — than any of the nonprofit’s other centers and has repeatedly flooded, resulting in costly building maintenance. 

“We felt like this was the best decision for our long-term sustainability,” Barquist said.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which serves Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, closed five other Vermont clinics in 2022, citing financial problems.

But the budget gap has widened in the years since. Last fall, the nonprofit announced that it was projecting $8.5 million in losses over the next three years, which its leaders attributed to rising costs and stagnant reimbursement rates.

The nonprofit has greatly expanded its telehealth services so that it can keep serving rural populations where it is difficult to maintain a physical presence, Barquist said.

St. Johnsbury patients who need in-person appointments can visit one of the six other Planned Parenthood clinics around Vermont. They can also ask to be referred to other local health care providers.

Many other Planned Parenthood affiliates are eying their own closures. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, for instance, recently announced that it was selling the building that houses its only brick-and-mortar clinic in all of Manhattan.