Planned Parenthood Great Rivers will close its Rolla health center to in-person appointments at the start of the new year and transition all services to telehealth, the organization announced Tuesday in a news release. The closure takes effect Thursday.
The Rolla location has operated for decades, serving patients in south-central Missouri. Planned Parenthood said the shift is intended to maintain care in the region while consolidating physical resources. Clinics in Springfield, the St. Louis area and southern Illinois will remain open for in-person visits.
The organization cited reduced funding, legal restrictions and ongoing provider shortages as contributing factors. Planned Parenthood officials said federal “defund” efforts and Missouri’s decisions to block Medicaid reimbursement for certain services have strained operations. Despite this, the organization said it has continued to serve Medicaid patients at its own expense.
Telehealth will now be the primary point of care for Rolla-area patients, offering services such as birth control, emergency contraception, gender-affirming care, menopause care, STI prevention medications like PEP and PrEP, UTI treatment and vasectomy consultations. Patients needing in-person care will be directed to the Springfield location. Planned Parenthood said all staff members from the Rolla clinic will be retained to support the transition.
“Our patients are our north star,” Margot Riphagen, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said in a news release. “Shifting Rolla fully to telehealth enables patients to continue receiving the sexual and reproductive health care they trust while ensuring our long-term sustainability amid repeated attacks against sexual and reproductive health care in Missouri and across the country. We have never, and will never, waver in our commitment to prioritizing our patients, no matter what.”
