NEICAC Board votes to continue operation of its Family Planning Clinic in Decorah

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation operates a Family Planning Clinic in Decorah.  The clinic provides voluntary Family Planning services in Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties.

In the last 20 years, the dollar amount of the grant it receives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has not increased by so much as one dollar.  As a result, last year NEICAC had to spend around $100,000 of its own funds to keep the clinic open.  That led to talk of closing the clinic.

However, the staff of the clinic has been able to do a better job of getting insurance reimbursements to cover cases where federal funding doesn't pay the bills.  As a result, the clinic's latest projected deficit has shrunk to $56,000.

Monday evening the NEICAC Board of Directors discussed whether the agency can afford to keep operating the family planning clinic.  Six community members joined the discussion.  They were part of a group that had organized an on-line petition asking NEICAC to keep operating the clinic--a petition that drew 500 signatures in three days.

Encouraged by the petition signatures and by the declining deficit, the NEICAC Board has agreed to spend $56,000 of the agency's money to cover the clinic's deficit.

NEICAC officials also hope the show of community support can be turned into a fundraising campaign in the near future.