One of the city’s major health care partners is closing a pair of sexual health clinics in Brooklyn amid growing financial challenges.
Public Health Solutions, a Tribeca-based nonprofit, said Tuesday that it plans to shut down two reproductive health sites in Fort Greene and Brownsville in a phased transition that will be complete by April 6.
The nonprofit expects to lay off 31 workers as a result of the closures, according to a notice filed Wednesday to the state Department of Labor. Twenty-three of the staff members facing layoffs work at the Fort Greene clinic, while the remaining eight will be laid off from the Brownsville site.
“Our Brooklyn [Sexual and Reproductive Health] Centers have been a cornerstone of care for underserved communities for decades, and this decision was not made lightly,” Lisa David, president and CEO of Public Health Solutions, said in a statement. “Our priority now is to ensure a seamless transition for our patients and staff.”
Public Health Solutions, established in 1957 to work with the city, earned $321 million in revenue last year and holds city contracts worth up to $1.3 billion. It offers services such as HIV/AIDS care, food stamp application assistance and smoking cessation programs.
The organization’s two sexual and reproductive health centers provide a range of services such as birth control and emergency contraceptives, prenatal care, sexually transmitted infection testing and abortion. The nonprofit says the clinics serve roughly 4,000 women and men each year.
The nonprofit cannot continue to keep the lights on at its sexual health clinics because of declining patient admissions and a drop in funding, according to a press release from the organization, noting that patient volumes never returned to pre-pandemic levels and the portion of uninsured patients has gone up from 15% to 30%.
The sexual health clinics have also struggled to afford the rising costs of lab services, medications and equipment, while government funding and grants have remained flat or declined, the nonprofit added. The centers have also experienced staffing challenges; the sites have been without a medical director since March of last year.
Public Health Solutions will host a town hall at the Ingersoll Community Center in Downtown Brooklyn on Jan. 22 to discuss the closures and transition plans for patients and staff.
The Brownsville clinic sits within Brookdale Family Care Center at 1873 Eastern Parkway, part of the safety-net health system One Brooklyn Health. The Fort Greene clinic, at 295 Flatbush Ave., is located in the same building as one of the city Health Department’s health clinics but is not a part of the agency.
