September 19, 2010; Source: San Francisco Examiner | A group of nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area that previously specialized in prenatal care isn’t letting the fact that they’ve been dropped as affiliates of Planned Parenthood slow them down. In fact, the group now known as Golden Gate Community Health, and which operates seven centers in six Northern California counties, says being cut from Planned Parenthood’s orbit will allow it to offer a broader range of services—for men as well as women.

Formerly known as Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, the group received word last month that the national organization was severing its ties. The national office offered little more of an explanation than it wants to “strengthen its administrative resources.”

Therese Wilson, Golden Gate Community Health president and CEO, says the freedom to operate outside the restrictions previously imposed by Planned Parenthood will let the organization address “plenty of other unmet needs in the Bay Area.” Wilson adds the nonprofit clinics can begin attracting more men and families for STD prevention, methods of birth control, and other sex-related clinical needs.

Ironically, the change in status will now put Golden Gate Community Heath in competition with other clinics still part of the Planned Parenthood Network. To Wilson, that’s a good thing. “You can never have too much health care,” she said.—Bruce Trachtenberg