CT, R.I. Planned Parenthood agencies merging

Planned Parenthood organizations in Connecticut and Rhode Island are merging to more efficiently meet growing demand for health-screening and education services in both states.

Planned Parenthood of Southern New England will continue to run 18 health centers in Connecticut and one in Providence once the merger is finalized as early as July, said Judy Tabar, president and chief executive officer of New Haven-based Planned Parenthood of Connecticut.

The Rhode Island Department of Health and that state's attorney general are reviewing the merger application, Tabar said.

In Connecticut, the combined nonprofit organization, whose largest health centers are in Hartford, Bridgeport, Manchester and New Haven, must file for a name change with the Secretary of the State, she said. Boards of both organizations voted to merge in January.

Other Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide have merged in response to pressures to steward dwindling resources, shrinking their ranks to 95 from 120 in the past five years, Tabar said.

With a $22 million budget and 230 employees, Planned Parenthood of Connecticut provides pre-natal and health-screening and pregnancy prevention, parenting and sex education services to about 62,000 clients annually. The Rhode Island affiliate's $2.8 million budget covers 22 workers and approximately 7,000 clients, Tabar said.

The merger is the result of talks dating back last summer, after the struggling Rhode Island organization reached out to Connecticut for help managing its operations, she said.

"As we worked together,'' Tabar said, "we realized the opportunities to streamline operations and economies of scale. It was a way to put our resources into direct service.''

Savings will come from consolidating administrative, technical and fund-raising operations and sharing best practices of both organizations, she said. A dollar estimate was not immediately available.

Founded in 1923, Connecticut is the nation's third oldest in the Planned Parenthood network and the 10^th largest based on its annual budget, Tabar said. The Rhode Island affiliate opened 78 years ago.