Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida and Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida have merged to create one unified statewide organization called Planned Parenthood of Florida. It will be led by Alexandra Manado, who steps into the CEO position after 18 years in high-level roles, including president and CEO, at Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida. 

“Our state and national health care landscape is calling on our organizations to take bold action to address health disparities, improve outcomes and meet the diverse needs of our communities," Barbara Zdravecky, interim CEO at Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said in a press release announcing the merger.  Zdravecky was the organization's president and CEO from 1993 until 2018, when she retired. She stepped back into the interim CEO role in 2020.

"I am incredibly proud of the work our affiliate has done over the last 60 years to provide and protect health care access for the patients we serve," Zdravecky continued. "With this merger, our unity will strengthen our ability to face these challenges for decades to come.”

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida has been operating since 1966, operating 10 health centers and serving clients—particularly women, at-risk populations and LGBTQIA people—in a 22-county service area. In Sarasota and Manatee counties, it provides health care for more than 5,000 people, including sexual and reproductive health care, counseling and education, cancer screenings, birth control supplies, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, including HIV, vasectomies, abortion care, menopause care and more, according to data from The Giving Partner. It also provides outreach services to youth, specifically kids ages 12-19 years of age, about sexuality and responsible decision-making. 

“It’s so important, as adults, that we make spaces that support young people,” Kira-Lynn Ferderber, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida outreach educator and community liaison, told us last year. “We need to talk to people in their adolescent years about anger, coping strategies, boundaries and communication and we can only do that if they are safe and feel listened to and heard.” 

The new Planned Parenthood of Florida is expanding its access by expanding both service days and daily hours at several of its health centers, along with providing more telehealth options, to address increased need throughout the state and the social and economic factors affecting its patients' well-being. Planned Parenthood Florida leadership also says that a unified statewide presence will allow the organization more opportunities to "advocate for health equity, protect reproductive rights and respond to the state's shifting political and healthcare landscape."