Axis will provide these services as a Title X Program grantee through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). San Juan Basin Public Health previously managed Title X care for Archuleta and La Plata counties, and the two agencies are working closely together to ensure a smooth transition for current clinic patients.
Established in 1970, Title X (“Title Ten”) provides affordable birth control and reproductive healthcare to people with low incomes who couldn’t otherwise afford healthcare services on their own. However, this program goes far beyond providing contraception. The Title X Program seeks to improve the health of pregnant women and infants and men and adolescents who seek family planning services for birth spacing and family size. It provides support for those who may not have access to care due to financial limitations, fear of parental or spousal reprisal, or abusive relationships.
The Axis Sexual Health & Family Planning Program is now available through appointments at La Plata Integrated Healthcare in Durango (970.335.2288) and Pagosa Springs Integrated Healthcare (970.264.2104) in Pagosa Springs. The following confidential services are available at the clinics:
- Contraception to help people plan and space births, and prevent unintended pregnancies
- Pregnancy testing and counseling
- Helping patients who want to conceive
- Providing basic infertility services
- Pre-conception health services to improve infant and maternal outcomes and improve women’s and men’s health
- STD screening and treatment services to prevent tubal infertility and improve the health of women, men, and infants
- Screenings and counseling for healthy relationship skills from adolescence through late adulthood, Substance Use Disorder, interpersonal violence, domestic abuse, human trafficking, child abuse, and behavioral health need.
- For more information, visit our Sexual Health & Family Planning page. You can also learn “What to expect at your family planning visit.”
“Becoming the Title X provider in Archuleta and La Plata counties consolidates the investment we have already made in high-quality family planning services,” said Dr. Luke Casias, Axis Health System’s Chief Medical Officer. “We are excited to better serve family planning patients and provide comprehensive health care in one location. Our integrated clinics will allow clients to receive their primary care, family planning, and related preventative health services in one location, avoiding splintered care.”
The national Title X program offers preventive health care to more than 3.9 million people who are most in need, with significant results.
- The affordable birth control that Title X provides helps prevent one million unintended pregnancies each year.
- Title X-funded services mostly serve people with low incomes who couldn’t otherwise afford healthcare on their own. The majority of Title X patients have incomes at or below the poverty level ($25,100 for a family of four in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC).
- The Title X program fights healthcare inequity by serving populations that have historically faced significant barriers to care, including people of color. About 27% of Title X patients identify as Black or African American, and 33% identify as Hispanic or Latino.
- Title X helps people who are uninsured. Many people with low and middle incomes remain uninsured and have a greater need for publicly funded birth control and reproductive health care services.
- By giving people more control over if and when they have children, Title X allows them to have more control over their lives — including their health, careers, and economic security.
- Title X has saved lives with early detection of cancer through its affordable Pap tests and breast exams.
- Title X helps people screen for STDs and HIV and avert a host of other health issues.
- Title X federal funding also saves taxpayers money. For every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning programs like Title X, the government saves $7.09 in Medicaid-related costs.
The Axis Health System Sexual Health & Family Planning Program was developed (in part) with federal funds from the Office of Population Affairs grant FPHA080079.