Staffing shortages could strain abortion providers in Illinois

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, Illinois abortion providers worry they won’t have enough staff to treat a potential influx of out-of-state patients.

Staffing shortages could strain abortion providers in Illinois
A nurse practitioner works in an office at a Planned Parenthood clinic where she confers via teleconference with patients seeking self-managed abortions as containers of the medication used to end an early pregnancy sits on a table nearby Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Planned Parenthood recently started mailing medication to patients who qualify to receive them as Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. Jeff Roberson / AP Photo
Staffing shortages could strain abortion providers in Illinois
A nurse practitioner works in an office at a Planned Parenthood clinic where she confers via teleconference with patients seeking self-managed abortions as containers of the medication used to end an early pregnancy sits on a table nearby Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, in Fairview Heights, Ill. Planned Parenthood recently started mailing medication to patients who qualify to receive them as Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

Staffing shortages could strain abortion providers in Illinois

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, Illinois abortion providers worry they won’t have enough staff to treat a potential influx of out-of-state patients.

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Illinois hospitals and clinics are expecting an additional 20,000 to 30,000 patients a year, if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. But health care professionals say burnout and staffing shortages have reached crisis levels during the pandemic.

Reset discusses what this could mean for the future of abortion care in Illinois.

GUESTS: Kristen Schorsch, WBEZ’s public health and politics reporter

Dr. Allison Cowett, medical director of Family Planning Associates

Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Illinois