Lake County's first Planned Parenthood facility opens in Waukegan

Planned Parenthood opened its first facility in the North suburbs Tuesday with the launch of a medical office in Lake County.

The Waukegan Health Center, 1601 N Lewis Ave., is designed to serve patients from Lake County, McHenry County, northern Cook County, Chicago and Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

The other Planned Parenthood facilities in the Chicago area are in the city, Aurora, Flossmoor and Orland Park. Others are downstate.

The organization selected Lake County for its newest health center because it is the third-largest in Illinois and fifth-largest when it comes to residents without health insurance, officials said. The organization also is concerned about an increase in diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections in the county, officials said.

"The new Waukegan Health Center will help meet an urgent need in the community," said Laura Tucker, chairwoman of the Planned Parenthood of Illinois board. "By providing the full range of reproductive health services, community education and other needed resources, PPIL is poised to improve the region's overall health and wellness."

The center originally was set to open in March, but that was delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis, Planned Parenthood of Illinois officials said.

Because of the pandemic, the center will see patients on a limited basis for services it described as time sensitive, including birth control, testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and abortion care.

For more, visit ppil.org or call (877) 200-7745.