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TELEPHONE: (904) 398-8005
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3599 University Boulevard South, Building #1200, Jacksonville, Florida 32216
Telephone: (904) 398-8005
Toll-Free: (800) 733-7993
Recorded Info: (904) 399-4804
Dr. Patrick Kelly
Professional Abortion Services and
Gynecology Care in Jacksonville, Florida
NARAL protects and fights for continued women's rights. Your support and awareness are crucial to women's ability to continue to have safe and accessible women's health care services.
For information on pro-choice legislation and issues, please visit NARAL at www.prochoiceamerica.org
FAQs
Abortion Care Facts - Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions and answers to many patient concerns
Does having an abortion affect my ability to get pregnant in the future and does having more than one abortion have any harmful effects to my body?
This is the most common question and concern we encounter from patients seeking a pregnancy termination and D and E procedure, for a very obvious reason. This is what anti-abortion activists want you to believe, even if it is simply not true. They want you to be scared.
It is important to realize and accept that no woman ever wants to be faced with the decision to have an abortion, not even once. But it is accepted within our knowledgeable society that almost 1 of every 2 women will be faced with this decision. Gynecologists know this. Physicians know this. And the educated community knows this. Unplanned pregnancies are simply part of reproductive behavior. There is no fault to place, and no blame to lay, as the knowledgeable medical community knows and accepts the fact that sexually active women will get pregnant at unpredictable and often impossible times. After a woman has an abortion, the most common emotion is to feel and adopt a sense of relief and comfort. This is how the vast majority of women feel after an abortion. Of course we can couple this sense of relief with a hope that this situation will not arise again, and that is perfectly normal. But statistically it may. You can't avoid the unpredictable, and many women are faced with several unplanned pregnancies in their lifetime, at many different times and under many different circumstances. But because anti-abortion fanatics share the common goal of purposefully deceiving and scaring women seeking professional abortion care or advice, they commonly make completely untrue and often absurd statements about the impact that the D and E procedure used to perform an elective abortion will have on a woman's future. Anti-abortion fanatics will twist information, and state outright untrue statistics. All designed to put fear into a woman at this most vulnerable time.
The scientific medical community has studied the impact and effects of elective abortions on women and have concluded that "Fertility is not altered by an elective abortion." (See Hogue CJR: Impact of abortion on subsequent fecundity. Clin. Obstet. Gynecology 13:95, 1986). This means that having an elective uncomplicated abortion does not affect your ability to have or carry a pregnancy in the future. In addition, more than one abortion is essentially no different than the first. This risks are extremely low no matter how many D and E procedures a patient has had in her lifetime.
The scientific medical community has studied the impact and effects of elective abortions on women and have concluded that "Fertility is not altered by an elective abortion." (See Hogue CJR: Impact of abortion on subsequent fecundity. Clin. Obstet. Gynecology 13:95, 1986). This means that having an elective uncomplicated abortion does not affect your ability to have or carry a pregnancy in the future. In addition, more than one abortion is essentially no different than the first. This risks are extremely low no matter how many D and E procedures a patient has had in her lifetime.
Is the abortion procedure painful?
This is another common question that patients have, and the answer to this question is actually very simple. It simply depends on the type and amount of anesthesia used to assist in your comfort. Due to the fact that there are still some older non-physician owned clinics offering abortion procedures that don't have effective anesthesia available, they may try to convince patients that they do not need anesthesia and will only experience "cramps" or other minimal discomfort during the surgical abortion procedure. This almost always means that they do not provide or have the ability to provide effective anesthesia sedation to make patients comfortable. Experienced and caring physicians always try their best to make patients as comfortable as possible, if they have the ability to do so. While it is possible to tolerate this type of surgical procedure without anesthesia, we feel there is no reason a patient should be in pain and it can be an extremely uncomfortable or even a traumatizing experience to have a surgical procedure without the comfort of modern sedation. With the availability of safe and effective medications in an outpatient setting, trained doctors use these medications to keep patients as safe and comfortable as possible. Additionally, without effective sedation and patient comfort, the risks of complications can be increased significantly.
When this surgical procedure is performed using effective IV sedation, the surgical abortion procedure is essentially painless. This reason this question is still very common in this field because up until about 5-10 years ago, the abortion procedure was commonly performed in many abortion clinics using either just Nitrous Oxide Gas, or by only injecting numbing medicine (lidocaine) into the cervix to attempt to reduce with the pain associated with the cervical dilation. This is the reason that in the past, the surgical abortion had developed the reputation of being a painful and uncomfortable experience. As access to safe medication by trained professionals with proper skills have improved over the past decade, doctor owned and run medical centers like ours with qualified physician medical care providers have eliminated the surgical pain by now providing effective IV sedation to patients.
What are the differences between IV sedation, general anesthesia, and Nitrous Oxide?
This can be very confusing to patients, as some abortion clinics still do not provide IV anesthesia to patients or only provide ineffective options such as Nitrous oxide or local numbing as an attempt to provide pain relief. They might even give you a valium orally to help relax you but this does nothing for pain control. Unfortunately, it is still common that some smaller or non-physician run clinics fail to completely inform patients as to the significant differences between these anesthesia techniques and medicines, and due to a lack of training or the inability to offer IV sedation, patients can end up being awake and alert while undergoing an uncomfortable abortion procedure. In modern times with the availability of trained and experienced doctors providing abortions at facilities like Florida Women's Center, we hope this practice will become and thing of the past and we are recognized within the medical community as able to reliably provide anesthesia to keep patients safe and comfortable. To do this, proper anesthesia is required.
First of all, general anesthesia is a rarely used extreme anesthesia method which really is designed for complex surgical procedures, not minor procedures such as a surgical abortion. General anesthesia is essentially an "overdose" of medications designed to either paralyze and/or incapacitate a patient, which is necessary for many types of lengthy and invasive operations. Since patients are unable to breathe on their own under general anesthesia, a tube usually must be placed down their throat (trachea) to allow a ventilator machine to breathe for them. Because there are many serious complications which can occur under general anesthesia, it is essential that a second physician, known as an "anesthesiologist" be present in addition to the physician performing the surgical procedure. General anesthesia is almost never necessary for a surgical abortion and is usually only safely administered in hospitals by doctors trained in anesthesiology.
Second there are several ineffective methods that some older clinics may use. The most common would be to use only Nitrous Oxide gas, or call their anesthesia method "Twilight", which is really just a made up term. Nitrous oxide is an weak breathable gas which causes a temporary feeling of dizziness and lightheadedness which is often used by dentists to help with injecting numbing medicine into teeth or as a supplement to IV anesthesia. Nitrous is a rather ineffective and unpredictable form of anesthesia, and is not designed to be used alone during a surgical abortion or other true surgical procedures. Generally, the only reason a clinic would offer this as their sole option of "anesthesia" is if they do not have the ability to provide IV anesthesia. Some facilities without proper medical supervision or monitoring ability may not provide IV anesthesia to patients seeking a surgical procedure. In order to provide safe anesthesia, a facility must have advanced technical monitoring, a qualified staff, and increased physician expertise and understanding of the anesthesia medications and their effects. While this lack of providing patients with modern care options is very old-fashioned and hopefully becoming a thing of the past, there are still a few clinics in operation that don't provide patients with all anesthesia options. It may be a sign that the facility has not kept up with current modern medical techniques and standards or the physician that they employ to provide services lacks training and experience to provide sedation safely.
In modern clinics, IV sedation is the current standard method for surgical pain management of an abortion procedure. With the availability of safe, fast acting, and effective medications, the abortion procedure has become painless. But IV sedation must be effective and predictable to maintain comfort and safety. Unfortunately, some facilities may offer IV sedation that lacks the necessary components to achieve effective results. In other words, just because a clinic offers medicine in IV form, doesn't mean it is the proper type or dose to effectively achieve patient comfort. If a clinic facility is only offering "Versed" or "Valium" in IV or oral form alone, this type of anesthesia may cause some amnesia, hypnosis, or relaxation, but it does not provide any relief from the pain associated with the procedure. This Versed or Valium alone is again, not surgical anesthesia, and it is actually used commonly for "premedication" and pre-surgery anxiety relief. True pain control requires narcotics with the hypnotics such as versed or valium, because versed or valium alone does not to provide actual pain relief during a surgical procedure. At Florida Women's' Center, Dr. Kelly's additional specialized residency training in the field of anesthesia allows a professional understanding of combined IV agents and the safe and proper uses for various surgical procedures. Florida Women's Center offers exceptionally effective and predictable anesthesia by selecting individual combined IV medications to eliminate any anxiety and discomfort related to a surgical abortion procedure. Our increased level of care, professional training, and expertise allows our facility to uniquely provide this option very safely in a physician monitored setting, which has virtually eliminated the pain and anxiety of the surgical abortion.
Is anesthesia dangerous?
As with all medical care, there are inherent risks. All physicians know and recognize this fact. IV anesthesia is very safe and predictable if administered by a trained physician in a properly monitored medical setting. As an example, at Florida Women's Center our trained physicians have never had an adverse outcome related to anesthesia administration.
Is the abortion procedure dangerous?
Is the abortion procedure dangerous?
As with all surgical procedures, a surgical abortion should only be performed by a physician with the appropriate experience and training. Just being a licensed medical physician doesn't make a doctor qualified to perform all surgical procedures safely. As with all types of surgeries, the nuances and nature of the "D and E" procedure (dilation and evacuation) used in performing an abortion must be learned and understood to provide safe care. And then nothing replaces experience and actual practice. Experience and a medical practice that includes this procedure as an option to patients is an extremely important factor in keeping the abortion procedure so safe. Fortunately now there are physicians who dedicate the majority of their practice to providing safe and comfortable abortions in the few facilities structured like ours at Florida Women's Center. When an abortion is provided by an experienced pro-choice physician, it is known to be one of the safest surgical procedures in the United States. As a comparison, a surgical abortion performed in the first trimester is approximately 10X safer than carrying a pregnancy to full-term for delivery. While there are known and accepted inherent risks to all medical care and surgeries, these risks are minimized and rare when an abortion is performed by an experienced doctor.
Are there differences between the facilities offering abortions?
Are there differences between the facilities offering abortions?
Of course there are, just as there are differences between many other different businesses and other physicians offering medical services. The reason that there are differences has a lot to do with the fact that there are now becoming two types of abortion providers.
The first type of medical practice providing actual abortion procedures and options is the modern physician owned and directly operated private-type practice like Florida Women's Center, where a trained and experienced physician runs the medical practice first hand, and controls the medical care and patient care as is standard in professional medicine. There are no gimmicks, no menu-type labels or offers of free things. Just professional, experienced, and affordable medical care being provided by dedicated medical doctors. This is how we at Florida Women's Center practice medicine and strive to provide the highest quality professionally delivered care possible.
The second type is the older standard abortion clinics that are run or even owned and operated by a person or persons who are not actual medical doctors and do not have any formal professional medical training or medical licenses. There are also chain-type abortion providers with various offices in multiple cities and states, operating under the same or several different business names depending on the area. Just as there are significant differences between the qualifications of the owners and operators of these two types of facilities, there are also likely significant differences in the policies and care provided due to the fact that many abortion clinic facilities are owned, operated or even possibly supervised by non-medically trained individuals or business owners. While some of these business owners are understandably respectfully supportive of a women's right to choose and pro-choice issues, some of these owners are simply not doctors, not trained or licensed in medicine, and not able to directly provide professional medical care or services at a physician's level of expertise. This requires them to hire outside physicians and designate a "medical director" to even obtain an operating license to allow abortions to be performed in their facility. This medical director must be a currently state licensed medical physician and they must hire physicians to perform abortions, often on a part time basis if doctors are available and willing or able to assist them. If these non-physician owned clinics have difficulty finding a physician to provide services for them, it may result in the hiring of physicians with less experience, part-time providers, or even doctors who are still in training. The level of experience of these independently contracted physicians will depend on many factors and will range from very inexperienced physicians (which may still be in residency training or referred to as "B/E" or "board-eligible"), to physicians with significant independent experience in traveling from clinic to clinic to work intermittently between the shifts of their regular profession. Commonly, these types of clinics only offer abortion services during the first trimester of pregnancy, but some do still offer terminations for more advanced or complicated pregnancies if they have met the proper advanced state licensing requirements.
Florida Women's Center is the first type of medical provider of abortion options and gynecology services. We are operated as private large medical and surgical office with direct ownership and operation by only an actively licensed and practicing medical doctor who provides actual care to the patients. Dr. Kelly and Florida Women's Center have obtained the highest level of advanced state licensure to provide all levels of legal abortions and can provide care for both 1st and 2nd trimester pregnancy terminations. All care is provided directly and only by physicians who are known to be proficient and exceptionally experienced in the abortion field, with no on-site training of inexperienced doctors or nurse-practitioners. Our strict hiring policy ensures that all surgical doctors possess the necessary skills and significant experience to provide only safe and reliable abortion procedures. In facilities like ours, and due to our extensive physician owner experience, we are able to handle even some of the most complicated and advanced surgical termination procedures, including patients with complicated medical conditions and patients with unfortunate fetal anomolies. We provide safe termination options well into the 2nd trimester if needed and routinely terminate advanced pregnancies that are referred specifically to us by area OB/Gyns and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists in the Florida, Georgia, South Carolina for unfortunately occurring and diagnosed fetal abnormalities. Our physicians realize the importance and duty to provide the highest level of private, professionally managed, and comprehensive care and abortion options.
Florida Women's Center is the first type of medical provider of abortion options and gynecology services. We are operated as private large medical and surgical office with direct ownership and operation by only an actively licensed and practicing medical doctor who provides actual care to the patients. Dr. Kelly and Florida Women's Center have obtained the highest level of advanced state licensure to provide all levels of legal abortions and can provide care for both 1st and 2nd trimester pregnancy terminations. All care is provided directly and only by physicians who are known to be proficient and exceptionally experienced in the abortion field, with no on-site training of inexperienced doctors or nurse-practitioners. Our strict hiring policy ensures that all surgical doctors possess the necessary skills and significant experience to provide only safe and reliable abortion procedures. In facilities like ours, and due to our extensive physician owner experience, we are able to handle even some of the most complicated and advanced surgical termination procedures, including patients with complicated medical conditions and patients with unfortunate fetal anomolies. We provide safe termination options well into the 2nd trimester if needed and routinely terminate advanced pregnancies that are referred specifically to us by area OB/Gyns and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists in the Florida, Georgia, South Carolina for unfortunately occurring and diagnosed fetal abnormalities. Our physicians realize the importance and duty to provide the highest level of private, professionally managed, and comprehensive care and abortion options.
This is modern abortion care. This is also one of the main reasons that the field of abortion care has advanced so significantly over the past decade, since Florida Women's Center first opened its doors. At Florida Women's Center, you are getting care from a known experienced physician, and not a clinic with an unknown physician. You get to know your physician and the medical community knows and respects our level of care and professionalism. If you have a question or concern after the procedure, your issues are addressed with the physicians, and not just nurses, non-physician owners, or phone staff providing advice on procedures they have never performed. You are treated by a known, experienced, and compassionate doctor and treated as a patient with the respect and understanding that every woman deserves.
Can someone be with me at all times during my abortion?
Can someone be with me at all times during my abortion?
As with all medical procedures, there are places that patients can go and non-patients can't. Professional medical practices don't allow partners or friends to enter specific areas like recovery rooms and surgical suites. As you can understand, these are highly regulated, clean, and confidential areas which demand constant attention by our medical staff. We provide comfortable waiting areas, reading materials, and cable TV for partners, family members, and friends.
Why do some facilities say expect the visit to be several hours, and others have shorter appointment times?
Why do some facilities say expect the visit to be several hours, and others have shorter appointment times?
This must be very confusing to patients, because there are so many excuses different clinics have as to why it takes so long to complete an abortion procedure. The answer is actually not complex at all because it is all simply about how patients are scheduled in many standard abortion clinics. Most delays are due to the fact that in standard older-style abortion clinics, everyone is scheduled at the same time. This method of scheduling makes your appointment on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you get there at you scheduled time, you may have to wait for hours to be seen. Also, if they don't have a regular physician, patients may have to wait for the part-time independent physician to arrive, sometimes after finishing their primary job. Sometimes, this wait can be for several hours, There are also many standard abortion clinics that only offer services on certain days, since contracted physicians are not always available, or at very unusual times of the day. This can result in large groups of patients being scheduled all at the same time on these days. In these environments, usually everyone gets the same appointment time and depending on when you arrive in line, your wait can be hours long. There are even clinics that make patients come for two visits, or make them watch old-fashioned out-or-date videos about the abortion procedure, sometimes in uncomfortable groups with other patients. This is how it was done 20 years ago, and there are still a few clinics in operation that operate like this. Fortunately, patients now have more options then they did back then.
In private facilities like Florida Women's Center, an early first trimester surgical procedure usually takes less than 5 minutes once it has began. It generally takes approximately 30 minutes for a preoperative evaluation, physician provided ultrasound, and to provide each patient with appropriate information. After the procedure, the vast majority of patients recover from the brief procedure and effects of anesthesia within an hour. This total time period is usually less than 2 hours, which is how long this surgical procedure generally takes if you are obtaining care from a fully staffed physician practice providing abortion options on a regular basis. Of course, some patients may choose and have the option to rest a little longer and others may not need quite as long, but for the most part, the entire visit is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
At Florida Women's Center, we feel that all patients should be treated personally and privately with only one-on-one care and always be provided the the personal ability to ask private questions. We know that all patients are different and this personal experience should be kept as private and personal as possible. Our physicians are available when you are scheduled and we don't have delays or cancellations that are common in clinics due to the unexpected conflicts in the standard abortion clinic's physician's regular practice or the inability to obtain an outside physician for the pre-scheduled day. This can be very frustrating for a patient seeking medical care at this important time period. Many patients drive several hours to obtain medical care for an abortion and there is nothing worse than having the clinic tell you there has been some issue that in that clinic that has caused them to not have a physician on that day. That is simply not respectful of a patients time or emotional energy spent in getting there, and should never occur.
This is one of the most important differences between standard old-style abortion clinics and physician run facilities like Florida Women's Center. Our respectful modern physician managed approach makes sure every patient has an individual appointment to keep her visit as comfortable, confidential, and pleasant as possible. Our facility has a full-time dedicated physician staff working every day to provide continuous and reliable professional medical services.
At Florida Women's Center, we feel that all patients should be treated personally and privately with only one-on-one care and always be provided the the personal ability to ask private questions. We know that all patients are different and this personal experience should be kept as private and personal as possible. Our physicians are available when you are scheduled and we don't have delays or cancellations that are common in clinics due to the unexpected conflicts in the standard abortion clinic's physician's regular practice or the inability to obtain an outside physician for the pre-scheduled day. This can be very frustrating for a patient seeking medical care at this important time period. Many patients drive several hours to obtain medical care for an abortion and there is nothing worse than having the clinic tell you there has been some issue that in that clinic that has caused them to not have a physician on that day. That is simply not respectful of a patients time or emotional energy spent in getting there, and should never occur.
This is one of the most important differences between standard old-style abortion clinics and physician run facilities like Florida Women's Center. Our respectful modern physician managed approach makes sure every patient has an individual appointment to keep her visit as comfortable, confidential, and pleasant as possible. Our facility has a full-time dedicated physician staff working every day to provide continuous and reliable professional medical services.
Is the medical care and abortion procedure confidential?
A physician-patient relationship is one of the most confidential relationships in the United States. All doctors have an ethical and professional obligation to maintain complete confidentiality of patient's care. This trust and understanding that confidentiality is maintained is what allows patients to confide in doctors and allows the doctor to be fully informed to provide the best care possible. Our confidentiality protocols are among the highest in our field. We have very strict verification procedures and no information leaves our office without identification and a patient's personal signed request.
Is your facility private?
Is your facility private?
This is one of the biggest concerns for patients. Florida Women's Center was specifically chosen for its private location and offers the most private setting available in Jacksonville. When obtaining a sensitive medical procedure, no one should be burdened by running into people they know or seeing them in a facility during a time when privacy and confidentiality are so important. Clinics located in smaller cities where there is only one facility offering abortion services are exceptionally vulnerable to privacy problems. These standard abortion clinics can often be the focus of anti-abortion protestors who dramatically and inappropriately interfere with women's rights and ability to obtain medical care.
Florida Women's Center was specifically designed to provide one of the most private settings in the North Florida and the South Georgia regions. We offer the highest level of privacy possible. We are located in a completely private medical hospital complex with no public thoroughfare. As the complex is all privately owned, there is no public traffic, picketing, or pedestrian loitering allowed in our private medical complex.
Is it normal to be scared to get an abortion?
Florida Women's Center was specifically designed to provide one of the most private settings in the North Florida and the South Georgia regions. We offer the highest level of privacy possible. We are located in a completely private medical hospital complex with no public thoroughfare. As the complex is all privately owned, there is no public traffic, picketing, or pedestrian loitering allowed in our private medical complex.
Is it normal to be scared to get an abortion?
Of course it is. Most people are scared to undergo any surgical procedure, no matter how minor it is. With all the common scare tactics used by anti-abortion groups, and the continual distribution of extremely inaccurate information and non-scientific statements on the internet and even in the media, it is completely understandable and a normal response to have various levels of fear and apprehension when you have made a decision to have an abortion. Unfortunately, the field of abortion medicine is one of the only medical fields where non-medical individuals inappropriately believe they have a right to actively interfere with a woman's choice to make a confidential and very personal medical decision. As a way of interfering with a woman's choice, they use fear tactics and attempt to scare you.
Deceptive "pregnancy crisis centers" or "pregnancy help or information centers" who claim to offer "free" pregnancy advice, ultrasounds, and assistance, are also a significant source of deception. These facilities are simply designed to lure women in to scare them with inaccurate statements about the abortion process and their personal decisions. The information they provide is often extremely inaccurate and very deceptive. If a clinic ever attempts to encourage you not to "trust" other physicians or abortion providers, don't let that scare you. They are simply attempting to confuse you through deceptive advertising or by providing deceptive advice. Fortunately, these deceptive and anti-choice tactics are easily recognized by most women seeking abortion services.
Just realize that you are going to be fine. Recognize that it is very important to choose an experienced full-time abortion provider. If you have questions concerning abortions, ask a doctor who regularly performs them to get the proper answers. When you arrive at your appointment, don't be scared to talk to the doctor and if you have fears or concerns, realize this is normal. Tell the doctor what is on your mind and you will get the answers you need. Most likely, your fears will disappear. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. No one is better able to help you understand these issues as well as a caring and experienced medical physician who provides abortions for patients. We are well aware of all your concerns and we are very sensitive to all the issues you are having. As always, we look forward to exceeding all your expectations and helping you in every way we can.
Deceptive "pregnancy crisis centers" or "pregnancy help or information centers" who claim to offer "free" pregnancy advice, ultrasounds, and assistance, are also a significant source of deception. These facilities are simply designed to lure women in to scare them with inaccurate statements about the abortion process and their personal decisions. The information they provide is often extremely inaccurate and very deceptive. If a clinic ever attempts to encourage you not to "trust" other physicians or abortion providers, don't let that scare you. They are simply attempting to confuse you through deceptive advertising or by providing deceptive advice. Fortunately, these deceptive and anti-choice tactics are easily recognized by most women seeking abortion services.
Just realize that you are going to be fine. Recognize that it is very important to choose an experienced full-time abortion provider. If you have questions concerning abortions, ask a doctor who regularly performs them to get the proper answers. When you arrive at your appointment, don't be scared to talk to the doctor and if you have fears or concerns, realize this is normal. Tell the doctor what is on your mind and you will get the answers you need. Most likely, your fears will disappear. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. No one is better able to help you understand these issues as well as a caring and experienced medical physician who provides abortions for patients. We are well aware of all your concerns and we are very sensitive to all the issues you are having. As always, we look forward to exceeding all your expectations and helping you in every way we can.
