Welcome to Northland

Here, we make the world a better place for women…
every day, every way, every action, every word.

ABOUT OUR HOME PAGE

We want you to experience the Northland difference, beginning here. Your personal experience of our care is so very important to us, so we want to tell you how we are different and how your care here will be different, too.

In this section you will also read about how our website is different; it looks different; it reads different. Our caring conversations start here. We work from our hearts and we want you to know what that means for your care.

Here, you are safe. Abortion surgery is considered one of the safest out-patient procedures when performed by trained physicians. This is specialty surgery, not a “lunchhour drop-in”.

Choose your provider as if your future depends on it... because it does.

Remember, ‘abortion care provider’ includes all of us - our physicians, medical practitioners and our full team of caring, dedicated people who come to us because of their compassion and who we train to be skilled medical and emotional support team members.

You will love the Northland difference.

Here, we care about the whole woman and you will find that makes us different.

PAGE CONTENTS

Click onto a section or scroll down through everything.

Message from Renee Chelian, Founder of Northland
Read Renee’s personal commitment to dignity and respect and the unique heart-focused care found only here at Northland.

Our Website is different, too.
Information is just the beginning. See what we’re up to.

We Believe
Read why our kind of care is so important, to your
total health and your life dreams.

We Promise
Northland’s special dedication to your individual needs and comfort with personal and holistic care is unique.

Our Vision and Mission of Care
Read this… You’ll feel better! This is what Northland is all about – how we care, how we work and how we live our lives.

Appointment Information
Click here – and call us. Start our conversation.

Message from Renee Chelian, Founder, Northland Centers

Would I want my daughters to be patients here?
How would I want this experience to be for them?
These are the guiding questions I ask myself and Northland staff each and every day.

In 1966, I had an illegal abortion. I was fifteen years old. I was blindfolded in a parking lot and taken to an abandoned warehouse. It was dangerous, dirty, degrading and frightening.

I understood at 15, as I do now that a pregnancy decision, whether it’s motherhood, abortion or adoption, is about families, however they are made up. And, even more, this decision is about a woman, no matter her age, facing the biggest responsibility of her life - when to be a mother.

Each pregnancy decision is a pivotal moment in our reproductive lives - not just about how does it feel to be pregnant or do I want to be pregnant, but can I be a mother now?

My Dad took me, to protect me as much as he could. Neither of us knew what would happen. My Mom was six months pregnant with my youngest sister. Dad was protecting my mother and offering me a second chance – for my dreams, for my future. I know what it is like to be pregnant and desperate not to have a child at that particular time. I was willing to risk my life for it. It was my choice, and one I have never regretted. I am so grateful to my brave parents because without them I could not have managed.

I knew that day, as I know and feel every day, that women deserve good, safe medical care in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

I faced many uncertainties at 15: fear of death, breaking the law and fear of jail for me and my parents, dangerous medical practices, dirty, unsterile conditions, not knowing who did my abortion, a forbiddance to ask questions but, I didn’t care. I was that desperate. My family talked, searched our hearts and we made a decision. No one else in the world could have made that decision for me, or us.

This decision IS about family: It’s about what a family can afford and handle.

It’s about parents understanding a daughter’s dreams and hopes for a future.

It’s about children already born and responsibilities to them.

It’s about families here now and to come in the future.

The discussion that centers on a woman’s right to an abortion is so much bigger than any debate OR any law. It’s about my heart, a woman’s heart, and both the right and responsibility of bringing a child into the world. I knew then, just as strongly as I know now, women of all ages need to make these decisions with people who care for them, people they trust.

So, when I opened the first Northland Center in 1976, I envisioned a place for women that honors our strength, trusts our hearts, listens to our dreams and cares for each of us as a whole person, not just a specialty medical practice that treats women’s uteruses.

I dreamed of a place that was so clean and so welcoming that any story of bad or illegal abortions would be washed away.

I saw a place that was pretty and felt personal, one that would show the women who came to us that we care, not just in what we say, but in how we look, what our space says about how we feel about women and how we treat ourselves and our patients.

I imagined a place that says we pay attention to how women actually feel being here in our space.

Here at Northland, we treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve.

These three Centers are my dream, my life and my contribution to making the world a better place for women. All of Northland is a part of me. So much a part, in fact, that I don’t know where I stop and the walls of these Centers begin.

Northland and I have seen many women grow up with us, including my own daughters and members of our staff. Today, we continue our commitment to the finest care and the most up-to-date technology and techniques. Even more, we offer you the personal control and choices for your care that you won’t find elsewhere.

I am planting this seed for change in your heart, so one day, all of us will call for this comfort, empathy and respect from all of healthcare. And, someday, we will come to expect it!

We are changing the world. Join us.

Renee

Renee Chelian lives her commitment daily. A founding member and current Board President of Michigan MARAL, Renee’s outspoken, honest and compassionate conversations about the realities of the abortion experience have made her a popular guest speaker at University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, the Michigan Women’s Political Caucus, N.O.W., Medical Students for Choice, the National Association of Women Business Owners and many more. Additionally, she has served as Board Member and Presenter with the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, the Abortion Conversation Project and the National Abortion Federation. Renee has taken on the threat to abortion care in Congressional and State legislative testimony and has initiated or joined legal challenges in order to protect reproductive rights for women here in Michigan and in the nation.

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Our Website is different, too.

You’ll notice right away this website, like our healthcare, is different. We’re more personal and more inviting, even online.

Oh, you’ll be able to find out all about each of our services and we have a great Resources section for deeper information and term papers, but more than that, we created this website differently.

Here, our words and thoughts show our commitment to change the way we talk about ourselves as women and to change the way our culture talks about women and pregnancy.

So, you may find new words, new ways of describing care. You may find you want to scroll down more so you don’t miss anything. You will find we speak to your head AND to your heart. Here, we tell the truth and welcome all feelings. Tears are ok and laughing, too. We don’t run away from conversations that are hard or painful. We honor the true voice that comes from your heart.

We honor women and all of our complexities.

A secret only hurts when it’s secret. Tell someone you trust. We’re here if you need us to listen. We know women’s hearts are both tender and strong.

Here, we work from our hearts and our hearts are open to yours.

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We Believe

To work here, you must truly believe the world is a far better place when women have the freedom to make their own decisions regarding their bodies, reproductive options and sexuality. Respecting and maintaining those freedoms is our mission.

That means we all work to protect the right of a woman to decide when and if she is ready to have sex, when and if she is ready to plan or prevent pregnancy, and, especially, when and if it is the right time to give birth to a child.

We are devoted to providing affordable, high quality reproductive health care services in a healthy, inspiring atmosphere. We encourage women to reach their own unique potential and live healthy lives.

And, here, all of us treat our patients, our friends and each other with the dignity and respect we all deserve.

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We Promise

Long ago, we recognized that we treat more than just a woman’s uterus. Our patients have emotions, feelings and fears. We approach health care by caring for the whole body and honor each patient’s spirituality as well. We’ve adopted a more holistic approach toward reproductive care utilizing low light, relaxing music, aromatherapy and guided imagery. Our patients, and our staff, love the warmth and the comfort found here.

Our counseling conversations are far beyond what the average health center provides. We strive to make sure that you are both informed and comfortable, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually, with your reproductive choices. Whether it is on-going care, birth control selection, a health screening check for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a pregnancy decision or an abortion choice, we want to hear your true voice – from your head and your heart.

Come in for a conversation, we promise you’ll love the Northland difference!

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Our Vision and Mission of Care

Northland Family Planning Centers
Yes, we are different.

Here, we make the world a better place for women,
beginning with ourselves, the caring women and men who work here and…YOU.

Here, you are valued.
We treat you with dignity and the respect you deserve.
We encourage you to take time to fully explore your pregnancy decision.
We listen with an open, unbiased mind and an open, supportive heart.

Here, you are safe.
We provide quality medical care, exceeding the highest professional standards.
We provide honest and accurate information.

Here, you are comfortable.
We care about the WHOLE you, not just your uterus, not just this pregnancy.
We’re here for ALL your reproductive health needs.
We use a holistic approach in a soothing atmosphere with a wide range of pain management choices.

Here, we support you and those you choose to share this experience with you...
your partner, your family, your friend.

You deserve the highest quality care.

You deserve to feel at peace with your decision.

You deserve the best.

We work from our hearts…and our hearts are open to yours.

Welcome to Northland Family Planning Centers.
We invite you, and those you choose, to join us.
Together, we are changing the world.

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Appointments

1-800-447-7354

©2000-2008 Northland Family Planning Centers
All rights reserved.
Last page update: 9/07