Mary Rutherford, director of Lakeland pregnancy center, retires after 14 years – The Ledger

<p>LAKELAND — Mary Rutherford, among the many prominent voices in Polk County’s anti-abortion movement, retired Friday after 14 years as executive director of Choices for Women Pregnancy Healthiness Clinic in Lakeland.</p><p>Rutherford is succeeded by Marilyn Paul.</p><p></p><p><b>Concerning THE CENTER</b></p><p>Choices for Women opened in 1998 as Pregnancy Assistance Focus in a former residence on Hickory Street. The facility and others pregnancy centers guidance women facing unintended pregnancies. The centers do not perform abortions or recommend them.</p><p>Choices for Women provides pregnancy testing, restricted STD testing and sonograms, among others services, at no charge.</p><p>The Focus purchased its initial ultrasound machine in 2004 and 6 years later adopted a brand-new name and moved to its current location at 4435 Florida National Drive.</p><p>Rutherford’s husband, Dr. Richard Rutherford, previously offered as the center’s medical director, a placement now held by Dr. Jeffrey Puretz.</p><p></p><p><b>others CENTERS</b></p><p>Polk County has actually two others established pregnancy centers: A Woman’s Choice in Lakeland and LifeChoice Pregnancy Focus in Winter Haven.</p><p>Lake Wales Care Focus started a crisis pregnancy regimen last fall.</p><p>The neighborhood pregnancy centers are nonprofit agencies supported mostly by donations from individuals, businesses, churches and foundations. They Have actually restricted staffs and rely heavily on volunteers. The centers offer every one of their programs at no costs to clients.</p><p></p><p><b>Concerning RUTHERFORD</b></p><p>Rutherford said her husband retired at the end of last year as a doctor of internal and pulmonary medicine at Watson Clinic. She said it gained sense for her to join him or her in retirement.</p><p>Rutherford said Choices for Women has actually evolved from essentially a counseling Focus to much more of a medical facility throughout her time as director. The Focus has actually a nurse director and 3 certified sonographers.</p><p>“Building the medical section was really essential throughout the years I was here, and I had the assist of pleasant donors and additionally pretty talented individuals, RNS, that came in to know exactly how to do sonography and were trained to do that at fairly a financial cost,” Rutherford said. “So we additionally had people supporting us.”</p><p>Rutherford said the Focus has actually persuaded much more compared to 3,000 women along with unplanned pregnancies to offer birth quite compared to having abortions due to the fact that opening in 1998. She said 243 women that visited that clinic last year gained that decision.</p><p>“I’m delighted Concerning being able to retire,” Rutherford said. “I’m not worried Concerning exactly how points will certainly go below (at the center). We Have actually a excellent board of directors and a excellent staff, so I believe every little thing will certainly merely get hold of better.”</p><p></p><p><b>Concerning PAUL</b></p><p>Paul has actually a varied occupation background. She said she offered as director of a children’s regimen at Lake Aurora Christian Camp in Lake Wales for 18 years and a women’s regimen there for several years.</p><p>Paul additionally has actually political experience. She said she ran George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns in Polk County in 2000 and 2004. Paul said she additionally worked on Jeb Bush’s gubernatorial campaign and the campaigns of others officials, including U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and state Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.</p><p>Paul said she hopes to usage her connections to build financial assist for the center.</p><p>“Attempting to reach out to the community is something I certainly will certainly do much more of,” Paul said. “I’m realizing there are a great deal of people that don’t already know that we’re here, to ensure will certainly be a substantial section of just what I’m doing, reaching out to businesses and individuals.”</p><p>— Gary White can easily be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. He blogs Concerning tourism at http://ift.tt/NCdoZb. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.</p>