In recognition of National Pride Month, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln today announced the opening of its new comprehensive Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice, dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) patients. The new practice at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the South Bronx will provide culturally responsive health services to LGBTQ New Yorkers and address barriers that contribute to health disparities among LGBTQ youth and adults. The new Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice joins the public health system’s five Pride Health Centers, building on a commitment to the LGBTQ community that has earned NYC Health + Hospitals national recognition as “Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.”
The health system will also host a number of activities during Pride month, including hosting COVID-19 vaccine mobile units in front of NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson, which houses one of the system’s Pride Health Centers. Expanding access to care for LGBTQ adolescents and adults is part of the health system’s broader strategy to build a competitive, sustainable organization that will continue to offer high-quality and accessible health care to the people of New York City.
“The new Gender Affirming Practice at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln continues to fulfill our commitment to providing every single New Yorker the most culturally sensitive and comprehensive care possible,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. “Everyone should feel comfortable, confident, and welcomed at their health care home.”
“This is the beginning of a journey to become a certified center that provides comprehensive, inclusive and equitable services to members of the LGBTQ community,” said Akinola Fisher, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Ambulatory Care, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. “The environment in our Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice is welcoming, respectful, and patient centered. We are proud to nurture these important community relationships that recognize people for who they are.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson will have a Test & Trace Corps COVID-19 vaccine mobile unit outside of the clinic on Monday, June 21 and Monday, June 28 from 8AM-6PM.
The new Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice, which will have sessions on Thursdays, will provide LGBTQ-affirming care to the South Bronx community by providers specially trained in the care of LGBTQ patients. Services will include primary care, gynecology, initial general consultation, hormone therapy, surgical consultation, behavioral health, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). In addition, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) preventive services are available during clinic hours and through the hospital’s emergency department.
NYC Health + Hospitals has long been a leader in caring for LGBTQ patients and continues its commitment to providing staff with specialized trainings to ensure LGBTQ patients who seek care at any location across the health system receive responsive health care in a welcoming environment.
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Pride Health Centers are:
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
462 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10016
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
227 Madison St., New York, NY 10002
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson
34 Spring St., New York, NY 10012
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
1901 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10029
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan was the first public hospital to open a health center dedicated to the health care of LGBTQ patients and last year announced the expansion of health services for transgender patients, including gender-affirming surgeries and increased access to hormone therapy. In addition to the Pride Health Centers, NYC Health + Hospitals will continue to provide services to LGBTQ youth through their Bridge Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson Health Center, which offers a one stop shop for adolescents’ medical, mental health services and other support services, with specialized expertise in servicing this audience.
NYC Health + Hospitals is one of 22 health systems to be designated “Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The system has received the designation every year since 2015 for providing equitable, knowledgeable, and affirming care to the LGBTQ community. In 2011, NYC Health + Hospitals became the first public healthcare system in the United States to mandate a Cultural Competence Training program for staff, and the first to offer clinical providers a Certificate of Advance Training in LGBTQ Healthcare with the Fenway Institute. These programs are designed to build capacity to have respectful, patient-centered and culturally competent healthcare services to LGBTQ New Yorkers who are served by the public hospitals, community health centers and nursing homes each year. Videos, such as “Partners in LGBTQ Health Care,” help staff better understand LGBTQ patients to improve access to healthcare and reduce health disparities related to sexual orientation and gender identity. NYC Health + Hospitals continues to offer training sessions for all staff in the system, including its LGBTQ Sensitivity Workshops for hospital police, delivered by the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau’s LGBT Outreach Unit.
In 2018, NYC Health + Hospitals created new electronic medical record fields related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender pronouns, and, further, included an organ inventory in the record. This information is an important aid to clinicians and non-clinical staff providing optimal patient care as well as play an important role in creating positive patient environments.
Patients can make an appointment at any of the public health system’s Pride Health Center by calling 844-NYC-4NYC.
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