"Supporting Transgender Patients: Collaborating For Truly Transformational Care" - Susan Northover
Transgender Americans too often face discrimination and stigma in the health care system and avoid seeking care when they need it as a result. In a recent study by the National Center for Transgender Equality, one-third of transgender people who saw a health care provider in the year of the survey reported a negative experience due to their gender identity. And nearly one-quarter said they avoided seeking needed health care out of fear of mistreatment. A unique partnership that provides transgender patients with the complete array of care before, during and after gender affirmation surgery aims to change the equation. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York has nurses specifically trained to care for patients who undergo these procedures. There are more than 100 home care nurses and rehabilitation therapists from this organization. Most of the patients this team cares for, received surgery, as well as comprehensive pre- and post-operative care, from the Mount Sinai Health System, whose Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery is one of the first of its kind in the country. “It’s transformative, it’s affirming, and it’s also scary,” said Zil Goldstein, MSN, assistant professor of medical education and program director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System, about the process of changing genders. “It’s a major body change. Whatever we can do to help mitigate the fear and shock of change helps our patients feel safe. This level of compassion and caring eases fear and discomfort.”
- Zil Goldstein, MSN, Assistant Professor, Medical Education, Program Director, The Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, The Mount Sinai Health System
