Hospital Transgender Program Continues to Grow

International Transgender Day of Visibility: March 31

The planning started in earnest in 2016 when a special committee was tasked with developing a formal, comprehensive program to ensure that all LGBTQ individuals have access to the care they need. Since, the program has steadily grown, helping so many.

Middlesex Health System has always welcomed and treated everyone. By offering a formal transgender program, the Health System is able to formalize its efforts to better help members of the community.

In 2016, the Health System kicked off its planning effort by hosting a special medical symposium that featured a panel discussion and a presentation from Caroline J. Davidge-Pitts, an endocrinologist and specialist in transgender health at Mayo Clinic. A well-attended program that was open to the public followed the symposium.

Today, Middlesex has built a program that it is very proud of—one that positively impacts the community it serves.

Middlesex has a network of providers who work with transgendered persons to meet specific needs. This network includes primary care physicians, surgeons and other specialists. Middlesex works to coordinate services throughout its Health System and has revised policies and procedures and practices, addressed facility issues and provided education on transgender matters to staff and the community.

In addition, Middlesex also leads a gender discussion group, which is free and open to the public. It attracts people of all ages who are questioning gender identity, who are in the process of transition, who have gone through transition or who are allies to transgender persons. The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Bengston-Wood Hall Conference Room on the Middlesex Hospital campus in Middletown.

These are all actions that have resulted in better care for members of the LGBTQ community, and these actions are not going unnoticed. Middlesex is caring for more LGBTQ patients, and last year, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation scored gave Middlesex a perfect 100 on the Healthcare Equality Index and recognized its efforts by designating Middlesex Hospital as a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.” It was the only general acute care hospital in Connecticut to earn the honor.

For more information about Middlesex’s transgender program, visit www.middlesexhealth.org, or call 860-358-3460.