MON-192 Improving Transgender Care through Comprehensive Wellness Program in the Endocrine Division: First Year Experience

Transgender individuals are medically underserved in the United States. Based on the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 19% transgender population were refused healthcare, 50% had providers with no knowledge of transgender care and 28% had to delay medical care because of discrimination based on the sexual orientation [1]. The Friedman Transgender Health and Wellness Program (FTHWP) was established in 2017 at Lenox Hill Hospital to provide clinical, legal and social services to transgender individuals. These services include pediatric and adult endocrinology services, primary care, mental health, gynecological services, HIV/AIDS testing and care, referrals for hair removal, vocal cord training and gender confirming surgery, legal services, specialty referrals and social work assistance. There were 10 participants at FTHWP in June 2017. The number of participants increased to 60 by September 2018. The patients’ ages range from 11 years to 80 years old. 32 are Caucasians (53%), 13 are African American (21%), 10 are Asian (16%) and 6 are Hispanic (10%). 29 patients are trans-male, 28 patients are trans-female, 4 patients are gender-fluid. 39 patients have received previous hormone therapy, while 22 patients initiated hormonal therapy in our program. From this limited initial experience we concluded that the demand for comprehensive transgender medical services exists and that the patients display diverse demographic and clinical characteristics. Endocrinologists are well positioned to establish transgender health centers because of their background in both internal medicine and hormone therapy. Reference: [1] Grant JM, Mottet LA, Tanis J, Harrison J, Herman JL, Keisling M. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; 2011.