BUFFALO, N.Y. — Medical students at the University at Buffalo have compiled a list of resources for gender-affirming care as part of a partnership with Erie County to make it easier to find.
The webpage, LGBTQIA2S+ Healthcare Resources in Erie County was launched earlier this month.
“People who are seeking gender-affirming healthcare should know that our region has a solid foundation of clinical and medical resources,” said Erie County Health Commissioner Gale R. Burstein in a press release from the university announcing the webpage.
Burstein is also a clinical professor of pediatrics at UB's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The webpage lists healthcare professionals, contact information, and local resources for members of the LGTBQIA2S+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and 2-spirit).
Assistant Professor Elana Tal, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Jacobs School, and Burnstein worked together to meet with local clinicians and ultimately organized the group of students who created the webpage.
In UB's press release, Tal explained that it's often difficult for people who identify as LGTBQIA2S+ to find healthcare services without a referral.
“We were dismayed at how hard it was to find providers, but also pleasantly surprised by the depth and breadth of services being provided by physicians once we identified them. People were universally proud to be providing this care. The problem was the information wasn’t in any one place," she added.
The students have requested to continue their work through a social justice fellowship at the Jacobs School during the upcoming year.
Gender-affirming care providers interested in being included on the website can email elanatal@buffalo.edu.
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