At Jefferson, new program providing care for LGBTQ seniors

Jefferson Health is now offering a health program with services tailored for LGBTQ patients who are 55 and older at its clinic for seniors in Center City. The focus represents the first of its kind in the Philadelphia region, where several health systems are investing in the growing field of LGBTQ health.

The Pride clinic at Jefferson’s Center for Healthy Aging is focused on nuances of care of older LGBTQ patients that can be lost in other medical settings. Health providers can fail to order important screening tests for transgender and nonbinary seniors because of the way their gender identity is reported in the medical record system. For example, a physician might forget to order a prostate cancer exam for a trans woman or a cervical cancer for a trans man.

Jefferson’s approach also promises an inclusive space for LGBTQ patients. Everyone who works at the center, from the front desk to the clinical staff, underwent cultural competency training, said Michael Danielewicz, a family medicine physician and the program’s director.

» READ MORE: Philly hospitals lack formalized training for providers who designate as LGBTQ-affirming

Jefferson officially marked the opening of the clinic last week, but Danielewicz has already started seeing patients. He is prepared to support the needs of LGBTQ elders, including gender affirming care for older adults, HIV care and its interaction with aging, and overall mental health and well-being.

Community enthusiasm will shape the program’s success. Danielewicz has been joining events held by community groups to share information about the new service. So far, he has been met with excitement.

“This is not just hanging a flag and saying ‘come on,’” he said. “We are trying to offer comprehensive services.”

LGBTQ health has emerged as a political issue in recent years. While many Republican-controlled states have restricted health care for transgender youth, several Philadelphia-area hospitals have been investing more in LGBTQ health.

Over the summer, Penn Medicine appointed Kevin Kline, a family medicine physician, to a new position as the health system’s medical director for LGBTQ health.

» READ MORE: Penn Medicine appoints first medical director of LGBTQ health

Kline said the need for such a systemwide role became evident last summer when mpox, the virus formerly known as monkeypox, started spreading primarily among men who have sex with men. Penn launched a vaccination campaign, but it wasn’t clear who was leading the effort. (The push was still effective, Klein said.) Now he hopes to shape an inclusive medical culture throughout Penn, including outside of health crises.

“The goal would be that [patients] go anywhere in the health system and get the same quality of care,” he told The Inquirer last month.

Now Jefferson is also working on a unified approach to LGBTQ health care across its expansive system, which includes 14 hospitals in the Philadelphia area. Using its existing clinic as a dedicated place to refer seniors is a key component, Danielewicz said.