East Harlem’s NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan today announced it has reached a significant milestone.
Performing its 200th gender-affirming surgery on a patient from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Twenty-nine-year-old Euro Spiritty, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them and he/him, underwent masculinizing top surgery earlier this year. Approximately 80 percent of the gender-affirming surgeries performed at the hospital are masculinizing top surgeries, and approximately 90 percent of the patients are new to the public health care system. Since NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in East Harlem began offering gender-affirming surgeries in 2017, they have increased surgical capacity, which has led to reducing the wait time from consultation to surgery from 8 months to 3-4 months. This is often far less time than other hospital systems that offer the life-changing service. NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan’s Pride Health Center has been providing care to LGBTQ+ patients for over ten years. The hospital recently re-opened a comprehensive Pride Health Center, a dedicated space where LGBTQ+, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) patients can access individual care with respect and dignity. The Center serves lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer+ (LGBTQ+) patients as they receive high-quality, culturally competent, respectful care in a dedicated space. Learn about patient Euro Spiritty’s experience getting masculinizing top surgery.
“This surgery has changed my life because it means that I’m able to be myself and be free,” said Euro. “I started my trans journey a little later in my life, but I’m glad I found the Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. I spoke with the staff there who was able to provide clear information about the process in a very easy, welcoming and warm way. I felt taken care of from consultation to surgery to after-care.”
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan has a long history of providing expert, culturally-competent care to LGBTQ patients. It was the first public hospital to open a health center dedicated to the population,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Chief Executive Officer Cristina Contreras. “This 200th procedure is a significant milestone for our surgical team led by Dr. Aron Kressel, as well as the Pride Health Center that provides ongoing medical care to our LGBTQ patients. By providing objective and supportive care grounded in evidence-based medicine and best practices, the center is helping patients in need, and we are grateful to Euro and all of the other patients who have entrusted their care to us.”
“When we began offering gender affirming surgeries, we knew we were filling a largely unmet need for our patients,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Chief of Plastic Surgery Aron Kressel, MD. “For a lot of the patients we see, these surgeries are a transformative experience which allows them to be able to be their true selves.”
“I celebrate with Metropolitan in reaching this important milestone, as there is nothing more important than creating meaningful access to high-quality affirming care,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Ivelesse Mendez-Justiniano. “NYC Health + Hospitals has been a leader in providing care to the LGBTQ+ population that faces many health care disparities, and they can trust that our system will provide them with the same comprehensive, dignified and life-saving healthcare we offer every New Yorker.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is one of only two facilities within the public health care system that offers gender-affirming surgery on the chest, also known as ‘top surgery.’ Feminizing top surgery can involve using either breast implants or a patient’s own tissue. Masculinizing top surgery can involve a mastectomy, or removal of breast tissue. NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan offers top surgeries to transgender and gender diverse patients who meet criteria defined by their insurance plans and their medical providers. According to Dr. Kressel, most of the gender-affirming surgery patients identify as trans male or non-binary. Specific procedures include mastectomy with nipple graft and peri-areolar breast reduction.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan has been a beacon of care and support for all members of our community, right here in our district and throughout the city. I am proud to stand with Metropolitan at every step of the way, and join in celebrating this important milestone,” said NYC Council Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala. “The LGBTQ+ and TGNC communities disproportionately face barriers to accessing culturally-competent healthcare. I want to thank NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan for their ongoing commitment to providing dedicated care for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and ensuring our public health system is inclusive to the needs of all New Yorkers.”
NYC Health + Hospitals has long been a leader in caring for LGBTQ+ patients and continues its commitment to providing staff with specialized trainings to ensure LGBTQ+ patients who seek care at any location across the health system receive responsive health care in a welcoming environment.
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Pride Health Centers are at the following locations:
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln also opened a new comprehensive Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice, dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer+ (LGBTQ) patients in June 2021. In addition to the Pride Health Centers, NYC Health + Hospitals will continue to provide services to LGBTQ youth through their Bridge Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson Health Center, which offers a one stop shop for adolescents’ medical, mental health services and other support services, with specialized expertise in servicing this audience.
For more information about any of the Pride Health Centers at NYC Health + Hospitals or to make an appointment, please contact 844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692). Learn more about NYC Health + Hospitals LGBTQ Health Care Services.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is the community hospital of choice for residents of East Harlem, northern Manhattan and neighboring communities. The hospital provides culturally-sensitive care in a welcoming and hospitable setting, emphasizing primary care medicine and utilizing the latest advances in medical science. It is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal hospital and health care system in the country. For more information, please visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/metropolitan and follow us on facebook.com/MetropolitanHosp
NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org
Photo credit: 1-2) NYC Health + Hospitals.
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