New Medical Center Initiative Addresses Health Care Concerns of LGBT Community

Gay rights activists have notched significant victories as well as some high-profile defeats in the struggle for equality. Yet as young people come out at an earlier age and same-sex couples start families, health care professionals sometimes find themselves uncertain how to provide the best care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients. A new initiative at Columbia University Medical Center is focused on improving physical and mental health care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and especially transgender individuals. The project, a collaboration among Columbia's School of Nursing , the Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, will involve research, education, clinical care, and advocating for changes in public policy. Clinicians, residents and medical students are asking how to treat LGBT patients sensitively and better provide the care they need, says Anke A. Ehrhardt , professor of medical psychology, director of the initiative and director of the division of gender, sexuality, and health in the Medical Center's Psychiatry Department and the Psychiatric Institute. They want to know specific questions to ask when a patient discloses his or her sexual orientation, for example, or how to deal with a young person who is coming out. Indeed, applicants to Columbia University Medical Center's residency programs frequently express interest in LGBT health.