NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi announced on Friday, Oct. 15, the opening of its new comprehensive Pride Health Center. The center will serve LGBTQ patients as they receive what was described as “high-quality, culturally competent, respectful care,” at the hospital’s “state-of-the-art facility.”

 

Hospital officials said the new center, located at 1400 Pelham Parkway South in Morris Park, will provide LGBTQ-affirming care for a variety of services, including primary care, adolescent care, OB/GYN, family planning services, behavioral health, dental services, eye care, hormone therapy, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), meaning medicine taken to prevent contracting HIV, and more. Social work support will also be available for patients to assist with continuity of care.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals chief diversity officer, Matilde Roman Esq., said each pride health center the public hospital system opens demonstrates its level of commitment to ensuring every New Yorker has access to culturally sensitive and respectful health care. “This group of patients [has] been excluded from competent care for far too long, and we recognize our responsibility to make sure to provide a welcoming environment that affirms their right to receive [the] expert care they need most,” Roman said.

 

Meanwhile, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi CEO, Christopher Mastromano, said everyone who sought care at Jacobi was treated with respect. “We affirm who they are,” he said. “It’s been well documented that our LGBTQ community faces barriers when trying to access healthcare and we are committed, at Jacobi and throughout our NYC Health + Hospitals System, to tear those barriers down.”

 

The new center at Jacobi, which is located in city council district 13, assembly district 80, senatorial district 34, and congressional district 14, can be found on the first floor (1D) of Building 8, and will have sessions running on Thursday afternoons from 1:30 p.m.  to 5 p.m. It will also have a cadre of full-time dedicated providers who are supported by a team of nurses, administrators, and patient care associates. Hospital officials said in addition to center hours, LGBTQ-affirming care will be available 24/7 at the hospital, via the emergency and ambulatory care departments.

 

In the context of the opening, Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) said for too long, the LGBTQ community had faced many obstacles in trying to access healthcare. “The opening of the Pride Health Center at Jacobi is a great example of our community’s commitment to prioritizing the healthcare needs of our LGBTQ community,” she said. “I am proud that this center is opening at Jacobi, in the heart of my assembly district.”

 

The assemblywoman’s words were echoed by State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), who recently announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. Biaggi said if society believed access to healthcare was a human right, it must address the inequities within the healthcare system that, she said, often bar LGBTQ+ communities from receiving proper care. “The creation of the pride health center will remove systematic barriers and ensure that every New Yorker, regardless of gender and sexual identity, receives the affirming and competent care they deserve,” she said. “I commend NYC Health + Hospitals and Jacobi for ensuring that the LGTBQ+ community receives the high-quality, culturally competent, and comprehensive healthcare they are entitled to.”

 

According to Jacobi representatives, the opening of the center is the latest move in a long history of services offered by the hospital over the years to provide care to the LGBTQ community. They said Jacobi pioneered the first HIV/AIDS daycare program in the nation back in the 1980s. In 2018, the hospital was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as being a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equity,” and in 2019, opened a “health and empowerment center” for sexual health services. This year also marked the fifth annual LGBTQ pride event at Jacobi.

 

City Council Member Oswald Feliz, who represents nearby city council district 15, used the occasion to remind the public that, since 2009, the Bronx continues to be ranked last out of New York State’s 62 counties in health outcomes by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Ranking Report. “Today, I congratulate NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in working to change these statistics by opening their new Pride Health Center for LGBTQ+ patients,” he said. “This is a vital step in addressing the historic health disparities faced by our borough. I look forward to working with institutions like NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi to bring much needed resources to our shared communities.”

 

Meanwhile, State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey, who represents nearby senatorial district 36, and is chair of the Bronx Democratic Party, said the LGBTQ community disproportionately faces barriers to accessing culturally-competent healthcare and the expansion of services in the form of the center was a critical step towards addressing those health disparities and increasing access to quality, culturally sensitive care and health and human services in local communities.

 

“I want to thank NYC Health + Hospitals for bringing this important resource to the Bronx, 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,” Bailey said.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals officials said the system continues its commitment to providing staff with specialized training to ensure LGBTQ patients who seek care at any location across the health system receive responsive health care in a welcoming environment. In June 2021, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, located in Mott Haven, also opened a new, comprehensive, gender affirming, integrated services practice, dedicated to LGBTQ patients.

 

In addition to the various pride health centers which are based across the City, NYC Health + Hospitals officials said the system will continue to provide services to LGBTQ youth through its “Bridge” program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Judson Health Center, located in Manhattan, which offers a one-stop shop for adolescents’ medical, mental health services and other support services, with specialized expertise in servicing this community.

 

Norwood News reported in recent weeks on the opening of a new wellness center for physicians at Jacobi Medical Center, and in August, we reported that Congress approved nine out of ten funding requests for community projects put forward by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) for the 2022 fiscal year, which included additional funding for Jacobi’s anti gun-violence initiative. The congresswoman, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had highlighted the funding as a priority in early July amid persistent high gun violence prevalent across the borough, as reported. 

 

For more information about any of the pride health centers at NYC Health + Hospitals, or to make an appointment, contact 844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).

 

A shuttle service operates between NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx and Jacobi.