LGBT Patient Outreach

We care across New York for older LGBT adults in need of a safe, welcoming home health care environment

Today, 50 years after the Stonewall protests in New York City, LGBT Americans find themselves living in a world of emerging normalcy, PRIDE, and marriage equality. Yet sadly, too many of the Stonewall Generation—people born in the years before Stonewall—are still living in fear, alone and isolated. They continue to suffer with a health care system that too often discriminates against them and prevents them from receiving the critical care they need.

To that end, we are committed to treating every LGBT patient with empathy, courtesy, and respect. All VNSNY nurses, rehabilitation therapists, social workers, and home health aides, along with our administrative and leadership staff, have received training for working with LGBT communities from the LGBT senior advocacy organization SAGE (Advocacy & Services for LGBT Elders). This specialized training is made possible thanks to generous donors, and ensures that all of our staff are sensitive to the needs and concerns of LGBT older adults. They are also trained to understand the importance of creating a safe, welcoming home health care environment for them. VNSNY is the largest home- and community-based health care organization in the New York City metropolitan area with the SAGECare Platinum LGBT cultural competency credential.

In addition to this cultural sensitivity training, VNSNY expanded its Senior LGBT Outreach in 2018 with funding from a New York Community Trust grant. Our expanded outreach program is committed to supporting the health of LGBT seniors in the New York City area through collaborations with community-based organizations that serve New York’s elderly LGBT population. The program is also educating organizations, providers, and patients about VNSNY’s LGBT-related initiatives, including our gender affirmation surgery program, which is the largest in the city.