The Johns Hopkins Hospital will open the Center for Transgender Health next year under the direction of Paula Neira, a former naval officer and transgender woman. The Center hopes to provide transgender patients with specialized healthcare over the course of their lives.
The Editorial Board commends the University for instituting this trans-specific health program. This decision demonstrates that Hopkins recognizes transgender patients have a different set of health care needs than cis people and therefore need specialized care. As a global leader in medicine, Hopkins has a responsibility to establish progressive centers like these that have the potential to fight social stigmas surrounding transgender people and their healthcare needs.
The fact that the Center itself will be run by a transgender woman shows that Hopkins is dedicated to providing trans people with a champion at the University.
In Baltimore especially, we need to recognize that transgender people of color experience violence more acutely. In September, a black trans woman named Crystal Edmonds was fatally shot in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department is still investigating the shooting, but black trans women are murdered at a higher rate than both cis and trans white people.
It is increasingly important that this transgender health center succeed at Hopkins. The Editorial Board hopes it will lead to an increase in the establishment of similar clinics nationwide and a decrease in violence against transgender people and transphobic aggression.
According to Trans Health, a website that provides resources and information to trans individuals, there are only a few centers around the country that are focused on providing healthcare to transgender people. In adding this center, the Johns Hopkins Hospital sets a new standard for trans healthcare nationwide.
The Editorial Board looks forward to the opening of the center in 2017 and to learning more about what specific services it will provide. We hope there will be opportunities for students to get involved and learn more about transgender care through the lens of public health.
