Fox Awarded $500,000 Grant
To Study Transgender Health
Results May Make Oneonta Center of New Specialty
ONEONTA – Five practitioners from Fox Hospital’s Gender Wellness Center in Oneonta have been awarded $500,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program to study establishing a Transgender Center for Excellence within the Bassett Network.
This is part of a national program to improve health and reduce disparities in wellness and longevity across the United States.
Drs. Carolyn and Christopher Wolf-Gould, Dr. Diane Georgeson, physician assistant Tania Villa, and Justine Woolner-Wise, LCSW, are among the first cohort of 25 fellows nationally selected through a competitive process for the RWJF Clinical Scholars Program.
“This is an amazing opportunity,” said Fox Hospital President Jeff Joyner.
Over the next three years, the Oneonta practitioners will establish an exploratory committee to conduct a gap analysis, solicit input from the transgender community and perform a needs assessment. The information will be used to develop and implement a strategic plan that will identify and address barriers to care and health care disparities for transgender people. The grant will also allow them to provide emotional and mental support to transgender individuals who so often struggle with things like personal confidence, TS Dating, and family acceptance.
“Transgender people are among the most marginalized individuals in this country,” says Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould, who has been providing care for transgender patients since 2007 and established the Gender Wellness Center in Oneonta three years ago.
“Every day transgender people face relentless discrimination in employment, family life, education, housing and public accommodation,” she said. “Some of the most appalling discrimination occurs in the health care setting when they reach out for help. Often, this is because of inadequate training for health care professionals.”
Specifically, the Oneonta team of scholars plans to work toward excellence in transgender health in regards to 1) medical services for youth and adults, 2) gender affirming surgical services, 3) mental health services, 4) training for regional health care providers, medical students and residents, and 5) community-based research.
Woolner-Wise has been providing mental health services and education for schools through the Gender Wellness Center since 2013.
Christopher Wolf-Gould notes that the group has contracted with at least three local individuals/organizations for assistance. “We will be working with the Bassett Research Institute, Dr. Susan Turell, clinical psychologist and Dean of the School of Social Science at SUNY Oneonta, and the Training Institute for Gender, Identity, Relationships and Sexuality (TIGRIS) in Albany. This will help us with assessing area needs, training and project implementation.”
The providers at the Gender Wellness Center already provide medical and mental health services to over 380 transgender patients, most of whom drive two hours or more from the Capital Region, downstate and outside of New York State. They anticipate being able to expand access to their practice in Oneonta since adding two additional clinicians earlier this summer. Tania Villa, RPA-C, comes to Oneonta after developing services for transgender patients at Planned Parenthood in Ithaca. Diane Georgeson will be offering trans-affirming gynecologic care from the Gender Wellness Center.
