LGBTQ Services

Take Comfort

We want to provide a safe, comfortable environment for all of our patients – and that includes everyone in the LGBTQ community. All of our Griffin Faculty physicians, nurses, and staff are here to care for you.

• Our Services
• Additional Resources

Contact Us

I’m your Patient Care Navigator, Liz Laden. I’m here to help guide you through this process – if you have any questions, call me at 203-732-9438 or eladen@griffinhealth.org, or Director of Spritual Care and Education Rev. Eric Jeuland at 203-732-1100 or ejeuland@griffinhealth.org.

Our Services

• Advance Care Planning

  Advance Care Planning, or ACP, is the process of coming to understand, reflect on and discuss and plan for a time when you cannot make your own medical decisions. Through effective planning and the use of advance directives, we can help ensure your wishes are respected and honored by your loved ones and your healthcare providers. This process will help you generate quality advance directives which provide you with piece of mind and comfort.When you’re ready to start talking about making your wishes known, contact us at 203-732-1255 or acp@griffinhealth.org.

• Gender confirming surgeries

  Griffin works to partner with local expert physicians in urology and plastic surgery to provide a range of feminizing and masculinizing surgical procedures for our transgender patients in a person-centered environment. It is our mission to care for you completely – both physically and emotionally.Physicians here to help you:

  • Dr. Arnold Rivera
  • Dr. John Reilly

• Hormone therapy and monitoring

  We understand that not everyone feels comfortable in the body they’re born in, which is why we provide this service for individuals for the purpose of more closely aligning their sexual characteristics with their gender identity, or to achieve a desired balance of sex hormones.As an endocrinologist, taking care of transgender patients is part of Dr. Chi Tang’s expertise. He manages medical therapy for both transgender men and women, prescribes sex hormones and hormone blocking medication to facilitate the transitioning process, and also collaborates with psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and transgender surgeons to ensure successful, satisfactory outcomes.

• Transgender Patient Advocate Program

  A Griffin Transgender Patient Advocate can assist you in finding a provider that meets your specific needs, help you schedule appointments, and make sure you receive exceptional patient-centered care.Individuals that identify as transgender, or who have a gender expression that does not conform to gender identities, are welcome at Griffin.

  Contact Griffin’s Transgender Patient Advocate, Liz Laden, at 203-732-9438 or eladen@griffinhealth.org for help finding a Griffin healthcare provider that best meets your needs.

• HIV/STD/STI Testing and Counseling

  We provide comprehensive testing for HIV, STDs, and STIs – along with counseling to help you understand what to expect, and how to best move forward after your diagnosis.Staff here to help you:

  • Judith Heller, APRN
  • Colleen Linari, APRN
  • Stephanie DeCesare, PA

• PrEP/PEP for patients at risk for HIV

  Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) may be prescribed for individuals at very high risk of HIV infection. PrEP includes a daily regimen of HIV medicines taken to lower the chances of infection. If you are considering PrEp, we are happy to provide you with a comfortable, safe atmosphere to ask questions and get the care you need.According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, “HIV/AIDS is still a major issue in our community. Gay and bisexual men and transgender women represent the majority of new infections occurring in the U.S. each year, and the numbers are on the rise. In major U.S. cities today, about one in five men who have sex with men is HIV positive. And far too many don’t even know they are infected.”

  We have more resources now to prevent and treat HIV than ever before – so reach out to us and let us help.

  Staff here to help you:

  • Dr. Michael Kessler

  For more general information on PrEP/PEP, see the CDC PrEP Basics website.

• Primary Care

  We want to provide a safe, comfortable environment for all of our patients – and that includes everyone in the LGBTQ community. All of our Griffin Faculty physicians, nurses, and staff are here to care for you.To see where the closest Griffin Faculty Physicians office is to you, visit our website at griffinfacultyphysicians.org.

Additional Resources on LGBTQ Health Issues

• Ten Things Lesbians Should discuss with Their Healthcare Provider
• Ten Things Gay Men Should discuss with Their Healthcare Provider
• Ten Things Bisexuals Should discuss with Their Healthcare Provider
• Ten Things Transgender Persons Should discuss with Their Healthcare Care Provider
• Facts for Gay and Bisexual Men
• Brochure: Cancer Facts for Gay and Bisexual Men
• Facts for Lesbian and Bisexual Women
• Brochure: Cancer Facts for Lesbian and Bisexual Women
• Brochure: Talking About HIV
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health