BayWindows.com – by Ethan Jacobs – Staff Reporter
With little to no fanfare the Veteran Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System issued a patient care memorandum to its staff in September detailing guidelines for providing care to transgender patients. Advocates describe the memo as a landmark achievement in transgender healthcare and say it is the first known case of a VA system demonstrating in writing its commitment to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for transgender veterans.
“The thing is there are other facilities that are doing what is in this policy,” said Monica Helms, president of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA). “The difference is these other places don’t have a written policy, so it’s almost like the doctors that are there who treat transgender individuals, they decided this is how they’re going to do it, and the only difference is Boston decided to put it down on paper.”