Everyone deserves health care that supports their gender identity.
Everyone who has had gender affirmation surgery should have the opportunity to recover fully at home where they feel comfortable and safe.
Everyone deserves to have someone in their corner.
The VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program addresses the unique needs of transgender and nonbinary people having gender affirmation surgery. Our team has provided gender-affirming care to over 1,500 patients in all five boroughs, Westchester County, and Nassau County.
Gender Affirmation Program FAQs
At VNS Health, we are experts in providing supportive care to LGBTQ+ people. We believe that gender-affirming care should be compassionate, unbiased, and culturally sensitive.
The VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program:
- Includes more than 200 frontline workers trained in cultural sensitivity and transgender health
- Supports people with the physical aspects of their recovery as well as the emotional and mental ones
- Is covered by most insurance plans
Gender affirming care starts before you’re discharged from the hospital.
Before you go home, a VNS Health intake team member will:
- Assess your needs and ensure a safe transition home
- Create a personal care plan so you have the most comfortable recovery possible
- Get approval for home care services through your insurance
After gender affirmation surgery and throughout your recovery period, a VNS Health nurse will:
- Manage after surgery care and follow-up appointments with your doctor
- Provide skilled nursing services (such as dilation support, emptying drains, and changing bandages), as prescribed by your doctor
- Promote good self-care habits to help with anxiety, dysphoria, or depression
- Assess and address mental health needs
The VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program also has a full-time social worker of trans experience who:
- Has been serving the LGBTQ+ community for more than a decade
- Offers counseling and care coordination to gender affirmation patients
- Acts as a resource for other social workers in the field
Caring for LGBTQ+ Older Adults with Dignity and Respect
New York State is home to over 800,000 LGBTQ+ adults, about a third of whom are over 50 years old. VNS Health team members have received training in working with LGTBQ+ communities from the advocacy organization SAGE. SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization committed to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older adults. This training ensures that our team members are aware of and sensitive to the needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ older adults.
In fact, VNS Health 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.
Our patients experience affirming care in their home, which is very important for their safe recovery. We are able to assess the patients’ needs and provide them with a culturally sensitive clinician who knows how to care for them in a patient-centered way.
Shannon Whittington, Clinical Director of VNS Health’s Gender Affirmation Program
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
VNS Health is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as core elements in every decision we make and at every step of the care journey.