Whitman-Walker

This is a great article in The Washington Informer by Lindiwe Vilakazi about Whitman-Walker's community efforts to raise awareness of the benefits of #PrEP, particularly among Black women. Excerpts: Through various community efforts, Whitman-Walker, an affirming health center for LGBTQ and community-based health and wellness services, works to heighten public education about PrEP and increase access to the beneficial medication. PrEP is a medication made to help prevent HIV infection in people who are at risk of exposure through either sexual transmission or injection drug use. When the medication is taken as prescribed, PrEP can reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by up to 99% and from injection drug use by at least 74%. The medication prevents the virus from multiplying in the body and it overtakes healthy cells. Eventually, the virus dies out because it is not able to duplicate and grow, which ultimately prevents transmission. PrEP is commonly marketed as a medication primarily for men in the LGBTQ community. However, as Black women represent an increasing rate of HIV diagnoses, they are also a key demographic that benefits from using PrEP.  Whitman-Walker is making a concerted effort to reach all residents who can benefit from PrEP, as the health center underscores the importance of normalizing health care resources and education in underserved communities where disparities are most prevalent. Further, Ramatoulaye Keita, Whitman-Walker’s director of Community Health and Wellness, highlights the organization’s goal to connect with others who are less aware of the benefits of PrEP, particularly Black women. The community health center is hosting a six-month string of PrEP awareness events at local beauty shops across the city starting with residents residing within the Sycamore and Oak neighborhoods in Southeast, D.C. During each event, the clinic’s health care providers will supply HIV and STI testing, also dispensing PrEP by oral and injectable dosages. The organization is hopeful to see PrEP become a commonly known medication among various demographics as it has stood as the “cornerstone of comprehensive HIV prevention strategies.” https://lnkd.in/emKjxC9r #whitmanwalker #weseeyou #HIV

Today, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, proclaimed July 16, 2024 as PrEP Awareness Day in the District of Columbia. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about the life-saving benefits of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and its critical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. A press conference was held at Whitman-Walker's Max Robinson Center in Ward 8’s Congress Heights neighborhood to commemorate the occasion. It was led by Juan Carlos Loubriel, Senior Director of Community Health and Wellness, Whitman-Walker Health, and featured comments by Kellan E. Baker, Exec. Dir of Whitman-Walker Institute, and Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health. Mayor Bowser was represented by Ms. Clover L. Barnes, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Deputy Director for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration (HAHSTA) in DC Department of Health. HIV/AIDS continues to be a significant public health challenge, with over 1.2 million people in the United States living with HIV and thousands of new infections each year. To combat this, PrEP, an FDA-approved medication, has proven to reduce the risk of HIV infection by up to 99% when taken as prescribed. Approved by the FDA on July 16, 2012, PrEP is a cornerstone of comprehensive HIV prevention strategies, offering an effective tool for men who have sex with men, transgender individuals, cis-gender women, heterosexual individuals with HIV-positive partners, and people who inject drugs. PrEP is fpr everyone who is sexually active, and it's 99% effective at preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. Speak to your provider about #PrEP or connect with Whitman-Walker's PrEP Clinic Team: Call 202.939.7690; Text 202.804.3823; Email: [email protected] #prepawareness #prepawarenessday #weseeyou #whitmanwalker

Whitman-Walker's Vice President for Access and Strategic Initiatives Erin Loubier will be a panelist at this important webinar on #PrEP in Medicare, sponsored by HIVHep & AIDS United on Thurs July 11th, 4-5pm EDT, to help prepare for Medicare Part B’s new coverage of PrEP. It is moderated by Carl Schmid and features White House #AIDS Director Francisco Ruiz and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Dora Hughes, along with other expert panelists Glen Pietrandoni, and Bill Keeton. Register here: https://t.co/V2HynP01YR or QR code below.

Whitman-Walker Institute Condemns Nationwide Injunction Blocking Federal Nondiscrimination Protections for Transgender People Following a ‘Shameful’ Decision in Tennessee Case   WASHINGTON, D.C. [July 3, 2024] — Whitman-Walker Institute condemns the politically motivated ruling from a federal district court judge that blocks vital nondiscrimination protections for #transgender people across the country. Today, a U.S. district court judge in Mississippi issued a nationwide injunction in State of Tennessee v. Becerra, blocking enforcement of key parts of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. This ruling directly attacks a regulation issued in April 2024 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which strengthened nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQI people in health care and health coverage nationwide. This ruling was the first of three rulings today in which judges prioritized politics over people and blocked key non-discrimination protections in healthcare for transgender people and for millions of other Americans. The regulation that was blocked in these three cases demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring health care and health insurance access for all by securing nondiscrimination protections for some of our nation’s most marginalized communities, including transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, people with limited English proficiency, people with disabilities, and people seeking reproductive health care. Dr. Kellan E. Baker, Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, says, “It’s shameful that a federal judge would side with bigots in seeking to dismantle these protections. The Biden-Harris administration correctly took action to help remove barriers to care and advance health equity for underserved communities, including LGBTQI people. Robust enforcement of this rule is critical to improve the health and well-being of LGBTQI people across the country. This ruling is part of a dangerous trend in which politicians deny and disregard the clear evidence documenting the harms of widespread discrimination against LGBTQI people, particularly transgender people, in health care and health insurance.” Whitman-Walker Institute, which leverages research, policy, and education to advance health equity nationwide, is affiliated with Whitman-Walker Health, the lead plaintiff in a 2020 federal lawsuit brought to reverse the Trump administration’s weakening of Section 1557’s nondiscrimination protections for underserved communities, particularly LGBTQI people. According to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, nearly 50% of respondents who saw a provider in the last year had at least one negative health care experience because of their gender identity. Twenty-three percent of LGBTQI respondents, including 37% of transgender respondents, reported postponing or avoiding needed medical care in the past year due to disrespect or discrimination by providers. ###

Audacy, Inc. Radio- The Washington Report: Whitman-Walker Institute’s initiatives to help D.C. are highlighted in radio interview The Audacy radio stations (106.7FM, 94.7FM, 99.1FM, 980AM, 1580AM, WPGC Radio) recently shared details about Whitman-Walker Institute’s important initiatives on its public affairs program “The Washington Report.” Lienna Feleke-Eshete, Senior Manager of Policy, discussed work that resulted in a $5 copay in D.C. across all standard insurance plans for unlimited mental and behavioral health visits and prescriptions for all youth under age 19. Feleke-Eshete said, “Whitman-Walker Institute is the sibling organization to Whitman-Walker Health, which is the actual health care provider. The Institute works to expand the body of knowledge and strengthen the health care that Whitman-Walker Health provides and that’s through our work in research, policy advocacy and in education. This project is one we’re doing through our policy advocacy department.” Jonathon Rendina, PhD, MPH, Senior Director of Research, discussed the INCLUDE cancer study, which the Institute is conducting in collaboration with the Cancer Support Community (CSC), to test a new multi-cancer early detection product called Galleri Test®. Full interview can be heard here: https://bit.ly/4cpw2i3

Transgender people under 18 face laws that bar them from accessing gender-affirming health care in 25 states — just a few years ago, not a single state had such a law. The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case from Tennessee in its next term that challenges that state’s gender-affirming care ban for young people. NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin spoke with Whitman-Walker Institute Executive Director Dr. Kellan E. Baker Baker about all these new laws restricting gender affirming care. Excerpt: It's not just laws about medical care that have been passed, notes Kellan Baker, executive director of the Whitman Walker Institute, a LGBTQ research and advocacy group. “There are new restrictions being proposed and enacted every day around how transgender people can move through the world, not just with regard to accessing medical care, but, for example, going to school, playing on a sports team,” he says. In Baker’s view, the state legislators passing these laws are “attacking kids to score political points and taking advantage of the fact that a lot of people might not know a transgender person,” he says. “There aren't that many transgender people — the best estimates we have are about 0.6% of the U.S. population identifies as transgender.” https://lnkd.in/eVH4X-Kx #whitmanwalker #whitmanwalkerinstitute #weseeyou #transgender #healthcare

WTOP News marked #Pride Month by showcasing the people, places and important issues in the LGBTQ communities in the D.C. area. They reached out to Whitman-Walker to speak with Ramatoulaye Keita, our director of community health and wellness to speak about June 27th National HIV Testing Day — a day to encourage HIV testing so that people can know their status and those who test positive can promptly begin treatment — and how Whitman-Walker is making sure D.C.-area residents know they have options. Excerpt: “It’s so important to get tested, it’s important to know your status. Linkage to care is vital,” said Ramatoulaye Keita, director of community health and wellness at Whitman-Walker Health. The clinic has been a leader in LGBTQ health care for more than 50 years and began providing care for AIDS patients when the epidemic struck in the early 1980s. “HIV is still an epidemic, especially in D.C. We still have … about 11,000 folks living with HIV in D.C. So, we want people to get preventive care, we want to reduce HIV acquisition in communities and to ensure that people who are in care are actually virally suppressed, and people who are positive actually linked to care,” Keita said. “The first step to do that is to get tested.” https://lnkd.in/ebacAJcG #whitmanwalker #weseeyou #nationalHIVtestingday

It's been almost a year since Whitman-Walker's new Max Robinson Center opened in the Congress Heights neighborhood of SE Washington, DC, transforming healthcare opportunities for the residents of Wards 7 and 8, east of the river. And we couldn't have done it without Perkins&Will! #whitmanwalker #weseeyou

As the primary health insurer for #LGBTQ communities, #Medicaid policies and programs are well positioned to help address the health disparities facing LGBTQ communities. This brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies (which features input from Whitman-Walker Institute's Dr. Kellan E. Baker) highlights key considerations to shape Medicaid policies that enhance health outcomes and quality of care for LGBTQ individuals. https://bit.ly/3KZwDL6

We are so very proud of Dr. Kellan E. Baker, Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, and all of the incredible work that he did the last week of #Pride Month to foster and educate about #LGBTQ health, inclusion, research and impact across a wide range of events and meetings! More details below! #whitmanwalker #weseeyou