University of Illinois at Chicago's ( UIC ) Gender and Sexuality Center ( GSC ) and the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy's ( IRRPP ) Race, Sexuality and Violence Series will launch "Trans*Health @ UIC" Wed., April 9, at Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St.
The community forum aims to educate, create alliances and celebrate as gender identity, race and the right to medical access, and the importance of the new trans*-inclusive health policy at UIC is discussed.
"The focus around the event is meant to celebrate that we have this," said Megan Carney, director of GSC and co-organizer of Trans*Health @ UIC. "There's only about 40-45 schools across the country that offer this benefit. So, we want to celebrate that we're a public university that really got behind the students and made this happen. We want to do a lot of education about it because it's important for students who identify as trans to have the knowledge about how it works and also for allies to understand so they can share the information."
Last summer, the board of trustees at UIC expanded health-care benefits for students, which is campus-care insurance. Now, students who identify as transgender and go through the medical process have access to a new range of benefits, including gender-affirming surgeries.
"We're all evolving and all changing and we don't know when we're going to need access to certain things or not, or someone that we love is going to need access to a certain procedure," said Carney. "So, being able to remove barriers to that healthcare, I think, whether or not we individually might access it, will really improve the health of people we care about in our communities."
Carney explained GSC has been a hub for gathering information and a place where students interested in accessing that benefit can have a good start and be guided in the right direction of who to contact and how to get started with their insurance provider.
"I think that's really valuable and I'm really proud of UIC for putting this through and making this available for students," said Carney. "When this happened it just became obvious this is something we [GSC] would put our resources behind because it directly impacts the students we're working with every day. Also, because the policy is in place, the work now is how do we holistically, helpfully, inclusively implement the policy? It's one thing to have something on the books and it's another thing to really communicate how it works."
Panelists presenting at the event include Aja Blalark, a UIC student in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and community advisory board member of Chicago House and its Trans Life Center Program; Abbas Hyderi, MD, MPH, associate dean for curriculum and associate professor of clinical family medicine at UIC's College of Medicine; and Jae Szeszycki-Truesdell, MA, MPH, health promotion specialist for Transgender Services at Asian and Pacific Islander ( A&PI ) Wellness Center in San Francisco, Calif., UIC alum and leader of the UIC trans* health initiative.
"I think they each bring a very unique and important perspective to the event," Carney said of the panelists. "I think they'll really help us understand how we got to this place and also what are the pressing issues and what do we really need to be looking at going forward. They're three really dynamic individuals and they're going to bring a lot."
The free event—which is open to the public—will also premiere GSC's new video about bringing trans* health coverage to UIC, which features interviews conducted across UIC's campus from students to administrators, who directly participated in moving this through the process, and medical practitioners. The program will also open the floor for attendees to ask questions and further the discussion. Refreshments will also be served.
"It's important to take a moment to celebrate when hard work pays off," Carney said. "Really, this was a student-led initiative. It was student leadership on the campus that stood up and said 'we believe in this.' We're hoping to introduce people to each other and build that network that's going to answer questions people might have."
Szeszycki-Truesdell said the work he did when leading the initiative was never about him. In turn, he is excited to see the students that will benefit from the effort. He insists any transgender students in the audience need to be aware of their rights and what they can access at UIC. Adding that this is just the beginning and resources and staff, from GSC advocates as well as members of the chancellors committee for LGBT issues, are available for support.
"At UIC, now that the board of trustees has signed it and campus care guidelines have changed, it means almost nothing unless we do education and marketing around it," said Szeszycki-Truesdell. "From pre-med students, to pre-dentistry students, to frontline staff at campus care facilities, to physicians who see students at UIC and the hospital staff on campus—all of them need to be educated on how to appropriately care for transgender patients and that doesn't only mean how to help them transition. It means what does it mean to be transgender, how do you treat someone with respect who's transgender and just the basics? It's absolutely ridiculous how little practicing physicians have education on LGBT issues, not even transgender issues."
Szeszycki-Truesdell noted in the last study he saw, more than half of practicing physicians received less than five hours, if any education, on LGBT issues, adding it does not mean they got any education on transgender issues and it could have just touched on sexuality.
Carney described the event as a platform for the UIC community and care providers to examine the new policy to see what needs to happen to really make it work. Also, questions that need to be addressed are if there are gaps needing to be closed, necessary trainings, and the next steps.
"Holistic healthcare for trans-identified people—students and everyone on the campus—is really a priority now on campuses," Carney said. "There's a lot of movement and a lot of action and I don't know how all the other campuses are handling it, but I know a lot of schools are talking about it."
RSVP at irrpp.uic.edu or to rvilor1@uic.edu . IRRPP is also on Facebook.
