VA\u2019s Center for Minority Veterans (CMV) partnered with PrideVA, VA\u2019s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, to host 36 LGBTQ+ Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors for a fireside chat in honor of Transgender Day of Visibility at Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in Washington, DC. <\/p>\n
Hosting the chat, I sat down with CMV\u2019s Executive Director James Albino and the 17th<\/sup> Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Admiral Rachel L. Levine, for a riveting conversation on visibility.<\/p>\n Admiral Levine is a pediatrician, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Physician General, and Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Penn State. Admiral Levine is the first out transgender four-star officer in any of the country\u2019s eight uniformed services.<\/p>\n The chat highlighted Admiral Levine\u2019s storied career and how she became interested in medicine, coming from a long line of lawyers. <\/p>\n \u201cI went to my parents and said, \u2018You know what? I think I might like to go into theater,\u2019 and they said, \u2018You know you can do anything, you don\u2019t have to go into law school, you could go to medical school, or you could go to business school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Admiral Levine said this was their way of persuading her that maybe theater wasn\u2019t the avenue they envisioned. And then she spoke about getting a text from someone late at night and reading in the morning, \u201cWould you be interested in a position in the Biden Administration?\u201d to which she replied, \u201cWell, yea.\u201d<\/p>\n Admiral Levine then discussed the importance of having supportive and affirming medical staff and just how they can make a difference for any patient coming into that facility, which puts the onus back on medical providers to create space. <\/p>\n \u201cTransgender medicine is medical care; transgender medicine is mental health care, and it can be literally suicide prevention care,\u201d she affirmed. That chat includes her tips on how to talk to Veterans when they come in, as well as how to get them to be open about their lives to best know how to support them and their medical needs.<\/p>\n In closing, she spoke about how HHS views health equity: \u201cHealth equity is foundational; it is fundamental to everything that we\u2019re doing. So, for every grant, for every notice of funding, for every program, for every regulation\u2014we have to include Health Equity.\u201d<\/p>\n CMV and PrideVA believe that through events like this we can help educate one another and build a more inclusive society and safe space in which all Veterans feel welcomed and respected. By showcasing the importance of visibility and having a seat at the table, we can ensure that VA is representing the beautiful diversity of those we support.<\/p>\n