Fairview is seeking Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender-friendly providers to serve the needs of Minnesota's GLBT community, making patients feel comfortable, understood and safe.

Don Moschkau, human resources, Fairview Southdale Hospital, says he has received a number of calls from Fairview employees and others requesting a GLBT-friendly primary care physician or therapist. GLBT-friendly care spans a variety of concerns, he says. Examples are:

• A woman who is pregnant or seeking to become pregnant might not have a male partner.

• Thirty percent of GLBT youth attempt suicide, so it is essential that primary care providers appropriately screen for depression.

• Women in same-sex relationships may find it offensive if a physician assumes the need for a pregnancy test.

• Transgendered individuals find physicians may confuse gender identity with biologic sex or sexual orientation-e.g., referring to a transgendered patient as "he" when the patient prefers "she."

• GLBT patients in Minnesota are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS,

STDs, mental health issues, substance abuse, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity/weight issues, so it is essential for providers to understand the community's risk factors.

• Health care providers should be able to identify signs of domestic abuse within same-sex couples.

"GLBT patients want to be seen in the context of their families," says a Fairview employee who identifies as lesbian. "Both my partner and I see a primary care physician who is not GLBT, but who is well acquainted with the community. She will commonly ask one of us about the other, acknowledging we are a pair. This to me is 'friendly.'"

Physicians, psychotherapists and other Fairview clinicians who would like to be listed as a "GLBT-friendly" provider may contact the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, GLMA.org; the Human Rights Campaign, HRC.org; or flags@fairview.org.

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