Grantee: UW Medicine
Timeframe: July 2026 – June 2027 | Amount: $173,578.60
Transgender and gender-diverse people face significant barriers to gender-affirming medical care, including policy restrictions, discrimination, limited insurance coverage, provider shortages, long surgical wait times, and lack of accessible patient education and support. These barriers are especially acute for transgender veterans who rely on VA health coverage and for patients seeking complex gender-affirming surgeries, which are limited in Washington State and largely provided through UW Medicine and Harborview Medical Center.
UW Medicine will establish two gender-affirming care initiatives in King County to improve access to care for transgender and gender-diverse LGBTQIA2S+ communities: a telehealth clinic for veterans who cannot access gender-affirming hormone therapy through the VA, and an education and peer support program for patients and caregivers seeking gender-affirming surgery at Harborview Medical Center. Together, these initiatives aim to restore access to hormone therapy for veterans excluded from VA-based care, improve surgical readiness, increase access to accurate and accessible information, strengthen peer and caregiver support, and use patient experiences to improve care delivery over time.
Virtual Gender-Affirming Clinic for TGD Veterans: The clinic will help veterans learn about the service, connect to care, complete registration and scheduling, access telehealth visits, obtain medications, and coordinate information between UW Medicine and VA clinicians. Seattle VA clinicians, the VA’s LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator, and Minority Vets of America will help share information with eligible veterans. Because VA clinicians cannot directly refer patients to the clinic under current policy restrictions, grant funds will support a scheduler to provide trauma-informed registration, scheduling, records coordination, and linkage to medication support.
Clinic visits will be provided through UW Medicine’s secure telehealth platform during a twice-monthly, four-hour clinic. Care will be provided by UW Medicine clinicians with experience in gender-affirming care, including members of Trans Health Allies. Minority Vets of America will help cover medication costs for veterans who cannot access gender-affirming hormone therapy through other sources, using its Unmet Care Needs Fund and pharmacy partnership. UW Medicine’s electronic health record system will also allow VA clinicians to review relevant care information, monitor medication effects, and support ongoing care coordination.
Peer Support Program for Patients Seeking Gender-Affirming Surgery: The program will provide virtual education and peer support sessions focused on surgical options, preparation, recovery, risks, expected outcomes, and practical support needs. Sessions will be accessible, distributed in digital format, and delivered through secure telehealth platforms.
Trained professionals will lead the sessions in partnership with peer navigators who have lived experience with gender-affirming surgery. Peer navigators will be recruited through Harborview Medical Center’s surgical patient network and community partners serving transgender communities in King County. The sessions will give patients and caregivers a structured space to ask questions, learn from peers, prepare for surgery and recovery, and better understand the surgical process.
ABOUT OUR GRANTEE
UW Medicine
“For Puget Sound area residents who currently want, or will someday need, the highest quality care for their routine and complex conditions, UW Medicine provides an unmatched level of excellence.
That’s because UW Medicine is Washington’s only health system that includes a top-rated medical school and an internationally recognized research center.
More than 35,000 healthcare professionals, researchers, and educators work together at UW Medicine with a single mission: to improve the health of the public. Our faculty, staff, students, and trainees work together in a family of organizations that includes:”
- Airlift Northwest
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Harborview Medical Center
- UW Medical Center
- UW Medicine Primary Care
- UW Physicians
- UW School of Medicine
“At UW Medicine, every person involved in your care commits to helping you and your family achieve your personal goals for wellness and quality of life. We pledge to:”
- Put your needs first
- Create a welcoming environment
- Respect your values
- Empower and collaborate with you
- Coordinate and integrate your care
- Offer you comfort and support
- Enable your access to services, system-wide
- Advance your care through research
