LGBTQ+ Health Care Services

NYC Health + Hospitals was the first U.S. public health care system to mandate LGBTQ training for all staff members in 2011. In 2014, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan became the first public hospital to open a health center dedicated to the needs of LGBTQ+ patients. Today we have seven Pride Health Centers.

Watch videos on LGBTQ Healthcare

All eighteen of our eligible facilities earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” designation in 2022 — a recognition we have received every year since 2015. To earn this, facilities must train staff in LGBTQ health care, have LGBTQ-responsive policies, and make those policies available to the public and staff.

Our long-term care facilities also participated in the first edition of the Long-Term Care Equality Index (LEI) in 2021, a joint project of SAGE and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, designed to promote equitable and inclusive care for LGBTQ older adults in residential long-term care communities.

How We Care For You

As a member of the LGBTQ+ communities, we understand you have special health care needs and concerns. To better serve the health care needs of the LGBTQ+ community, NYC Health + Hospitals has seven Pride Health Centers: four in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn and two in the Bronx. Our Pride Health Centers serve as important spaces for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers to receive affirming health care. Providers in these centers have received extensive training to provide culturally responsive care. Our clinicians are here to address your health needs and answer all your questions in a safe and welcoming environment.

Services include:

• Primary care, such as immunizations, hormone therapy and surgical referrals
• Behavioral health services and referrals
• Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
• Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
• HIV testing and treatment
• Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment
• Insurance navigation and enrollment
• Puberty blockers at Jacobi and Judson
• Affirming OB/GYN care at Bellevue, Gouverneur, Jacobi, Judson, Lincoln and Metropolitan
• Voice coaching at Lincoln
• Gender-affirming surgery at Metropolitan and Lincoln

Pride Health Center Locations

• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
• The Pride Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

Pride Health Center Brochure

English ǀ Albanian ǀ Arabic ǀ Bengali ǀ French ǀ Haitian Creole ǀ Hindi ǀ Korean ǀ Polish ǀ Russian ǀ Simplified Chinese ǀ Spanish ǀ Traditional Chinese ǀ Urdu

Gender-Affirming Surgery

NYC Health + Hospitals is proud to offer gender-affirming services including hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgeries.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan offer gender-affirming surgery on the chest, also known as top surgery. Feminizing top surgery can involve breast implants or breast augmentation. Masculinizing top surgery can involve a mastectomy, or removal of breast tissue.

Metropolitan offers top surgeries to transgender and gender non-conforming patients in line with their insurance plan’s and medical provider’s criteria.

Lincoln also offers the following gender-affirming surgeries:

• Hysterectomy: to remove the uterus
• Oophorectomy: to remove ovaries
• Hairline lowering: to lower or reshape the hairline of someone who has naturally higher hairlines, to reduce the space between the eyebrows and the hairline
• Frontal bone reshaping/frontal sinus reset: to reshape and contour the forehead
• Frontal sinus reset: to move the anterior wall of the frontal sinus to a softer position, which affects every aspect of the face, from the forehead to the eye sockets and the cheekbones
• Genioplasty and angle resection: to reshape the jaw and cheeks for a rounder, softer aesthetic
• Tracheal shave: to reduce Adam’s apple without leaving a scar
• Rhinoplasty: to reshape the nose
• Cheekbone augmentation: to enhance cheekbones or make cheeks look fuller
• Septoplasty: to fix a crooked or deviated septum

NYC Health + Hospitals’ facilities with the “Leader in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality” designation include:

LGBTQ+ Patient Information and Resources

The following is a brief list of our LGBTQ+-responsive policies and resources for our patients:

LGBTQ Services at NYC Health + Hospitals

Transgender Health Care Resource Guide

Patient and Resident Bill of Rights

Visitation Policy: Patients have the right to designate any visitors, including a spouse, domestic partner, a same sex domestic partner, another family member or a friend. NYC Health + Hospitals does not restrict, limit or otherwise deny visitation privileges based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. All visitors designated by the patient or support person where appropriate shall enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members would enjoy. Patients may withdraw or deny consent to visitation to anyone at any time. Visitation hours may vary by facility.

Health Care Proxy Form

NYC Single-Sex Facility Policy (Executive Order 16) and Commission on Human Rights Legal Enforcement Guidance

NYC Health + Hospitals Plan to Enhance Equitable Care

MetroPlus Health Plan’s LGBT Resource Guide and Information on Coverage

LGBTQ Community Resources

LGBTQ Health Information

Resources for Healthcare Centers and Providers

Creating an LGBTQ Affirming Clinic – Resource Guide

Contact Us

For more information about our unique LGBTQ health care or any other LGBTQ-related issues, please email: lgbtq@nychhc.org.

NYC Health + Hospitals provides advanced and sensitive LGBTQ+ health care services at select hospitals and neighborhood health centers. We have full wellness teams in every borough with extended hours that fit your busy schedule, dedicated to serving you and your family from the very first visit. Learn more about our extended hours.

Find a hospital or a neighborhood health center near you.

NYC Health + Hospitals provides high quality health care to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay. We can also help you find health insurance if you need it. Learn more about MetroPlus, our affordable and comprehensive health insurance plan. You can also visit the NYC Care website to learn more about our health care access program for care services at little or no-cost to New Yorkers who do not qualify or can’t afford health insurance.