Posts Tagged ‘Healthcare’

LGBT Seniors Receive More SAGE Wisdom

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I don’t spend a ton of time thinking about what life will be like when I qualify for an AARP card, although I have given some thought as to what I’ll look like when I’m 60-plus. I’m confident that my senior self will definitely be rocking a fly tracksuit and if I’m lucky, the same white fuzzy hair as my Grandma. One thing I do know (and no, it isn’t the fact that I will most likely NOT be receiving Social Security payments) is that my LGBT counterparts are far more likely to live in poverty and to face social and community isolation. As readers of this blog, you’re aware of the challenges facing the LGBT community today and in the future, but imagine facing those obstacles when you’re in your 60s, 70s, 80s or even 90s?

This week, SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders) released a new study titled “Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults,” that comprehensively examines issues facing the LGBT senior community.  SAGE is an incredibly organization, and has previously been a featured Q&A on this very blog, and it is the world’s oldest and largest non-profit agency that is dedicated to serving and advocating for LGBT seniors.

Working with the Movement Advancement Project and the American Society on Aging, the National Senior Citizens Law Center and the Center for American Progress, the SAGE report is the first major collaboration between LGBT advocacy organizations and aging organizations that examines issues facing LGBT seniors.  Focusing on three major areas, here are some highlights (or as you read them, I’m tempted to say “lowlights” as some of these findings are heartbreaking…):

  • LGBT elders are less financially secure due to a lifetime of discrimination, as well as laws and programs that fail to offer the protection and support afforded to their heterosexual counterparts.
  • LGBT seniors have a harder time achieving good health and healthcare. The major reasons for this have included nursing home and hospital visitation policies, as well as inhospitable healthcare environments, although the LGBT and ally community received a huge boost from President Obama when he announced new healthcare protections for LGBT citizens and families. 
  • LGBT seniors are more likely to face social isolation. In addition to living alone, older LGBTs tend to feel less-than-welcome in mainstream aging groups and programs, like senior centers.

The report outlines the issues and offers solutions that will help LGBT seniors be treated with the dignity and respect they, and the entire LGBT community, deserve. So, I urge all you FH Out Front readers to stop and think – what if this was your Grandma or Grandpa? How would you want them to be treated?

 

| April 20th, 2010 2 Comments »
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Powerful People

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As we end yet another week, some powerful people are being recognized for their contributions to the LGBT community and their prominence in the national spotlight. And no, I'm not talking about the return of Glee or the series finale of Ugly Betty, though both merit my praise for raising awareness of our community while being consistently entertaining.

Let's start with Out's "4th Annual Power 50." This list recognizes America's most influential gay men and women. After I didn't find my name on the list (must have been #51), I spent some time reviewing those individuals who earned the spotlight. Among my favorites (with their corresponding Out descriptions):

  • #50: Urvashi Vaid: "In her 25 years as an LGBT rights activist, attorney, and author, Vaid has lead the NGLTF and held positions at the ACLU and the Ford Foundation. Currently the executive director of the Arcus Foundation, a key grant-maker supporting gay rights charities, she was honored in 2009 by the Equality Foundation as an LGBT Icon."
  • #30: Dustin Lance Black (friend of Bryan's): "The Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter came off the award hot last year, finishing his directorial debut, What’s Wrong with Virginia?, which stars Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly, narrating a documentary about Mormon influence on Prop. 8’s defeat, and writing a screenplay for a biopic of J. Edgar Hoover, which has attracted Ron Howard’s production team, the directorial interest of Clint Eastwood, and, in turn, super-early Oscar buzz."
  • #28: Dan Choi: "With his stirring speech at the National Equality March on Washington in October, discharged Lt. Dan Choi became the face and voice of the rally and underscored the personal aspect of our political fight for gay marriage equality and the repeal of DADT. He clashed with the HRC among other gay groups when he was arrested for chaining himself to the White House gates in March, Choi continues to be the U.S.’s most outspoken serviceman."
  • #24: Anthony Romero: "Under Romero’s fearless leadership, the membership of the ACLU has doubled since he started to serve as executive director in 2001, and the organization has taken to task everyone from the state of California for its ban on gay marriage to President Obama, whose administration the group is urging not to back down from prosecuting the 9/11 terrorist subjects in civilian court."
  • #12: Rich Ross: "Disney reaffirmed its status as an outpost of progressiveness in the movie industry last October by making Rich Ross the first openly gay studio chief in history. Having steered the careers of both Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers as president of Disney Channels Worldwide, Ross has wasted little time in bringing in fresh blood and cutting the number of movies on the slate (C’est la vie, Wild Hogs 2). With Steve Jobs as the studio’s biggest individual investor, expect to see a radical new approach to distribution with Apple’s new iPad."
  • #8: Joe Solmonese: "This year the Human Rights Campaign celebrates its 30th anniversary. As president since 2005, Solmonese oversees the largest LGBT group in the country, numbering more than 750,000 members. Despite criticism because the president does not support gay marriage per se, the HRC hosted Obama at its 2009 annual dinner, which preceded the National Equality March in Washington in October. The event garnered much-needed coverage in mainstream media and momentum and counted Lady Gaga among its guests."

Each one of the 50 individuals recognized give us the opportunity to do what we do every day– to openly advocate for and market to the LGBT community. By using their prominence for the good of the cause, they open doors for us to follow. Their "mainstream" status takes us one step closer to acknowledgement and inclusivity. Who were your favorites on the list?

The other news about a powerful person in our community came last night. In a memo to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, President Obama ordered most hospitals in the country to grant the same visitation rights to gay and lesbian partners that they do to married heterosexual couples. This means that any hospital receiving Medicare and Medicaid money honor all patients' advance directives, including those designating who gets family visitation privileges.

Thank you, Mr. President. I can't imagine what our community has gone through specifically related to this issue– being turned away from visiting the ones we love most in a final hour of need. To know that soon we may have the right to be at the bedside to say goodbye to someone who was our most important hello is a huge step in giving us the rights we deserve.

 

| April 16th, 2010 No Comments »
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Medicines for a Healthy Gay Life…We Hope…

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As the country warm's up, many people are beginning to head outside. And with that transition comes the inevitable focus on bathing suit season and health. Winter's over — it's time to toss the tissues of flu season, head out of hibernation and build a better you in two months so you don't have that many body image issues while on the beach. Even here at our office building today, management is holding a health fair with every thing from fitness tips and dance lessons to a blood drive.

While we've discussed on here before the issues of blood donation bans and former restrictions on HIV+ travelers, a recent study and letter in the New England Journal of Medicine caught my attention the other day. There's another area in healthcare where gays and lesbians are being overlooked and excluded — clinical trials on drugs.

Assistant Professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center Brian Egleston and colleagues headed up a recent study of more than 80,000 clinical trials to determine how many of these explicitly or more indirectly excluded gay and lesbian participants. Of the 243 studies identified as exclusionary, 15 percent (37) had explicit language stating as such. Another trend note was the higher likelihood of exclusion in trials sponsored by industry, covering most of the U.S. and in its third phase — or a broader study.

It is important to note that clinical trials on medicine can have exclusions (for instance, I'm sure the makers of Yaz or Progesterone might want to exclude male studies from their tests of drugs affecting the female menstrual cycle).  However, each exclusion needs a solid scientific argument for the need for the restriction as required by the National Institutes of Health guidelines.

The researchers said, "It is likely that most gay and lesbian patients are unaware of that their sexual orientation is being used as a screening factor for participation in clinical trials. Researchers should be held to careful scientific reasoning when they develop exclusion criteria that are based on sexual orientation."

While yes another area where gays and lesbians are being overlooked, I think it speaks to another important audience we should begin engaging in greater conversations. While gays and lesbians are at a more basic level male and female human beings, there are obvious differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals — differences which could have positive or negative effects in forthcoming medicine. What do you think?

Keep talking to your doctors, pharmacists and other medical professionals about your unique needs as an LGBT individual. A collective voice can continue making great strides in our changing healthcare landscape for gays and lesbians.

| March 24th, 2010 No Comments »
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25 Years Ago

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Festive Friday greetings to all. I was going to use this space today to provide my Oscar picks (I'm going to go with a post-game analysis on Monday instead), but a colleague shared a news release with me this week that deserves blog attention.

One of our clients, Abbott Diagnostics, is celebrating an incredible milestone– the 25th anniversary of the marketing clearance for the first HIV test. On March 2 1985, the FDA approved the first-ever diagnostic test to screen blood donors for antibodies to HIV. The first test to screen donors took nine months to develop, and once it was approved, was immediately adopted by the American Red Cross and other blood organizations.  

How has the HIV landscape changed during the past 25 years? Some fast facts:

  • The CDC estimates that there are 56,000 new cases of HIV annually in the U.S., down from an estimated peak of 130,000 new annual cases in the mid-1980s.
  • In 2008, UNAIDS estimated that 2.7 million people throughout the world are newly infected with HIV each year, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Women account for 50 percent of adults living with HIV globally.

While we don't have a cure, just think how drastic our lives would have changed if we didn't have a way to detect HIV. In some circles, there is still a fear to get tested for HIV because of what the outcome might be. I remember when I went to get my first HIV test. As a newly out gay man, I felt that I needed to make sure that I was being safe. The mindset I had walking into the health center doors was paralyzing. What would the outcome be? How could this one test change my life? I felt as if everyone was staring at me, judging me for just walking through the doors.

While I was relieved that the test came back negative, I was even more relieved to see the complete circle of trust and empathy that comes from healthcare workers and counselors who test individuals on a daily basis. Those are the heroes– providing a shoulder to cry on when the news isn't what you expect, and the resources to help you live your life as fully as possible.

Thank you Abbott for putting the science and technology in place to help us detect this epidemic. And thank you to the thousands of healthcare workers, counselors, social workers and organizations that are on the front lines every day fighting the battle to end AIDS.

  

 

| March 5th, 2010 No Comments »
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Sorry, Sir, Your Blood’s Too…Gay

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Erin - BloodJanuary is National Blood Donor Month, honoring the nearly four million U.S. citizens that donate blood each year and serving as a reminder that every day approximately 39,000 units of blood are required in hospitals and emergency rooms.  I’m definitely patting myself on the back right now, as I’ve donated blood virtually every year for the past 10 years. In addition to weight (I've never had an issue meeting that prerequisite) and age requirements, a potential donor cannot be a man who has engaged in gay sex. A quarter of a century ago, the U.S. FDA instituted what has affectionately been termed the “gay blood ban,” prohibiting any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 from giving blood. 

Back in the 1980s, in response to the overwhelming AIDs crisis, banning gay men from donating blood was thought of as a way to keep the nation’s blood supply as “clean” as possible. This was based on the idea that men who have had sex with other men are at higher risk of contracting HIV and hepatitis, posing health risks to potential blood recipients. Interestingly enough, I could have an intimate evening with say, Neil Patrick Harris, and give blood 12 months later, but under the rules, NPH can’t donate if he’s engaged in gay sex…ever. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a serious, monogamous relationship, have been celibate since 1978 or have an incredibly rare blood type, like AB negative – if you’re a gay man, the FDA still says no.

I can try to understand the fear and the subsequent rationale between excluding high-risk groups from donating blood, especially considering how much less was known about HIV/AIDs back in the early 1980s. The fact remains that this ban, thanks to more information about HIV/AIDs and extensive blood testing post-donation, is not only antiquated but completely unnecessary. It furthers the idea that HIV/AIDs is a gay-only disease, fostering discrimination based on sexual orientation rather than scientific fact.  The American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers and the AABB have all recommended to the FDA that the blood ban on gay donors be ended, changing the deferral time to match those of heterosexual donors, yet the ban remains in effect.

Thanks to modern science, education and awareness campaigns, we all know how HIV is transmitted. More importantly, donated blood undergoes an extensive screening process during the time it’s donated and when it actually gets used, including testing for the HIV virus. Yes, HIV/AIDs occurrences among gay and bisexual men are still incredibly high, yet if you look at the age/race demographics,black and Hispanic communities have been particularly affected by HIV/AIDs in the U.S.  In 2007, 50 percent of all new HIV diagnoses were in black people…could you imagine the social uproar should the FDA decide that that the black community posed too great a risk for blood donation? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

| January 26th, 2010 No Comments »
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