Heather Payne, NP: People looking for gender health services, the first point of contact for most people is Mary Sullivan, who's our director of outreach and education. And she's a really great resource for people who are just looking for information or looking to referrals for different services. She can kind of feel out the needs. 

Mary Sullivan: So we think it's extremely important to create an inclusive and affirming environment for our patients primarily. We appreciate and respect them and we feel like the relationships we build with them probably are the most therapeutic things that we do. We also value the input and participation of family members, including parents or guardians or grandparents, or even siblings. 

Heather Payne, NP: We typically see patients age 12 to 26. And for patients who pediatric endocrinologist are seeing for gender affirming care, they'll see them up to age 26 as well. 

Christine Burt Solorzano, MD: The first step in moving towards gender affirming therapy is for the child and the parents to have important general information about gender identity in general, as well as medical and surgical options for gender affirming treatment. Once they have this general information, I help the child find a mental health specialist who can help confirm the diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The diagnosis of gender dysphoria is important so that we know that we're doing the right thing by providing gender affirming treatment.

Heather Payne, NP: I think our care philosophy is to be welcoming of everyone. We want the teen health center to feel like home. I can't tell you how many times I've had a kid, and, maybe parent, burst into tears of joy, you know, the day they start a medication. Kids have struggled, sometimes dealt with depression and anxiety. And over the years seeing like their personalities come out and they're beaming and they're flourishing in life and it just happens over and over again. And it makes me love this part of my job. 

Mary Sullivan: It's a remarkable team of providers committed to providing respectful and affirming care. And we believe that all patients deserve respectful, affirming care from their healthcare providers.