Kaiser Permanente To Stop Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Under-19s
The nonprofit health care provider will continue to provide all other gender-affirming care. The California Nurses Association has criticized the decision as "giving in to government overreach." Meanwhile, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is shuttering its youth gender-affirming care program.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Kaiser Permanente Pauses Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Youths
Kaiser Permanente will pause gender-affirming surgeries for patients under age 19, the provider said Wednesday. The decision by the nonprofit health giant, slated to go into effect Aug. 29, comes on the heels of other major health care providers in California, including Stanford Medicine and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, that have similarly scaled back or halted gender-affirming care for adolescents. It applies to Kaiser locations nationwide. (Ho, 7/23)
The CT Mirror:
Connecticut Children’s ‘Winding Down’ Youth Gender-Affirming Care
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center confirmed Wednesday it is shutting down the program that provides gender-affirming health care to transgender and gender-diverse patients. (Golvala and Altimari, 7/23)
Tradeoffs:
‘I Feel Unsafe Almost Everywhere’: How A Trans Teen's Life Has Changed Under Trump
It’s been a hard year for transgender Americans and their supporters. President Donald Trump has issued numerous executive orders targeting transgender people and their health care. The administration has threatened hospitals, shuttered the federal suicide and crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth and, earlier this month, the Department of Justice subpoenaed confidential patient information from doctors who treat transgender young people. (Levi and Gorenstein, 7/23)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Chicago Tribune:
Chicago To Invest $40 Million In Upgrades To Homeless Shelters
Tania Navarrete welcomes a group of city employees to her new apartment on the South Side. She guides them through the living room and bedroom and then into her kitchen. Art lines the walls and the fridge is fully stocked with food. The employees, on a “special assignment” for the day, are with the city’s Homeless Outreach and Prevention team. They helped Navarrete find and move into the new apartment about a month ago. (Johnson, 7/23)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Once Homeless, Man Surveys Atlanta Unhoused, Asking Why They’d Turn Down Shelter
On a recent morning in Atlanta’s Woodruff Park, Richard DeShields posed a question to a 57-year-old homeless man: If someone offered you shelter right now, would you take it? The answer came quickly, and it was a no. (Williams, 7/23)
The Baltimore Sun:
Baltimore Officials, Residents Worry Psychiatric Rehab Centers Bring Bad Results
Baltimore councilmembers and residents voiced concerns during a hearing Wednesday on the quality and safety of local initiatives intended to help people with mental illnesses thrive in the city. (Fine, 7/23)
NBC News:
Doctor Charged In Matthew Perry's Death Pleads Guilty To Drug Distribution
Dr. Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to charges Wednesday stemming from Matthew Perry's accidental overdose in 2023 in a series of cases targeting those who supplied the "Friends" actor with copious amounts of ketamine. Plasencia agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine and had a formal hearing on the matter in federal court. A judge decided he will remain out on bond until his Dec. 3 sentencing hearing. According to an agreement with prosecutors, Plasencia faces up to 40 years in prison and three years of supervised release. He also faces a fine of at least $2 million, the agreement says. (Madani, 7/23)
AP:
8 Children Taken To Hospitals From Harvard Square Church Concert
Eight children at a church near Harvard University where a French youth choir was holding a concert suffered seizure-like symptoms and were taken to hospitals, possibly the result of fumes from cleaning supplies, officials said. The symptoms were not life-threatening, the Cambridge Fire Department said in a news release. About 70 other people in attendance at the concert Tuesday evening at St. Paul’s Parish in Harvard Square were not affected. (7/23)
