Centering community

PPMI affirms that gender diverse people are the experts of their own experience, and we are committed to collaborating with the community to inform and elevate gender affirming care. With that in mind, we are continually thinking about ways that we can collaborate and communicate with community members. Some ways that we currently do so include:

• PPMI’s Gender Affirming Care Community Advisory Board: A committee of gender diverse people and allies from across the state with a demonstrated interest in advocacy who meet regularly to share feedback and insights with the gender affirming care program team.

• A dedicated Gender Affirming Care Patient Navigator staff member: Our GAC Patient Navigator is committed to centering the needs of gender diverse people in the care we provide (beyond gender affirming hormone therapy). This staff member engages closely with the Community Advisory Board and patients with a goal of centering the needs of the community and expaning our resources to meet those needs. The Patient Navigator is available to connect patients with additional resources outside of PPMI to support their transition goals.

Will I interact with staff that look like me/share my identities?

We unfortunately cannot promise that the staff members that you interact with will share your identities. We also recognize that many identities are less visible than others but just as important for fostering a welcoming and safe space. PPMI does have staff with a range of identities and lived experience wo interact with patients or lead our patient care teams.

 Do PPMI staff receive training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)?

Yes! PPMI takes its commitment to creating inclusive and equitable spaces for staff and patients seriously. All new staff participate in a multi-day training focused on topics including implicit bias and microaggressions. PPMI also maintains identity spaces for staff to continue their growth and learning on equity and inclusion-focused topics, and all staff are required to complete an additional annual training on a salient DEI topic.