We will never stop fighting for you and your right to be who you are. No one can take your identity away from you. We see you. You deserve safety, respect, support, and to thrive. Please don’t give up hope. It’s a scary time, but remember, we are right by your side. Queer people have always created our own safe spaces no matter the circumstances, and we will keep doing so.

We’ll say it louder for those in the back – we’re not going anywhere. Our care continues.

We encourage you to reach out for support if you’re struggling right now. Your community is here for you. We take care of us.

The post A message for our trans patients & community appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

Under Reia’s leadership, she will oversee all aspects of gender-affirming care for Anchor Health’s trans and gender diverse patients, ensuring the continued delivery of our high-quality, groundbreaking services.

Since joining Anchor Health in 2022, Reia has become an integral voice in the growth of our gender-affirming services and the organization as a whole through her visionary leadership and exceptional patient care. Reia was hired by Anchor Health after completing a clinical rotation with us while earning her master’s as a family nurse practitioner.

On her promotion, Reia commented, “I am deeply honored to embrace this opportunity to further Anchor Health’s mission of providing exceptional gender-affirming care. The health, well-being, and safety of our trans and gender diverse community are more critical now than ever, and I am committed to ensuring that our care continues to meet their needs in this time of great uncertainty. I look forward to working with our extraordinary team to steer us toward impactful change.”

About Anchor Health

Anchor Health is Connecticut’s leading health center for the LGBTQ community, providing the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible in Connecticut and beyond. Founded in 2016, Anchor Health currently serves over 3,700 patients, more than half transgender and gender diverse, across full-service health centers in Hamden and Stamford. Anchor Health continuously works to advance health equity for LGBTQ people through advocacy, community-building, education, and research. We are health care for queer people by queer people.

The post Reia Massaro, APRN, promoted to Clinical Lead for Gender-Affirming Medicine appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

In his new role, Dr. Canarie will lead and direct all clinical aspects of care at Anchor Health. He will continue working closely with the organization’s leaders to enhance clinical performance and ensure that Anchor Health exceeds the highest standards in quality, safety, and patient-centered care.

In 2020, Dr. Canarie joined Anchor Health as a part-time volunteer and was hired as the medical director of our HIV Prevention & Treatment Program in 2021. He has been crucial in the expansion of our comprehensive HIV and sexual health services. Dr. Canarie piloted Anchor Health as one of Connecticut’s only clinical trial sites for the HIV-prevention drug lenacapavir. He also oversaw the vaccination of over a thousand people throughout the 2022–2023 mpox public health emergency.

Dr. Canarie graduated from Arizona State University and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He completed his combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the Yale School of Medicine in 2020 and then served as a chief resident in pediatrics after graduating. Outside of his role at Anchor Health, Dr. Canarie is an assistant clinical professor at Yale, teaching residents the fundamentals of LGBTQ-competent care and HIV medicine.

“This is an exciting time for Anchor Health. As we approach our 10-year anniversary, we are thrilled to appoint Dr. Canarie as our CMO to guide the organization to its future through his heart-driven leadership,” commented Patricia Chadwick, Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Anchor Health. “Dr. Canarie’s expertise and utmost dedication to patient well-being will be invaluable as Anchor Health continues expanding as Connecticut’s leading LGBTQ health center.”

On his appointment, Dr. Canarie said, “I am incredibly honored to champion this new role at Anchor Health. It has truly been a privilege to work alongside our brilliant, dedicated team and provide care to our community. I owe a massive debt of gratitude to my mentors, Dr. A.C. Demidont, our cofounder and former CMO, and Dr. AJ Eckert, my former co-medical director. I would not be here without all the training and support they provided me. As CMO, I look forward to growing with Anchor Health and advancing our life-saving services in pursuit of our mission, vision, and values.”

About Anchor Health

Anchor Health is Connecticut’s leading health center for the LGBTQ community, providing the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible in Connecticut and beyond. Founded in 2016, Anchor Health currently serves over 3,700 patients, more than half transgender and gender diverse, across full-service health centers in Hamden and Stamford. Anchor Health continuously works to advance health equity for LGBTQ people through advocacy, community-building, education, and research. We are health care for queer people by queer people.

The post Joseph Canarie, MD, AAHIVS, named Chief Medical Officer of Anchor Health appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

CONNECTICUT — Today, Anchor Health announced our “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 16th iteration of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), released today. A record 1,065 healthcare facilities actively participated in the HEI 2024 survey and scoring process. Of those participants, 462 received the “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer” designation.

“Anchor Health was founded on the principle that all LGBTQ+ people deserve access to comprehensive, trauma-informed, and science-based care of the highest quality. We are incredibly proud that the HRC Foundation has recognized us for providing care that should be the standard everywhere,” commented Joseph Canarie, MD, AAHIVS, the medical director of Anchor Health’s HIV Prevention & Treatment Program. “Anchor Health remains deeply committed to meeting and exceeding the needs of our patients and communities, especially now as we face unprecedented state-sanctioned violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, most often targeting trans youth. As we recognize the work that we have done, we must acknowledge that there is still much to do on the path towards health equity.”

Key highlights from the report include:

• Targeted health disparities reduction plans: Encouragingly, 71% have an official plan for reducing health disparities that specifically includes LGBTQ+ patients in addition to race, ethnicity, and linguistic concerns.
• Work to be done: Only 27% have an externally promoted specific program to provide patient navigation or advocacy services to transgender patients.
• Bias elimination and welcoming interactions: Just over half (53%) have a policy or policies that specifically outline procedures and practices aimed at eliminating bias and insensitivity, and ensuring appropriate, welcoming interactions with transgender patients.
• EHR SOGI data: Major increases are seen in the number of healthcare facilities collecting sexual orientation and gender identity-related data in their electronic health records systems. Seven of the eight relevant data points had double-digit increases.
• Pronouns in electronic health records: The ability to collect and display a patient’s pronouns rose from 44% to 74%. This is an important tool to help prevent misgendering a patient.

This year’s HEI comes as LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adults to be “treated unfairly or with disrespect by a doctor or healthcare provider” in the last three years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The impact of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation combined with a history of discrimination in healthcare settings has the potential to cause even more LGBTQ+ people to delay or avoid seeking healthcare, which makes the HEI even more salient for those looking to find inclusive and affirming care.

“As anti-LGBTQ+ extremists look to strip away healthcare access at every turn, LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones are looking for healthcare providers to offer and champion fully inclusive services, The Healthcare Equality Index is helping people find facilities where welcoming policies and practices are the standard,” said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “We know that LGBTQ+ people – especially our trans family – continue to face discrimination in the doctor’s office. No one should have to put their health on the back-burner for fear of mistreatment in a healthcare facility or by their doctor.” 

About Anchor Health:

Anchor Health is Connecticut’s leading health center for the LGBTQ+ community, providing the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible in Connecticut and beyond. Founded in 2016, Anchor Health currently serves over 3,700 patients, more than half transgender and gender diverse, across full-service health centers in Hamden and Stamford. Anchor Health continuously works to advance health equity for LGBTQ+ people through advocacy, community-building, education, and research. We are health care for queer people by queer people.

To learn more, visit anchorhealthct.org.

Media contact:

Michael DeWolfe
mdewolfe@ahicorp.org

The post Anchor Health earns “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer” in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2024 Healthcare Equality Index appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

“I feel lucky to have had the privilege of working beside Dr. Eckert since I joined Anchor Health in 2020,” said Joseph Canarie, MD, AAHIVS, the medical director of Anchor Health’s HIV Prevention & Treatment Program. “Through their leadership, we have seen exponential growth in our gender-affirming care program. Dr. Eckert has been a cherished colleague and mentor to me and the rest of Anchor Health. I thank Dr. Eckert for the compassionate care that he provided his patients and his unrelenting commitment to improving the health and well-being of queer and trans people across Connecticut through advocacy at the state and national level. I wish them nothing but the best in his future endeavors and look forward to connecting in the near future.”

Anchor Health remains fully committed to providing our patients with the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible. All services and treatments patients have received from Dr. Eckert will continue to be available at Anchor Health.

Our patient care team will contact patients who have an appointment with Dr. Eckert after March 15 to reschedule with one of our other dedicated providers. All your records will remain intact upon Dr. Eckert’s departure, and your care will continue uninterrupted. If you have any questions or concerns about rescheduling with a new provider, please call 203-903-8308 or send us a MyChart message.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about this transitional period. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for trusting us with your care.

The post ANCHOR HEALTH ANNOUNCES THE DEPARTURE OF AJ ECKERT, DO appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

Our patient care team is contacting patients and offering alternatives to in-person appointments when possible. For any questions or concerns, please call 203-903-8308. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Please visit United Way 2-1-1’s website for a list of Connecticut’s warming centers and shelters.

Thank you for understanding, and stay safe!

The post ANCHOR HEALTH CLOSED TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, DUE TO WEATHER appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

Chris joined as our first-ever nurse in 2019 and most recently served as Vice President and Practice Manager. Chris’ growth at Anchor Health is a testament to his outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to our mission.

On Chris’ promotion, Chief Executive Officer Patricia Chadwick stated:

“Anchor Health will continue to prosper under the leadership of Chris Adams and its medical directors. Chris’ well-deserved promotion recognizes his exceptional stewardship of the organization and his profound dedication to providing the highest quality of care to all LGBTQ people. We look forward to the impact Chris will have in his new role.”

Please join us in congratulating Chris!

About Anchor Health

Anchor Health is Connecticut’s leading health center for the LGBTQ community, providing the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible in Connecticut and beyond. Founded in 2016, Anchor Health currently serves over 3,700 patients, more than half transgender and gender diverse, across full-service health centers in Hamden and Stamford. Anchor Health continuously works to advance health equity for LGBTQ people through advocacy, community-building, education, and research. We are health care for queer people by queer people.

The post CHRIS ADAMS, RN, PROMOTED TO CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

Anchor Health is delighted to announce the appointment of Jonah Santiago-Pagán to our Board of Directors. Jonah is a Hispanic transgender attorney practicing civil rights law. He will play a key role in creating awareness and bridging the gap to access Anchor Health’s services for Connecticut’s LGBTQ Hispanic community.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Jonah has learned acceptance by experiencing the acceptance of his chosen family and how to serve his Hispanic community by living in the service of his community. Jonah’s experience working with government agencies and leaders in the Hispanic and LGBTQ legal communities will help him be a catalyst and ambassador to Anchor Health’s goal of expanding outreach to the LGBTQ Hispanic community in Connecticut and beyond.

Welcome to the board, Jonah!

About Anchor Health

Anchor Health is Connecticut’s leading health center for the LGBTQ community, providing the most groundbreaking, radically inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive care possible in Connecticut and beyond. Founded in 2016, Anchor Health currently serves over 3,000 patients, nearly half transgender and gender diverse, across full-service health centers in Hamden and Stamford. Anchor Health continuously works to advance health equity for LGBTQ people through advocacy, community-building, education, and research. We are health care for queer people by queer people.

The post ANCHOR HEALTH ANNOUNCES THE ADDITION OF NEW BOARD MEMBER appeared first on Anchor Health CT.

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