Local
Chase Brexton to host town hall on trans health
Topics include medical services, insurance issues
Chase Brexton Health Services, 1111 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Chase Brexton Health Care will hold a town hall on Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. to provide the latest information on transgender health care, including details regarding policy, coverage and open enrollment. The event, which will bring together Chase Brexton providers, members of the organization’s LGBT Health Resource Center, and representatives from FreeState Legal Project, will take place in the sixth floor employee lounge of the Chase Brexton Mt. Vernon Center, 1111 N. Charles St. in Baltimore.
Attendees will learn about new developments in trans health coverage and medical services. But the town hall will also provide organizers with an important opportunity to hear from members of the community attempting to access care.
“Law, policy and insurance coverage are changing rapidly and access to transition-related care is increasing,” said Beth Brolund, a staff therapist and case manager at Chase Brexton. “We’ve been working to help trans individuals navigate a complicated system and the problems that we know about. We need to hear from the community to get a better picture of what experiences people are having, what the needs are and how we can be of the most help.”
Among those joining the town hall will be Dr. Rachel Bluebond-Langner, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who will discuss her transgender surgery services’ recent experiences with health insurance issues.
“Trans individuals often feel lost when trying to complete their transition safely in the medical world,” explained Chase Brexton provider Jill Crank, CRNP. “We would like to provide a forum to discuss what Chase Brexton offers in terms of primary and trans-related care, as well as highlight the promising changes (and challenges) in working with insurance companies to cover these services.”
Crank added, “Our ultimate goal is to become the place of choice for trans individuals seeking any type of healthcare, and we want them to know they are not alone in the fight for trans health equality.”
Though there have been advancements in LGBT legal rights, many obstacles still remain, particularly in securing access to health care.
“With open enrollment season upon us for plans in the Maryland Health Connection and many other private health insurance plans, it couldn’t be more timely to share information about what plans cover transition-related care and what obstacles still remain,” said Jer Welter, deputy director and managing attorney at FreeState Legal.
The town hall is the first in a series of meetings planned to discuss many aspects of trans health and address community needs.
“In the rapidly changing landscape of transgender health care and coverage, we all still believe that this is an issue of social justice,” Nate Sweeney, executive director of the LGBT Health Resource Center, pointed out. “Transgender individuals should not have to jump through extra hoops to get their health care needs met. This team of the FreeState Legal Project, Chase Brexton, and the LGBT Health Resource Center are glad to be working on this project together to try and address this injustice.”
Corey Lacey contributed to this report.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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