District of Columbia
Kaiser Permanente opens D.C. LGBTQ medical center
Pride Medical facility is located on Capitol Hill
The importance of providing specialized health care services for the LGBTQ community was the lead topic at a reception, panel discussion and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday at the site of Kaiser Permanente’s LGBTQ Pride Medical Center on Capitol Hill.
Officials with the LGBTQ facility, which is referred to as Pride Medical, said they invited guests and supporters to join the facility’s physicians, staff, and community members to talk about its importance and celebrate its opening in June 2021 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that had been postponed due to COVID-related restrictions.
“Research shows that LGBTQ+ patients often have health concerns that they prefer to share with a doctor who has experience treating patients who identify as LGBTQ+,” a statement released by the event’s organizers says. “That’s why Kaiser Permanente launched Pride Medical at Capitol Hill, which offers access to physicians who have extensive expertise in LGBTQ+ care, as well as pharmacy, lab, gynecological and case management services,” the statement says.
“Pride Medical is an optional, additional site of care for LGBTQ+ patients,” the statement adds.
The Pride Medical offices are located in Kaiser Permanente’s Capitol Hill Medical Center at 700 Second St., N.E., near Union Station, which is sometimes referred to as Capitol Hill North.
Among those participating in the panel discussion, called Taking Pride in Your Health: A Conversation about LGBTQ+ Health Care, was Dr. Ashlee Williams, a board-certified Kaiser Permanente adult and family medicine physician practicing at the Capitol Hill Medical Center, who served as the panel moderator.
Also participating on the panel was Dr. Keith Egan, one of the primary care physicians at Pride Medical who also serves as Associate Director of Gender Pathways, a transgender supportive program located at the Kaiser Capitol Hill Medical Center. Another panel speaker was Dr. Michael Horberg, who along with Egan, was one of the founders of Pride Medical.
Horberg serves, among other roles, as Associate Medical Director for Kaiser Permanente’s Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group and director of the medical group’s HIV/STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) program.
Both Egan and Horberg self-identified as gay in their panel presentations. They emphasized that LGBTQ physicians and staff as well as allied physicians and staff who are highly trained in LGBTQ medical related issues play an important role in providing support and expert care for Pride Medical’s patients.
“I think that trust and comfort are the big benefits of Pride Medical,” Egan told the gathering. “But we also have providers with an amazing amount of experience in doing things like providing pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, post-exposure prophylaxis, talking about sexual health, and with transgender health,” he said.
Egan told the Washington Blade that Pride Medical provides care for patients who are members of the Kaiser Permanente health insurance and healthcare system who live in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs as well as D.C. patients. He said many of the patients living in the suburban areas schedule virtual visits with their physicians through video sessions while also coming in for in-person visits.
Egan said the Pride Medical physicians see LGBTQ patients from all walks of life and ages, starting from age 18 through seniors who are members of Kaiser through their Medicare plans.
Other speakers on the panel included Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; Dr. Cabell Jonas, research scientist and Director of Research Programs for Kaiser’s Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute; gay health care expert Charles DeSantis, who serves as Chief Benefits Officer and Associate Vice President for Benefits at Georgetown University; and Bianca Rey, a trans woman who provides support for Pride Medical in her role as an Equity Inclusion and Diversity Specialist at Kaiser Permanente’s Mid-Atlantic States Region.
Rey told of how she has benefited both as a patient and staff member of Kaiser’s longstanding trans, nonbinary and gender expansive supportive programs currently being coordinated at Pride Medical.
“I appreciate the fact that care is individualized,” she said. “Trans people and nonbinary people do not transition the same,” she continued. “And I appreciated that the conversation with myself and Pride Medical and that the people that are engaging in that conversation really listen and they give you the proper care that you need in order for you to continue to live as your authentic self.”
At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Dr. Shital Desai, who serves as Physician-In-Chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Mid-Atlantic Region, invited the panelists and other guests to join her in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening and continued operation of Pride Medical.
“Our deepest gratitude to this incredible teem who was tireless in creating Pride Medical, which opened its doors to our patients in June of 2021,” Desai told the gathering.
“So, at this time, with such a wonderful audience here in place, we wanted to take the opportunity to engage and commemorate Pride Medical with a ribbing-cutting ceremony, which we were not able to do last June related to the pandemic at that time,” she said.
District of Columbia
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Matthew Mahl once served as head of LGBT Liaison Unit
D.C. police announced on April 14 that they have placed one of their lieutenants, Matthew Mahl, on administrative leave and revoked his police powers after receiving information that he was arrested in Maryland one day earlier.
Although the initial D.C. police announcement doesn’t disclose the reason for the arrest it refers to a statement by the Harford County, Md. Sheriff’s Office that discloses Mahl has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and child porn solicitation.
“On Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted MPD’s Internal Affairs Division shortly after arresting Lieutenant Matthew Mahl,” the D.C. police statement says.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the statement continues. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” it says.
“MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of the investigation until yesterday,” the statement adds.
Mahl served as acting supervisor of the MPD’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. D.C. police officials placed him on administrative leave and suspended his police powers that same year while investigating an undisclosed allegation.
A source familiar with the investigation said Mahl was cleared of any wrongdoing a short time later and resumed his police duties. Around the time he was promoted to lieutenant several years later Mahl took on the role as chairman of the D.C. Police Union, becoming the first known openly gay officer to hold that position.
NBC 4 reports that Mahl, 47, has served on the police force for 23 years and most recently was assigned to the department’s Special Operations Division.
Records related to Mahl’s arrest filed in Harford County District Court, show Sheriff’s Department investigators state in charging documents that he allegedly committed the offenses of Sexual Solicitation of a Minor and Child Porn Solicitation on Monday, April 13, one day before he was arrested on April 14.
The court records show he was held without bond during his first appearance in court on April 14. A decision on whether he would be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held without bond was scheduled to be determined during an April 15 bond hearing. The outcome of that hearing could not be immediately determined.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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