Howard Brown Health has a new director in charge of transgender and nonbinary care.
Dr. Michelle DallaPiazza started in late September as the LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare organization’s new medical director of transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse (TGNB) care.
DallaPiazza came to Howard Brown Health from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where she served as the medical director of the Infectious Diseases Practice and launched its first gender-affirming clinical care program.
“I’m feeling a lot of excitement and enthusiasm for the next steps in this role at Howard Brown Health,” DallaPiazza told Windy City Times. “The gender-affirming care program I started within Rutgers New Jersey Medical School really grew and blossomed, so being able to translate what I learned from building that program to my work at Howard Brown feels like a wonderful and natural next step.”
DallaPiazza founded the Rutgers Center for Transgender Health in 2017 after helping with some clinical studies relating to how transgender people are disproportionately affected by HIV, she said.
“As a clinic, we weren’t doing a very good job engaging with transgender people in care, so we started to ask questions like ‘What can we do better? How can we provide better services?” DallaPiazza said. “And in asking the community that question, the resounding answer was that we need holistic care that addresses all social disparities, including gender affirmation, health prevention and screenings.”
This led to a more holistic approach to transgender care that addressed HIV treatment and prevention along with other forms of care like sexual health, routine exams, vaccinations and cancer screenings, DallaPiazza said.
“This turned out to be a turn in my career that I didn’t expect, but one that was certainly one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of,” DallaPiazza said.
In her new role at Howard Brown, DallaPiazza is in charge of developing Howard Brown’s TGNB-specific health programs, focusing on wellness, perisurgical and routine services. She will also make sure all other services at the organization are accessible and responsive to the needs of TGNB people.
DallaPiazza is starting that work by going through Howard Brown’s existing policies and procedures and giving clinical guidance on how they can be improved upon to better serve TGNB patients, she said.
“My background in education suits me well here, because there’s so many priorities with respect to education, like education for our staff and clinicians, who already have lots of experience in providing this care,” DallaPiazza said. “Beyond that, there’s education that’s crucial for our community and the broader public on the importance of these healthcare topics and how we have to continue to protect them going forward.”
DallaPiazza’s goals at Howard Brown include building on the organization’s approach to providing holistic healthcare by ensuring its clinics are up to date with the most recent evidence, research and guidelines around transgender health, she said.
“I want to make sure that we remain accountable … and see where we can do better,” DallaPiazza said. “We develop programs to make our care better and be very flexible to the emerging needs that may arise.”
DallaPiazza will also work to maintain the organization’s quality of TGNB healthcare amid any changes that might come from President Elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
“We definitely anticipate changes, but we don’t know exactly what they’re going to look like, and that uncertainty can sometimes be challenging,” DallaPiazza said. “The main thing is that whatever comes our way, we’re prepared to address it and committed at Howard Brown to preserving and protecting access to this essential care.”
Robin Gay, interim president and CEO of Howard Brown, said in a statement that DallaPiazza’s demonstrated commitment to gender-affirming care that’s patient-centered makes her an “exceptional addition to our team.”
“[DallaPiazza’s] expertise will be instrumental in guiding our TGNB care program to new heights, [and] ensuring that our services are accessible, integrated and responsive to the evolving needs of our community.”