The Honorable Jeannine Frisby LaRue addresses a crowd of over 220 guests at Embracing the LGBTQ+ Community: A Symposium of Inclusion and Understanding, an event put on by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, supported through a generous grant by TD Bank.
On September 14, 2023, The Somerset Health Care Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset’s Babs Siperstein PROUD Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, held a day-long symposium for more than 220 attendees, “Embracing the LGBTQ+ Community: A Symposium of Inclusion and Understanding” at The Palace at Somerset Park. The Honorable Jeannine LaRue, a lobbyist, social media consultant and public affairs executive, delivered the keynote address. Break-out sessions covered a range of topics geared toward health care providers, teachers and law enforcement, including LGBTQ+ sensitivity in health care, law and policy, the intersection between the LGBTQ+ community and religion, microaggressions, myths around LGBTQ+ youth and how to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into your business.
“As a trailblazer in LGBTQ+ health, RWJUH Somerset continues to lead the way in helping to create supportive, safe environments that are inclusive for all who live and work in New Jersey,” said Patrick Delaney, Chief Administrative Officer, RWJUH Somerset. “Through this symposium, we brought together leaders from the state’s health care, education and law enforcement communities to foster greater awareness of issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and to develop collaborative solutions.”
The event is funded through a grant from TD Bank.
The Babs Siperstein PROUD Center was the first in New Jersey to offer specialized primary care services for members of the LGBTQ+ community when it opened in 2017. Its services for ages 18 and older include primary medical care, HIV prevention and care, hormone therapy and monitoring, wellness visits, behavioral health therapy, health education, support groups and patient navigation services. RWJUH Somerset also began offering gender affirmation surgery for adults in 2022. The hospital has been recognized by the Human Rights Foundation as a Leader in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality for seven consecutive years.