Transgender Medicine and Health 
Discussion Series

Creating a Welcoming Environment for Transgender Patients

Dr. Koch is joined by Rachel Levine, MD, the Physician General of Pennsylvania to explain how doctors and healthcare provides can create a welcoming environment for transgender patients. Dr. Levine discusses the experiences that got her to where she is professionally and what has shaped her journey as a transgender woman. She highlights the strides being made in transgender healthcare and ways to create an environment conducive to proper treatment for trans individuals in medicine.

Best Practices in Transgender Medicine

In the second part of our Transgender Medicine and Health series, Holiday Simmons, MSW, Resident in Resilience and Healing at the Campaign for Southern Equality, speaks with Dr. Koch regarding their barriers faced in medicine from the perspectives of gender and age.

Simmons and Koch discuss what it really means to “begin transition”, which often starts with the initial thought that one’s gender identity may not align with their assigned sex at birth. Simmons describes the key practices for a healthy transition including social, medical and legal support, as well as salient advice for family and friends of those who identify as transgender.

Best Practices in Gender Reassignment Surgery

Kathy Rumer, DO, a leading aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon in the Philadelphia area, joins Dr. Koch to examine best policies and practices for gender reassignment surgery procedures. Dr. Rumer describes her journey from engineer to surgeon as well as becoming an ally of the transgender community. She discusses strategies to administer effective care for the transgender community. Dr. Rumer has been able to thoughtfully perform gender reassignment surgeries and in doing so has become a catalyst for the forward progression of the medical profession.

Transitioning After Gender Reassignment Surgery

Mental health counselor Anna Lisa Deranthal, MS, sits down with Dr. Koch to discuss transitioning through the lens of mental health, social networks and relationships as they pertain to age. Deranthal works with individuals of all ages who face issues regarding gender identity. Deranthal's practice resonates with the experiences personally faced by Dr. Koch as she transitioned later in life at the age of 63. Deranthal and Koch also speak to the evolution of transgender healthcare, innovations in surgical procedures, family well-visits, the importance of mental health, and the future of medical care for transgender individuals.

Black Trans Women Lives Matter - Part 1

Marcella Rolle, MEd, NCC, LAPC, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling at PCOM, joins Imara Jones, creator of TransLash Media. Ms. Jones brings to light that not only do black trans women matte, they have been at the center of many significant LGBTQIA+ movements. The question remains, why are these amazing women still the most marginalized group in the LGBTQIA+ community? Ms. Jones helps us to understand the magnitude of this injustice by speaking from personal experience and vast knowledge about the treatment of black trans women in healthcare, homelessness and unemployment.

Black Trans Women Lives Matter - Part 2

Anne Koch, DMD, continues the conversation on black trans women with Kylie Madhav, MBA, LMSW, Manager of Clinical Support Services at New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. She offers a unique perspective as a member of the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) community both in the United States and India. She discusses how she planned the process of her own transition, including selecting healthcare providers who offer competent care. In comparing the acceptance of TGNC individuals in America versus India, Ms. Madhav emphasizes the overall importance of community and support services for trans people ensuring they have the resources needed to live healthy and fruitful lives.