With guest instructor, Barack Obama!
(CNS News) — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it is taking action to better address the health care needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, by encouraging, among other things, health profession training programs to “include LGBT cultural competency curricula.”
In a statement on the HHS Web site listing “Recommended Actions to Improve the Health and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities,” it states that “HHS will ensourage new and existing health profession training programs, including behavioral health (e.g., mental health, substance abuse, and HIV) programs, to include LGBT cultural competency curricula.”
“The lack of culturally competent providers is a significant barrier to quality health care for many LGBT people, particularly those who identify as transgender,” reads the HHS statement. “HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration will also convene professional groups that represent LGBT health providers and students to identify challenges and opportunities for training LGBT providers and to isolate strategies geared toward increasing culturally competent care for LGBT patients”