Stony Brook To Livestream LGBTQ+ Health Talk For Pride Month

STONY BROOK, NY — Stony Brook Medicine experts are marking Pride Month with a livestreamed discussion about the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community on June 16.

A group of panelists from Stony Brook University, Stony Brook Southampton and Eastern Long Island hospitals will take part in "LGBTQ+ Health Needs: Why it’s different. Why it matters" to discuss why LGBTQ+ healthcare needs to be defined and distinguished from other forms of healthcare.

The free virtual forum will start at noon.

Mental health, self-advocacy, prevention and many other topics that directly address the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community will be discussed, according to a news release. The discussion will be moderated by Adam Gonzalez, director of behavioral health and founding director of the Mind-Body Clinical Research Center at Stony Brook Medicine.

Panelists will include Dr. Allison Eliscu, division chief of adolescent medicine at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital; Robert Chaloner, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Suzie Marriott, incoming chief nursing officer and senior vice president of patient care services at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.

Stony Brook Medicine has formed an LGBTQ+ committee, which includes patients and their families, faculty, staff and trainees. Their mission is to review, address and affirm the specific and unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as promote respectful and culturally sensitive care in the community, officials said.

Also in celebration of Pride Month, Stony Brook Medicine is administering Long Island's first LGBTQ+ Community Health Needs Assessment Survey, which is "seeking vital data that will shape the future of LGBTQ+ healthcare in Nassau and Suffolk counties," the news release stated. For the survey, Stony Brook will collaborate with 20 local organizations and community leaders to help them reach all sectors of the LGBTQ+ community through “advocacy programming and services,” officials said.

Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Southampton hospital were named leaders in LGBTQ healthcare equality for 2020-2022 by the National LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, officials said. Both facilities received the top score of 100 on a survey about discrimination and staff training, patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, as well as patient and community engagement, according to officials.

The livestream event can be viewed on Facebook by clicking https://www.facebook.com/stonybrookmedicine/posts/4005736982815507, or YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KnlTBMw_nw

For more information about LGBTQ+ Care at Stony Brook Medicine, visit https://www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/LGBTQ