17 Comments
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Sandra's avatar

Protests certainly help, but what would be the most effective approach here would be if the state’s AG can get involved and make the determination whether Fenway Health’s actions violate the state’s protective laws - and if they do, then holding them responsible. Also, can the state offer to make up the federal funding that Fenway Health is fearing that it will lose?

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Tera B's avatar

Boston is working to set up a trust fund to fund GAC after it gets taken off Medicare. I do think Fenway needs to be taken to court over this. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts needs to fight to make sure that they can remain the last true bastion of Trans Healthcare in the United States, not roll over like Illinois did.

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Jaimie Hileman's avatar

Illinois is already committed to the same. Illinois is service GAC patients from 11 states.

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Jendi's avatar

Yes, call the AG's office, and if you're in the affected population, file a civil rights complaint on their website!

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Talia Perkins's avatar

Exactly!

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Kim's avatar

This is where grassroots pediatricians who don’t rely on federal funding need to pick up after the failures of these institutions bowing to a corrupt, hate-filled administration and start providing the care these kids need!

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Vanessa Schmithorst's avatar

Sue the bastards. Sue the bastards. Sue the bastards.

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Leah Abram's avatar

The problem with a loss of trust, is that it's like a spinal injury: it cannot heal, and once it's broken, it's gone forever.

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Harper's avatar

My friend works at Fenway as a nurse, and another friend left Fenway for a nursing job where they're treated better. From what both of them have shared, Fenway's administration has been completely out of touch with the community they serve for a while. Not that this is really news to anyone, unfortunately.

MA is one of the states families are moving to in order to protect their trans kids! Gratitude to the medical staff speaking up.

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Tommy Lamont's avatar

The Board of Fenway Health has demonstrated cowardice and stupidity. The cowardice is obvious. Less so is the stupidity. Anyone who has encountered a bully or an extortionist knows that bullies and extortionists come back for more if one capitulates and that "divide and conquer" is fundamental to bullies' and extortionists' strategy for eliminating enemies. The Board of Fenway Health hopes that its decision to capitulate to the administration's demand to end health care for trans people will preserving federal funding for health care critical for LGB folks. The decision may preserve health care critical for LGB folks in the short term. However, in the long term it won't; the administration will eventually come for health care for LGB folks. Last spring's erasure of the letter "T" from what was "LGBT" on the National Park Service website describing the Stonewall Uprising is a warning and a clue. Shame on the Board of Fenway Health.

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catsongs's avatar

Absolutely. The extortionist *always* returns, and the stakes are *always* higher.

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Marie Lewis (She/They/Fae)'s avatar

ACT-UP Boston still exists? That was where I got my start as an activist back in 1990. And Queer Nation Boston soon after. And probably would have been a Riot Grrrl like I am now if I had realized I was trans back then. As a male presenting feminist I was completely allied with the third wave feminism of the time, and kept up with the evolution of intersectionality and Me Too ...

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Susan Tuzzolino's avatar

Seems to me the board needs to be voted out!! They need a new board!!

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Mike Gelt's avatar

This is great and these protests need to continue and grow larger. It is very important to see that even staff members are standing up and asking questions and participating. This facility must understand that the position they have taken is not acceptable to anyone but trump

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Necrospecter's avatar

It is getting harder and harder to not wish to see these companies and their employees in financial flames from which not even a phoenix could sawn from, at the same time they get explosive diarrhea with lasts the rest of their long pathetic lives.

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Tera B's avatar

The Employees were blindsided by this announcement, they are applying internal pressure to reverse this decision.

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Necrospecter's avatar

You do understand a company is a thing ran by people be they a CEO CGO or janitor they are an employee, there for they we're not blindsided. I however will stick with my original thoughts and continue to say it's getting really hard to not wish things.

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