NYC Health + Hospitals Debuts North Brooklyn's First LGBTQ Health Center

BED-STUY – Last week, the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, Gregory Calliste, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the hospital’s first comprehensive health center dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) patients.

L-R: Edward Fishkin, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull; NYS Assemblywoman Maritza Davila; First Lady Chirlane McCray; Gregory Calliste, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull; Dovear Calhoun, Pride Health Center patient (Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

Located at 760 Broadway, near the borders of Williamsburg and Bushwick, the new Pride Health Center will provide patient-focused, culturally sensitive health services to LGBTQ youth and adults in a welcoming environment. The Pride Health Center is the first LGBTQ center serving North Brooklyn, and the second in NYC’s public health system. The first opened in Manhattan in 2014, according to Brooklyn Paper.

While Brooklyn is home to one of the largest LGBTQ communities in the country, members of these communities tend to be underserved in health care and have limited access to high-quality health services, according to the NYC Health + Hospitals release announcing the new center.

“The opening of The Pride Health Center is another step in our ongoing journey of ensuring all New Yorkers have access to culturally competent, high-quality health care,” Calliste said.

The team of healthcare providers at The Pride Health Center is specially trained in the care of LGBTQ patients. Services at the center will include primary care, OB/GYN, behavioral health, dental services, ophthalmology, hormone therapy, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

“In a region as vibrant and diverse as Brooklyn, public institutions must ensure they are able to address a wide range of culturally-specific needs,” said Council Member Robert Cornegy, who serves Bed-Stuy and northern Crown Heights. “NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull has ably taken up the mantle of providing culturally-sensitive health care for many years. The addition of a dedicated LGBTQ health center further demonstrates their continued commitment to being at the forefront of addressing this area’s health care needs in a comprehensive way.”

The Pride Health Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull currently sees patients on Mondays from 4pm to 8pm, however plans are in the works to extend the center’s hours to meet patient volume. Healthcare is available at the main hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week.