Boston, Mass, November 5, 2006 –
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) was honored today with the American Public Health Association (APHA)’s Presidential Citation for its work to ensure health care for the only minority population in the United States without civil rights protection. The award was presented here during APHA’s 134th Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Past winners of the award include other groups dedicated to bring health care to the under-served, such as Doctors Without Borders and the National Association of Community Health Centers, and outspoken individual advocates, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks and Donna E. Shalala, Ph.D.
The GLMA is the leading organization in North America working to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are treated competently and not discriminated against when they access health care. The association also works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health care providers do not experience discrimination in their training and at work.
Founded in 1981 as the Association of Physicians for Human Rights, the organization was originally a spin-off of the Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights. In 1999, the organization changed its name to the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
Most of the approximately 1,000 association members are in the United States, but members also hail from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Nigeria. The organization started as a physician group but is now aspiring to be a home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health care professionals from all disciplines. Current members include physician assistants, nurses, psychologists, social workers, dentists and other health professionals. In 2005, the group created a vice president for interdisciplinary affairs position on its Executive Committee and began a significant effort to draw nurses into the organization.
Among its many activities, the association is working to draw attention to health disparities. The group serves on the Commission to End Health Disparities, an independent organization focused on disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.
The association took the lead in opposing New York Medical College’s decision to ban its gay student group. The association worked with the American Medical Student Association and other groups to successfully pressure the school into reinstating the club in the 2005-2006 academic year. The school also appointed faculty member and past GLMA President Jane Petro, MD, to head a curriculum review committee that will examine curriculum that touches on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health issues.
The group headed the development of the 2010 Objectives for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender health and has worked with the American Medical Association (AMA) to encourage full inclusion in health care.