On this episode of The STFM Podcast, medical student Emiliano Lemus speaks with host Saria Carter Saccocio, MD, about how family medicine is uniquely positioned to be a leader in queer and transgender healthcare. Lemus discusses how to use inclusive language during initial clinical encounters with all patients and offers guidance on how physicians can build safe and welcoming relationships with diverse patients. They also share how to advocate in your health system for culturally-affirming care for LGBTQ populations.
Guest Bio:
Emiliano Lemus is a fourth-year medical student and Pisacano Scholar at the University of California Berkeley-University of California San Francisco Joint Medical Program. They are also an herbalist, health disparities researcher and trainer on LGBTQ-affirming healthcare. Emiliano worked for a decade as a community organizer before seeking medical training, serving in organizations focused on social justice and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Emiliano is trans, proudly Chicano and Indigenous, and a parent to three chickens and a poodle. They love living in Oakland, and they are thrilled to soon begin Family Medicine residency.
Host Bio:
Dr. Saria Saccocio is a physician executive consultant, advising companies to strategically and equitably deliver value-based healthcare spanning populations across the continuum. Among her current leadership initiatives, Dr. Saccocio serves as the Chief Physician Health Equity Engagement Officer for the National Minority Quality Forum’s Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity.
Dr. Saccocio has demonstrated a consistent history of leading award-winning programs and improving patient care and safety across the continuum as a Chief Medical Officer for health systems in the southeast. She received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida, and her Executive Master of Health Administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She completed her Family Medicine residency at the University of Miami before opening her own solo family practice. She continues to serve patients at the Greenville Free Medical Clinic.
Becker’s Hospital Review has recognized Dr. Saccocio as one of the top 100 Hospital and Health System CMOs to Know and has been elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Her extensive civic and community involvement has included serving with many organizations such as: the Modern Healthcare Women Advisory Board, board member for the South Carolina Hospital Association, United Way of Greenville County; Greenville Free Medical Clinic, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upstate, the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians Board, and is an Alum of the Women’s Leadership Institute and the Diversity Leadership Institute at Furman University.
Resources:
The Fenway Institute - LBTQ Health Education
University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Center of Excellence for Transgender Health
UCSF Guidelines for the Primary and Gender-Affirming Care of Transgender and Gender Nonbinary People
AIDS Education & Training Center Program (AETC) National Coordinating Resource Center
LGBTQ-Affirmative Behavioral Health Services in Primary Care