Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ Commission, created in 2020 by former Mayor Bill Peduto, started with the promise of action on behalf of the queer community of Pittsburgh.

Three years later, external displays of action have been on the sparse side — even at the admission of some of its members.

Much of the work has stagnated due to creating framework from nothing, communication challenges with the city’s administration, turnover and workload, according to commission co-chairs.

One of them, Sarah Rosso, said much of the work has consisted of figuring out how the commission can function as a group.

“I think the initial investment of time was really focused on building infrastructure,” Rosso said. “So there was no infrastructure prior to us starting and so there was a lot of time and investment from the commissioners to develop bylaws, structure and how we would operate.”

Read more: LGBTQ+ healthcare experiences inconsistent, lack some services for transgender Pittsburghers

The commission of 16 members, who have experience in various sectors including education, workforce development, homelessness and health, have met on a near-monthly basis since its first meeting in August 2021. The goals the city laid out for the commission include: developing action plans to address the challenges the Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ community faces, conducting studies about those challenges, working to develop cultural competency training opportunities and engaging with the Pittsburgh community on LGBTQ+ issues.

While some fruitful conversations have been held to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within the city and the commission has made strides on developing its internal structure, the commission’s 20 meetings thus far have lacked public engagement and it hasn’t conducted a single study.

“The fact that I can’t, right now, fire off a list of studies that we’ve done for you, that is an issue,” said Leonard Orbovich, a commission member who advises and advocates for LGBTQ+ issues in regards to education. He added that he wants to do studies, but it hasn’t been possible due to budgetary and administration issues within the commission.

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Some efforts have, in part, been held up by what appears to be confusion with city counterparts. 

Commission-city communication

From money to meetings, the city and the commission appear to have a communication problem.

The LGBTQIA+ Commission lost out on city funds to support its efforts in 2023 because, according to commission co-chair Sue Kerr, its members didn’t know they had to submit a budget plan.

“We had no idea that we would have to prepare our own budget because we were told [we would have the money] when we saw it in the budget,” Kerr said. “So we thought we were going to have it.”

The city allotted $40,140 to the commission in 2022, according to budget documents. But Olga George, press secretary for Mayor Ed Gainey, wrote in an email to PublicSource that the commission did not use the money allocated, and it was returned to the city’s general operating funds at the end of the year. 

“This fiscal year, there’s no line item in the budget for the LGBTQIA+ Commission for general operating purposes,” George said.

Concerns over the lack of community engagement also involve the city. The commission’s website doesn’t say when its meetings occur. There are no links to meeting recordings, contact information or meeting minutes since April. And, although the commission says it wants the public to be able to attend at least virtually, no links to connect with the meetings via Zoom are posted. 

Kerr said the city controls what goes on commission websites, and they have “no control” in updating the website themselves. Kerr said the commission maintains a Facebook page where they regularly provide information, but it also lacks a link to the meetings or mention of when the meetings are, and it isn’t linked on the city website.

“I understand the website is lacking, but I don’t have any other answer except to say you’d have to talk to the mayor’s office about the resources of systems around that,” Kerr said.

Read more: ‘I put my fighting gloves on a lot faster.’ How understanding foster parents may mean ‘life or death’ for trans kids.

George said the city has not received requests from the commission to include information about when meetings occur, links to attend their meetings virtually or contact information for the commission. George added that the commission has not provided copies of the recent meeting minutes to be posted but said that, when received, minutes are usually added to the website “as quickly as possible.” 

“This is the first time we’re being informed of these issues,” George wrote in an e-mail, “and it’s coming from you [a reporter] and not the commission directly, but we’re more than happy to update the items as they’re sent to us.”

What is available to the public? The meetings are recorded and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. And, there’s a public comment form on the commission’s website where individuals can submit a comment about agenda items or other concerns. The form says: “Public comments will not be read during the meeting, but Commissioners may respond to some or all of the comments during the Commission meeting.” 

Orbovich acknowledged there are “shortcomings” on the commission’s part in terms of outreach and communication but said there will be more “positive movement” for the commission.

“It is frustrating that we’re not doing a better job of putting ourselves out there,” Orbovich said. “Honestly, I’m struggling to speak, and what I’m not entirely sure of is my role.”

Progress amid shortcomings

One of the commission’s set goals is to interact with Pittsburgh City Council and produce annual reports to its members about the commission’s progress.

Kerr said the commission has set up meetings twice a year with city council to better understand how the commission can help influence or provide advice on the various legislation passed and provide an LGBTQ+ angle. 

The commission has produced two annual reports for city council but did not do so this past year, Kerr said.

“I think we did a one-page document the first year and the second year,” Kerr said. “We did not produce an annual report and I say again, a lot of that is just because of the workload that we’re juggling.”

The city hopes to soon fill a part-time role that has been vacant since April for a staff member who would support various commissions’ work, George said.

The commission has also faced issues with turnover. According to Kerr: Its third co-chair, who was supposed to serve on the board until 2025, left in May. The board also saw the departure of three other board members since 2021.

The mayor has the power to nominate commission members. Kerr wrote in an email that at its Aug. 17 meeting, the commission appointed two current members to fill the vacancies on the executive committee. The commission is seeking to add other members, specifically one who would represent the Commission on Human Relations and another member with a housing specialty.

Acting on the mandate to address the challenges the Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ community faces, Kerr cited how the commission set up talks with the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 2021 controversy around the team hiring homophobic performers.

On the other hand, the commission remained silent in 2022 when several local radio stations aired anti-trans political ads. 

Kerr said the latter incident “caught us off guard,” and the commission did not call the stations or attempt to set up meetings to get them taken down. Some members of the commission who are part of other advocacy groups denounced the ad campaign independently but not in an official capacity on behalf of the commission.

Within city hall, Kerr said the commission has helped in an advisory capacity to get liaison roles within the Department of Public Safety filled over the past year. 

Orbovich said despite some of the issues, he is proud of the advocacy work the commission has done.

“Our goals have felt developmental — in terms of what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, who we are, how we function — and we’re still working through that process,” he said. “This has been an important part of my life’s work so far, and I hope we do better at it.”

Editor’s note: Guillermo Velazquez, a commissioner on the Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Commission, also serves on the PublicSource Board of Directors. He was not interviewed for this story.

Punya Bhasin is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh and can be reached at punya13b@gmail.com

This story was fact-checked by Christine Graziano.

The post Stagnation and communication woes: Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ Commission struggles to deliver on promised action appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

Coley Alston said the shortcomings in the healthcare system in Pittsburgh include what they call the “trans broken-arm syndrome.”

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“It’s like, ‘I can’t address what you actually came in for because I’m so enamored by the fact that you’re different than other patients I’ve seen today,’” said Alston, a transgender individual and the program director at the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, which helps to improve the health of the LGBTQ+ and HIV communities by providing resources and training.

The “trans broken-arm syndrome,” in which healthcare providers may be distracted by questions about the person’s gender, is indicative of a larger issue: In a town where healthcare giants loom, some Pittsburgh providers confirm a need for better and more accessible gender-affirming care, sometimes referred to as gender-inclusive care. 

The Association of American Medical Colleges defines gender-affirming care as a range of social, psychological, behavioral and medical interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity when it conflicts with the gender they were assigned at birth. 

Alston explains that gender-affirming care refers to the services of healthcare providers who treat a variety of gender identities. This care can range from providers using an individual’s correct pronouns to providing care related to their gender including hormone therapy. 

At the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, Alston helps individuals seeking gender-affirming care navigate the Pittsburgh healthcare systems. While Alston acknowledges there are places in Pittsburgh that do provide gender-affirming care, they say there is no consistency in care throughout the city. 

“I can’t name one particular place saying, ‘Oh everyone always gets really good care here,” Alston said. 

“Some places, if you’re a trans masculine person, maybe you’ll see really good care, but you might get harassed if you’re a trans feminine person, and it’s just very interesting to see how community members have shared feedback,” Alston said. “We just have a lot of improvement and a lot of ways to go still.”

Filing grievances about care, or giving up?

Alston said oftentimes individuals who need gender-affirming care delay their care or don’t receive the proper care because of a lack of options and a fear of being misgendered or mistreated.

“I will say honestly for gender-affirming medical support in general, most people are not going to get the support that they’re asking for or need in a timely manner” or will have to face other additional barriers that prevent them from getting the care they need, they said. 

Alston helps individuals file grievances and complaints when they have a negative experience with a provider or hospital. Alston said Hugh Lane receives about nine grievances a month from individuals who have had negative experiences with gender-affirming care in Pittsburgh, ranging from the language used by providers to bigger policy issues, but noted the number is likely much higher as oftentimes people get frustrated and just give up instead of fighting back.

“But if we’re able to get people to point of [saying], ‘No, my health is valuable and I have a right to be treated with respect and dignity,’” Alston said. “So it really just depends on where people are at, but I will say it’s a big divide because some people have just given up and decided that they’re going to be treated really poorly.” 

Here’s a look at how the two major healthcare systems within Pittsburgh focus and provide gender-affirming care. 

Allegheny Health Network

Charlie Borowicz is the transgender health program manager at Allegheny Health Network and the vice president of the Tri-State Gender Collaborative. They identify as a nonbinary transgender person and are hoping to transform AHN into a leader for gender-affirming healthcare in the Pittsburgh region.

Borowicz took on the role more than four years ago. They said when they joined AHN, the healthcare system had a “handful of providers” spread out across the clinics providing gender-affirming care and would sometimes come together to talk about the larger issues facing their patients. 

Now Borowicz has created voluntary training for any provider within the network across all departments who wishes to learn and better provide gender-affirming care to their patients. 

“So now it’s not just that handful of providers, but now having a much wider group that are still operating under that same mentality of giving patients care where they are, and not making people have to come to a specific clinic,” Borowicz said. 

According to Borowicz, there are currently about 50 providers who practice gender-affirming care within AHN.

“People are very, very enthusiastic about it; they’re hungry for the information,” Borowicz said. “Most of the time, what I hear is, ‘I didn’t want to do anything wrong, so I didn’t say anything and now I know what to say,’ and they’re very grateful for it.”

Borowicz said there is a “significant” increase in referrals to AHN for gender-inclusive care, and they are working on quantifying that.

“I think our patients prefer somebody who has some experience working with trans folks, and if they don’t have that experience, then they’re being mentored by somebody who does,” Borowicz said. 

Borowicz said there is still much more work to be done to provide gender-affirming care in the Pittsburgh region, with a main issue being a complete lack of providers and care for genital reconstruction surgery.

“It’s so highly specialized, and it’s really hard to find providers,” Borowicz said. 

Currently when Borowicz receives inquiries about genital reconstruction surgery, they have to recommend patients look into areas such as Cleveland, Baltimore, Boston or New York. The closest provider in Pennsylvania is Philadelphia. 

“A lot of times this type of care tends to be patient-driven because people tend to find their providers through word of mouth,” Borowicz said. “As a result of not having any providers in Pittsburgh, it becomes not really accessible and has a lot of barriers for patients including having to travel, take a long time off work and making sure their insurance will cover an out-of-range provider, and that’s not even considering the cost of it all.”

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

PublicSource reached out to UPMC and UPMC providers requesting information on the availability of gender-affirming care they provide, but UPMC declined to comment. 

According to UPMC’s webpage on resources for LGBTQIA+ patients and caregivers, “UPMC has LGBTQIA+ knowledgeable providers as well as integrated clinical services to meet the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community with specific services to provide care to transgender and gender diverse people.” 

The website also mentions that UPMC designates providers within their network a “LGBTQIA+ Affirming Provider Designation,” if they complete training but does not detail that training.

UPMC also notes on their site that they are committed to using the chosen name and personal pronouns for every patient, visitor, employee and member, “as well as recognizing and supporting LGBTQIA+ families across the lifespan.”

Individuals who wish to seek gender-affirming care through UPMC can look for providers who are “affirming providers” here.

Alston said despite some of the flaws regarding the availability of gender-affirming care in Pittsburgh and stigma surrounding the topic, they remain hopeful.

“I will say I’ve had the privilege to be around a lot of people who have received at least some gender-affirming care, and what I have noticed is that when people receive that care it makes them feel alive and feel like they have a future for themselves,” Alston said. 

Punya Bhasin is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh and can be reached at punya13b@gmail.com

This story was fact-checked by Kalilah Stein.

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation has contributed funding to PublicSource’s healthcare reporting.

The post LGBTQ+ healthcare experiences inconsistent, lack some services for transgender Pittsburghers appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

This story was produced and co-published in collaboration with The Pitt News.

Pittsburgh’s ‘eds and meds’ are economic drivers. But their tax status largely passes the bill for government to the rest of us. Explore the series.

When she lived in the University of Pittsburgh’s Litchfield Towers, student resident Emily James witnessed city EMS workers tend to a student who was found by a resident assistant slurring her words and vomiting. 

Former resident Manoj Kuppusamy saw EMS workers carry an unconscious student out of the dorm last fall and city police detain a person in the building’s lobby in the spring.

Gabe Wilson, who has lived in the three-dorm complex often referred to as “Towers” for two years, said city police and paramedics are a familiar presence there, for what often seem like fairly minor reasons.

The City of Pittsburgh, which supplies the services, gets a lot less in return than it would if the same incidents occurred in a typical apartment building.

Pitt and other major nonprofits use city services, but unlike residents, they largely do not pay the property taxes that are crucial to funding them. And 911 calls to the towers, the largest cluster of dorms on Pitt’s main campus, exemplify this dynamic. 

Between May 2021 and the end of April 2022, there were 146 calls to the Allegheny County 911 Center regarding incidents at 3990 Fifth Ave., the location of the towers, according to public records obtained by PublicSource and The Pitt News. The incidents – sometimes more than five a day – were mostly medical issues including those characterized as overdoses, abnormal breathing and unconsciousness, but included fire alarms, welfare checks and elevator rescues.

The towers, which house more than 1,800 students across three buildings, are tax-exempt. The property is currently assessed at about $45 million and would bring about $363,000 to the city each year if the address was taxable.

The city has a responsibility to provide municipal services regardless of a property owner’s tax status. But it has also faced a growing, largely tax-exempt nonprofit presence and has relied on federal pandemic relief to balance its budget. Now, some public safety bureaus – and taxpayers, as local officials would argue – are feeling the effects of the financial constraints.   

"Quite simply, the cost of city government falls too heavily on our residents,” City Controller Lamb said in an Aug. 19 statement calling for greater contributions from the major nonprofits. “While ‘eds & meds’ undoubtedly provide a benefit to the region, they rely heavily on city resources: public safety, infrastructure, and sanitation, among other essential services.”

Jonathan Atkinson, a Pittsburgh paramedic and the leader of the paramedics’ union, said the heavy volume of calls involving university residence halls can stretch EMS thin and impact the entire city’s coverage. He said during some shifts for units covering Oakland and nearby areas, the majority of calls are alcohol-related.

“This has a ripple effect throughout the city because if a unit is taking a drunk kid to the hospital when they get another call, another unit from another district has to come in to take that call,” Atkinson said. “And they’re coming in from farther away, so it’s a longer response time. And then another unit may have to cover for that unit, so there’s a snowball effect.”

The Pitt Police and campus security respond to all 911 calls where authorities notify the university, and though city police, EMS and fire may assist, not all calls result in city services being used, a spokesperson for Pitt wrote in an email. Campus police, residence life staff and security guards monitor and respond to incidents on campus, including at Towers.

“The University works with the city, Oakland residents, and local partners to support a safe environment, and is committed to the safety of the campus community,” the spokesperson said. 

Equipment needs and budget constraints

The fire and EMS bureaus in particular have grappled with equipment needs as the city tries to wrangle funds from its tax-exempt giants. 

Both bureaus have aging emergency vehicle fleets, and as of February, the EMS bureau needed nine new ambulances for 2023, according to a report on city government commissioned by The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments*. The bureau typically receives three new ambulances a year, but none were ordered in 2021 or 2022 due to budget constraints. 

“By not receiving any new [Advanced Life Support] units for two years and no adjunct vehicles, it increases the need and cost into the next year,” EMS Chief Ronald Romano wrote in an email to the report’s consultants. “Frontline fleet continues to age and increase in mileage, and the spare trucks age also, causing breakdowns and prolonged out-of-service time while switching.” 

Fire Chief Darryl Jones said in late 2021 that five of the bureau’s frontline fleet of fire trucks are more than 11 years old, while the bureau prefers to have frontline trucks be 10 years old or newer. Pittsburgh’s 2022 budget set aside funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to pay for two new pumper trucks for the fire bureau.

The city’s fire chief, EMS chief and public safety director all declined to be interviewed for this story. PublicSource asked the Department of Public Safety to allow firefighters at Station 14, near Pitt’s campus, to talk about the types of incidents they respond to at the towers and the needs of their station, but instead the department provided a statement regarding how the fire and EMS bureaus respond to incidents at nonprofits.

"Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire and Pittsburgh EMS respond to all nonprofits such as the University of Pittsburgh, as well as churches and other [tax-exempt] entities in the city in the same manner they respond to all emergencies — without hesitation — when called,” Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt wrote in the emailed statement. 

Legit calls or unneeded ‘snowball effect?’

James, a Pitt student who previously lived in the towers, said the city’s EMS team arrived quickly after the RA found the student vomiting and slurring her words last fall. They were on the scene for about 15 to 20 minutes, she said, and they asked the student questions and determined whether she needed to go to the hospital. In the end, the medical team decided the student did not need further medical attention and did not take her to the hospital. 

While she believes the university needs to rely on emergency services to ensure the health and safety of its students, she thinks it’s only fair for Pitt to pay taxes for the emergency services that it uses from the city. 

“They’re definitely aware that they're going to need to use those resources, so I think they should be paying the taxes that contribute to keeping those resources available for them if they're going to use them,” James said. “When you have as many students and staff as [Pitt] does, I think it's fair to pay taxes.”

Kuppusamy does not consider it unfair for Pitt to avoid paying property taxes despite its use of city services, especially because the university operates its own police force and insurance companies reimburse EMS for transports. (The city receives about $13 million annually for EMS services, but spends double that amount to operate the bureau). 

“As a Pitt student, I think that it's fine,” Kuppusamy said. “I think that the level that we're using the resources isn't a lot, and we do have Pitt Police.” 

The Pitt Police are the third-largest police force in the county, and officers often support city police off campus and serve as first responders to emergency calls in Oakland, the Pitt spokesperson said.

Students differ on whether their peers have overused city services.

Kuppusamy hasn’t seen students recklessly or needlessly bringing emergency services to the building. 

Wilson, though, said he has seen the fire department and EMS respond to multiple incidents that did not appear to be emergencies. 

He recalled that public safety personnel were called after a student forgot to add water to their microwaveable mac and cheese and said firefighters and the police showed up after he smelled smoke in the building and texted his RA.

“I just remember, I was sitting there and studying and then realized it smelled like smoke so I was opening my window, but it didn't seem to be coming from outside and I was very confused," Wilson said. "Later on, the firefighters, the cops, and I'm not sure about EMS, I remember they showed up and had to search the rooms." 

PILOTS or payments for services?

As students settle back into the towers, Pittsburgh’s fiscal watchdog is calling on Pitt and the city’s other major nonprofits to make greater financial contributions through payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements, or PILOTs. If the five largest nonprofits entered a PILOT for 25% of their property tax liability, the city would receive an extra $8.6 million a year. 

“Unfortunately, none of the ‘Big Five’ institutions have adequate PILOT agreements in place.  This is unacceptable,” Lamb said in the statement, calling out UPMC specifically but also referring to Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University and Highmark/Allegheny Health Network. “City residents should not be expected to bear the financial burden of city operations when the region’s largest employers pay next to nothing.”

In a May report, Lamb and former Acting County Controller Tracy Royston recommended that the city and county negotiate PILOTs based on the value of city services the nonprofits use. 

Lamb  also noted in an interview that PILOT agreements should discount the services and community benefits that nonprofits like Pitt provide. 

“We talked about how many times police respond to a call in Oakland. The fact of the matter is the University of Pittsburgh has a police force, and they're helping us deal with a lot of those kinds of issues. So those kinds of things have to be discounted,” Lamb said of potential PILOT agreements.

Mayor Ed Gainey, who ran in 2021 on the promise of getting major nonprofits to contribute more to the city, said this year he has conducted private talks with leaders of UPMC and AHN. He and his spokesperson have repeatedly declined to comment on the substance of the talks or how long they will continue, and did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Gainey announced in July that the city will fully remove itself from the OnePGH Fund, which was former Mayor Bill Peduto’s plan to get nonprofits to contribute to city projects through a third-party nonprofit.

In the meantime, a new crop of Pitt students has settled into the towers as the academic year begins, likely bringing with it renewed demand for city services. 

Emma Folts covers higher education at PublicSource, in partnership with Open Campus. She can be reached at emma@publicsource.org. 

Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org and on Twitter @chwolfson.

Alexandra Ross is a student journalist studying at the University of Pittsburgh and a senior staff writer at The Pitt News. She can be reached at anr204@pitt.edu.

Punya Bhasin is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh and the news editor for The Pitt News. She can be reached at punya13b@gmail.com.

This story was fact-checked by Abigail Nemec-Merwede.

The post Medical emergencies, mac-and-cheese mishaps and elevator rescues: Pitt dorms draw city services, but should the university help fund them?  appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

“Whenever someone says, ‘I don’t understand how someone could have an abortion,’ I like to tell them to flip their tone,” said Dr. Colleen Krajewski, a Pittsburgh-based abortion provider. 

“I tell them that like you said yourself, you don’t understand, you don’t know anything about the person or who they are or what they’ve been through and so listen to yourself and realize that by not being able to understand, you also don’t get to decide what people do with their own bodies.” 

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With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, many women are left wondering how it happened and what the future holds for their reproductive rights. Krajewski is speaking out to help educate women on abortion access and provide tips to ensure reproductive safety. Our questions and her answers, edited for brevity:

Why do you think abortion access has become such a politically divisive topic in the United States?

It’s a complex answer, but a lot of it has to do with stigma because it’s such a common procedure and most people know someone and love someone who has had an abortion even if they are not aware of it. When politicians discuss things like birth control and reproductive access, for them it is really about control. But I think what people need to realize is we need to start measuring our reproductive rights and freedoms in terms of access, not control.

When we start measuring our freedoms and rights by access, then we can look at things like how truly accessible birth control and medical visits are. 

Do you believe the overturning of Roe v. Wade will increase the rate of unsafe abortions? 

I think our trainees [medical students and residents] are going to start seeing a lot of different complications that we maybe haven’t seen with as much frequency. Complications due to abortions are extremely extremely rare, like basically almost none, and I think we are going to start seeing many complications with early pregnancy as a result of Roe v. Wade overturning that wouldn’t normally occur. My hope is that we’re able to get people the abortions that they need, regardless of where they live. The reality is you can’t prevent all abortions regardless of the laws that pass. In the past when abortions were illegal, women still chose to have abortions even when the process was dangerous for them. 

The only thing that will happen when lawmakers try to ban abortions is that they are banning safe abortions. Women have and will continue to have abortions because the truth is women don’t want to be forced into raising [a child] or giving birth, and they shouldn’t have to be forced to give birth if they don’t want to.

What would you suggest lawmakers, government officials or even healthcare systems do to alleviate the lack of abortion access? 

I definitely think passing proactive bills in states where abortions are still legal is a necessary start. I also think we need really robust plans in place to take care of the influx of patients from places where abortion is not legal and that needs to include everybody, not just doctors. We definitely don’t have enough doctors that do abortion care and any gynecologist can do an abortion.

Are you afraid to continue being an abortion provider after the overturning of Roe v. Wade?

I mean, sometimes I wonder if it’s my privilege speaking when I say that I don’t spend my life in fear. Maybe it’s because I don’t have kids or maybe it’s because of the color of my skin that I think I couldn’t possibly be hurt, and I reflect on that a lot. I really do try to have compassion for people who choose not to provide an abortion and choose not to use the skills that they have.

I think at the end of the day the fears they are putting in the media about healthcare providers possibly facing dangers and criminal charges and violence are scare tactics to try to get us to stop talking about our beliefs, and I am just not going to back down from this fight.

What would you tell women who are afraid of having their reproductive rights taken away?

Pennsylvania is lucky that abortions are still legal here, but I like to remind people that they still need to go and vote and keep voting to make sure abortions stay legal here. 

Some advice I have for women is to try to save up some money and keep it there in case something happens and you find yourself needing an abortion. Try to have enough money for the procedure and travel. And I know that it is hard for people to save up money and it is a privilege to be able to have like $500 in savings, but if you can save the money, do it.

But really we need to vote, vote in every election you can, and especially in the local ones, because as of now those are the elections that are going to determine your reproductive rights.

Have you treated individuals who identify themselves as pro-life and are seeking abortions? 

I had someone say to me once, “I don’t believe in abortion for rape, incest and my situation.” And my first thought is: Well what’s your situation right now? What do I need to know? She told me she was a mother and I said, ”OK, that must be hard, and you might find some peace that over half the women who seek abortions are mothers.” 

It became clear to me that it wasn’t going to help her get through her situation by feeling solidarity with other people that are in her situation and, you know, knowing that she’s not alone.

I think what people need to realize is that abortions are a common procedure. And whenever someone says, “I don’t understand how you could possibly have an abortion,” they should understand it’s very likely someone they know and are close to has had an abortion and that they should try to understand.

Punya Bhasin is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh. She can be reached at punya13b@gmail.com.

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Pennsylvania women should prepare to defend abortion rights in light of a draft Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, lest it lead to further erosion of the medical system’s treatment of women, said panelists at a YWCA Greater Pittsburgh panel on reproductive justice.

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Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, the chief clinical diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the Allegheny Health Network, moderated the panel, highlighting issues of access to abortions, sex education and the disproprtionate harm to women of color that would come with the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Sydney Etheredge, the executive director of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, said the United States’ healthcare system has a pattern of “othering” people, including women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.

“And by allowing that to happen across health care more broadly,” Etheredge said, “we are able to see these attacks on sexual and reproductive health care.”

Kelly Davis, the executive director of New Voices for Reproductive Justice, added that some in the medical community are already prone to hand over patients with problems like substance abuse — especially if they are people of color — to law enforcement.

“While abortion access is actually beneficial to everyone — irrespective of gender, racial or ethnic group — when it’s taken away, not everyone is equally harmed,” Davis said. “We know that doctors and medical systems are often a warm handoff to criminalization and that is what is most at risk here. Who is going to be handed off to the criminal legal system? I firmly believe it is going to be Black women and other people of color.” 

Christine Castro, a staff attorney at the Women’s Law Project, said even though Pennsylvania is likely to be visited by out-of-state patients seeking abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned, the state should not be considered a haven for reproductive health care.

“To be clear, Pennsylvania is not an oasis for reproductive health care. There are still many state laws and regulations that restrict abortion access and regulate the provision of abortion care here,” Castro said. For example, pregnant Pennsylvanians must consult with a doctor at least 24 hours before an abortion, and minors need a parent’s permission. “That being said we do expect an influx of out-of-state patients coming in to seek reproductive health care.”

The panelists ended the discussion by telling attendees what they can do to help including writing letters to legislators, donating to abortion clinics, voting for access to abortions and volunteering for reproductive justice organizations. Davis urged the audience to destigmatize abortion by helping and speaking out. 

“Share your abortion story, share your reproductive story, share your first birth story,” Davis said, “and let everyone know that you love someone, you know someone who has chosen abortion.” 

Punya Bhasin is a freelance journalist in Pittsburgh. She can be reached at punya13b@gmail.com.

The post ‘Othering’ in healthcare: YWCA panelists discuss a post-Roe v. Wade Pennsylvania appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

As the pandemic raged out of control last March, hospitals and medical offices felt the same disruption as other industries. In-person visits were sharply curtailed, and operations were upended by a shift to promising, but largely unfamiliar technology.

“I’ve been a doctor 32 years. And I never thought I’d be doing it,” said Dr. David Talenti, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Like many of his colleagues, Talenti was able to continue his northeastern Pennsylvania practice via telemedicine.

At first, it seemed like a blessing just to be able to connect with patients. And as the pandemic continued, doctors saw unforeseen benefits in the disruption. Patients no longer have to drive to clinics or waste time in a waiting room. Access has expanded for patients in rural and underserved communities — and there are fewer cancellations. 

Talenti, a gastroenterology specialist, also noticed that since they’re sitting in their living rooms, patients seem to feel more comfortable and communicative than before.

“I think they’re more honest with you,” he said. “They feel it is just so convenient, and they let their guard down,” Talenti said.

More than a year into the pandemic, PublicSource spoke to medical experts and community advocates who see benefits in a hybrid approach to post-pandemic health care that includes telemedicine as an option. But they also pointed out disparities in access, privacy concerns and limitations in treatment that show how hard it can be to care for a patient through a screen. 

Jen Waleski, a physician assistant at the Student Health Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh, sees many benefits in telemedicine but also feels a loss of personal connection and rapport with her patients. And losing the “laying on of hands” during an exam means she feels a need to be more vigilant in evaluating the student’s history.

Overall, she saw the transition to telemedicine as “pretty seamless” in an unprecedented time. Despite the challenges, telemedicine is an option that students seem to like. 

But like anything that relies on an internet connection, the shift to telemedicine has highlighted the digital divide.

Patients lacking consistent access to the internet won’t benefit from potential convenience, and it’s a problem that disproportionately impacts communities of color, elderly patients and patients in rural areas. While telemedicine could expand access, these groups are the same ones that might already face barriers to accessing health care.

According to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data from 2014 to 2018, one in five Allegheny County households did not have an internet subscription. Local research from 2018 found large access gaps in city neighborhoods such as Homewood, the Hill District and Hazelwood.

To help address the digital divide, Crossroads Treatment Centers, an outpatient drug treatment center with several locations across Pennsylvania, has provided patients with internet services and devices at their centers. Patients still mostly get treatment remotely, but they can show up if they don’t have the technology they need at home.

“Some people have connectivity issues, so that’s impeded or delayed some people’s visits,” said Matthew Barnes, a nurse practitioner manager at Crossroads. “We have people come to our offices, and they can use one of our devices to connect with us if they are unable to use their device.”

Looking forward

With vaccinations bringing hope for the pandemic’s end, will patients again trudge through traffic toward crowded waiting rooms?  

“I think telemed is definitely here to stay,” said Waleski at Pitt. “The students love the convenience, and I feel we are able to still treat Pitt students who are remote….whether virtual learning, study abroad, internships out of state, etc.”

But medical apps won’t cut out the waiting room altogether. Waleski said that the need for in-person appointments is still large and sees telemedicine more as a supplement, rather than a replacement to pre-pandemic norms.

Doctors also say the technology needs to improve, including a greater focus on privacy and digital security to be sure patient data isn’t breached. 

Cristina Ballarta Silva, the case manager of the Latino Community Center, said she sees the benefit of having a hybrid of in-person visits and telehealth.

To increase equity, she said she’d like to see providers use platforms like WhatsApp, which the community already uses. At the beginning of the pandemic, Latino communities and other minority groups didn’t have the same access and had to learn new systems to use telehealth. 

She said it’s important for patients to have a face-to-face connection with doctors, though telehealth could be a tool to eliminate barriers for patients with children who can’t leave home.

“Telehealth is important for that space,” Ballarta Silva said. “A lot of families don’t have the way because of transportation, or lack of childcare, to be able to actually get to their location.”

This story was fact-checked by Megan Gent.

Punya Bhasin is a PublicSource editorial intern. She can be reached at punya@publicsource.org.

The post Telehealth revolutionized doctor’s visits. Could a hybrid model bring post-pandemic convenience and equity? appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.

William Price heads the Allegheny County commission charged with investigating discrimination. With all of the turmoil in recent months — including the rise of protests for racial justice and concerns about targeted evictions — he finds something surprising: The county Human Relations Commission handled only 11 cases in 2020 and just one through March of this year.

The six members of the all-volunteer Allegheny County Human Relations Commission have backgrounds ranging from the legal field to the nonprofit sector. Price said the group feels as though they are not using their powers to the fullest potential, a concern reflected by the low case count. In contrast, the City of Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission has seen large numbers of cases during the past couple of years but declined to detail how many.

Allegheny County Council established the county commission in 2009 to handle cases regarding discrimination against race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability. Price said overlapping jurisdiction with the 66-year-old city commission with the same mission has led to inefficiencies and hindered the ability of the county to help constituents. He also said the county commission lacks a certain level of known establishment and connections within the community, which the city commission already has. 

But he wants residents to know what the county commission can do for them. 

“My specific plans and goals are to significantly increase community awareness and make it a much more well-known body,” Price said. “So my goal is to just generally increase visibility as to who we are, what we are, why we exist, and how we do things. So if I can accomplish that over the next year, that would be a big victory for the commission and for the community, in my opinion.” 

One issue at hand is that the county commission has concurrent jurisdiction with the city’s human relations commission. If an individual has an issue within the city limits, a complaint can be filed with either or both the city and county commissions. However, if there is an issue outside of city limits, a complaint can only be filed with the county commission.

Jam Hammond, the executive director of the City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations since January, said he could see lots of potential collaborations between the two commissions, especially in areas where the commissions have joint jurisdiction.

“We could research topics on analysis of housing disparities, or we could do an analysis of impediments to equal opportunity employment in the city and the surrounding municipalities,” Hammond said. 

Hammond also said that he finds the county’s low case count surprising because he said he has referred many cases related to employment and housing issues to the county commission. The lack of cases actually received and investigated by the county commission is evident of some form of miscommunication and transparency between the two commissions, he said. 

“I wonder if maybe we could try to do something … like an intake officer, to make sure those people are getting over there,” Hammond said. “Because I have referred [cases] since the pandemic. I’ve been referring to them a lot actually.”

Price said that while he has not noted any specific referrals from the city (there is no official referral process in place, according to Hammond), he is more than willing to create better lines of communication.

Price said he and previous executive directors of the City Human Relations Commission discussed increasing collaboration, but due to bureaucratic issues, they were never put into action. This has caused not only a disconnect but also a lack of efficiency, Price said.

“At one point in time, there were negotiations of a memorandum of understanding on a formal referral process in the division of labor that never got finalized by either side — nobody’s fault, just didn’t finish,” Price said. 

Price alluded to the idea that if the city does not wish to share their resources or budget, he is willing to collaborate in other ways.

“I just want to make it easy for people to avail themselves of their rights,” Price said.

To file a complaint with the county commission, a resident must submit a general complaint form, an employment intake form, a housing intake form or a public accommodation intake form, all listed on the county website. Residents can also call 412-350-6945 to request forms.

The forms must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act.

To file with the city commission, residents must also submit a form, but they have a year to file a report from the date of the alleged discrimination.

Since its establishment, the county commission has never had more than 10 active cases at a time, Price said, and they’ve handled 82 cases total. 

Marlin Woods, the vice-chair of the county human relations commission, said his vision for the commission is to increase awareness of its work through town halls and open communication with the public, and he hopes the city can help with that as well. 

The commission has yet to specify dates or locations for these town halls. According to Woods, it is currently using a grassroots approach to inform school districts about its presence in the community.

“My vision for the future of the Allegheny County Human Relations Commission is to continue its fight for representing those who have been discriminated against by the realities of race, gender, sexual orientation and disability,” Woods said, and to increase awareness so “the entire county knows that we exist and are available.”

Punya Bhasin is a PublicSource editorial intern and can be reached at punya@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Megan Gent.

The post The county’s Human Relations Commission investigates discrimination. It’s hoping to boost its modest caseload. appeared first on PublicSource. PublicSource is a nonprofit news organization serving the Pittsburgh region. Visit www.publicsource.org to read more.