LGBT Patient Care

About LGBT Patient Care Collaborative

At Prisma Health-Upstate, we are committed to providing comprehensive and compassionate care for all patients regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. In 2015, the Prisma Health LGBT Patient Care Collaborative was established.

This collaborative consists of physicians and other health care providers from various clinical specialties who are committed to providing safe and affirming health care that is responsive to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients and their families.

Learn more about our collaborative care model and the providers who are meeting the needs of our community.

Curious? Contact us.

864-455-7800

Center for Family Medicine

Establish yourself as a patient with Prisma Health LGBT Patient-Centered Medical Home.

Learn more about the LGBT Patient Care Collaborative by contacting diversity@ghs.org.

LGBT Patient Care Collaborative Structure

The LGBT Patient Care Collaborative involves two components:

A patient-centered medical home for LGBT patients and their families.
A group of providers from various specialties who collaborate with the overall goal of improving the healthcare experience for LGBT people while decreasing healthcare disparities for these patient populations.

The LGBT patient-centered medical home resides in the Center for Family Medicine and is designed to be a place for members of the LGBT community to receive compassionate and culturally responsive primary care that is tailored to their individual needs. The collaborative, led Molly Benedum, MD, has three priority areas:

Provider clinical education
Staff sensitivity training
Development of a supportive clinical environment

Transgender Patients

According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, transgender people report a lack of provider knowledge on transgender care and negative experiences with healthcare. Fifty percent of survey respondents reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care.

Providers in Prisma Health LGBT Patient Care Collaborative have received specialized training on various clinical considerations associated with transgender health care. In addition, transgender individuals seeking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can receive this therapy in the primary care setting within Prisma Health LGBT patient-centered medical home.

Policies

Every patient has the right to competent, considerate and respectful care in a safe setting that fosters the patient’s comfort and dignity and is free from all forms of abuse and harassment. It is the policy of Prisma Health not to engage in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, physical, mental or other disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, status as a veteran, or other non-medically relevant factors.

Recognition

LGBT Since 2012, Prisma Health has been named a National Leader in Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) is the national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) benchmarking tool that evaluates healthcare facilities’ policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBT patients, visitors and employees.

Providers

The following list includes members of our LGBT patient care collaborative. While some are currently accepting new patients, some of them are not. Please call 455-DOCS to get the most up to date information on which of our providers below are accepting new patients. We are always working to expand this list to serve the needs of our growing LGBT patient community.

Molly Benedum, MD
Chair, LGBT Patient Care Collaborative
Center for Family Medicine
864-455-7800

Joel Amidon, MD
Center for Family Medicine
864-455-7800

James A. Amrhein, MD
Pediatric Endocrinology
864-454-5100

Elaine Apperson, MD
Pediatric Endocrinology
864-454-5100

Priscilla Escalona, MD
Prisma Health Internal Medicine-Laurens
864-833-4545

Lisa Green, MD
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
864-455-4673

Sandra E. Hardee, MD
Family Medicine
Heart Life Cardiac Rehabilitation
864-455-4755

Kristina Kania, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
Department of Pediatric Psychology
864-454-5115

Benjie B. Mills, MD
Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology
864-455-1600

Smith Heavner-Sullivan, BSN, RN, PCCN
Nursing – Emergency Department
864-508-0502

Sandra L. Weber, MD
Endocrinology
Endocrinology Specialists & Thyroid Center
864-455-9031

Pediatric Providers

The following Prisma Health clinical specialists are trained and prepared to work with pediatric LGBT patients. We use a team approach to meet the unique and specific needs of our LGBT pediatric patients. While some are currently accepting new patients, some of them are not. Please call 455-DOCS to get the most up to date information on which of our providers below are accepting new patients. We are always working to expand this list to serve the needs of our growing LGBT patient community.