2022 Annual LGBTQ+ Health Symposium to Focus on Health Equality

Drexel University community members are invited to attend Drexel University College of Medicine and Tower Health’s LGBTQ+ Symposium, an all-day virtual event on Wednesday, June 15. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., presenters from the Philadelphia region and across the U.S. will share their perspectives as patients or as health care professionals, to educate attendees about providing quality, equitable health care for the LGBTQ+ community.

The symposium is aimed both at those wanting to gain comfort with LGBTQ+ health care topics and those wanting more information on topics such as PrEP prescribing or providing culturally competent care to specific populations or within certain specialties. This event is free, and CME is available.

Featured presenters:

Mazzoni Center
At 9 a.m., staff from the Mazzoni Center will present an introduction to gender and sexuality as they apply to health care and will define common LGBTQ+-friendly language and vocabulary. The Mazzoni Center provides an LGBTQ-focused environment in which patients can receive a variety of health and wellness services.

George Matar, MD
At 10 a.m., George Matar, MD, will present on PrEP therapy and how physicians can better recognize which patient populations might benefit from PrEP. Dr. Matar will also cover myths around PrEP therapy and explain how to break down common barriers to prescribing PrEP. Dr. Matar is a second-year resident in The Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program.

Marcus Tellez, DO
At 11 a.m., Marcus Tellez, DO, will present “LGBTQ+ Health from the Perspective of a Queer Physician,” covering barriers to equality for LGBTQ+ health professionals, as well as improvements that could be made to enhance equity in the medical field. Dr. Tellez is a family medicine physician at Pacific Oaks Medical Group in Beverly Hills, CA. Dr. Tellez has been advocating for LGBTQ+ patients since his time as a resident. He is an American Academy of HIV Medicine-certified HIV Specialist.

Mark Messih, MSc, MD
At 1 p.m., Mark Messih, MSc, MD, will present on special considerations of LGBTQ+ health issues within refugee populations. Dr. Messih will help physicians learn to use trauma-informed and culturally sensitive practices as they collect medically relevant information from patients who are refugees. Dr. Messih is a psychiatrist focused on child and youth mental health at Trillium Health Partners — The Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Messih is also an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Toronto.

Kathryn A. Brandt, DO
At 2 p.m., Kathryn A. Brandt, DO, will present on best practices in gynecology. The presentation will cover proper preventive screenings for LGBTQ+ patients, as well as gender-affirming and trauma-informed methods for conducting gynecological care. Brandt is a board-certified OB/GYN, a fellowship-trained gender affirming surgeon, and chief in the Division of Obstetrics at Tower Health – Reading Hospital. Brandt has experience providing routine care, hormone therapy and gender affirming surgery for patients, and has presented locally and nationally to educate medical students and physicians about transgender health care. She also serves on the board of directors for the Mazzoni Center. Brandt completed an OB/GYN residency at Hahnemann University Hospital and completed one of the hospital’s first fellowships in gender affirming surgery.

Health care providers can also register for an optional 3 p.m. workshop entitled, “Creating an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practice” at the time that they register for the symposium.