Overcoming barriers before receiving gender-affirming care

Ellie Wasserman, LSW (they/them) joined the Temple Health Adult Gender Affirming Surgery Program as the Program Manager in 2024, and they have a clear vision for the future of this critical resource. The program connects patients with a team of surgeons, health care providers, social workers, and other professionals to help them achieve their health goals.

“It’s great to work in a medical setting like Temple, where everyone is on the same page about needing to support and provide the best possible care to our patients,” Wasserman said.

Wasserman comes with years of experience helping programs grow, including The Attic Youth Center, one of the nation’s largest community centers committed exclusively to serving LGBTQ+ youth and allies.

“I’m very proud of the work I was able to do at The Attic Youth Center to rebuild its programming and case management,” Wasserman said. “When I started, we were seeing maybe five or six young people a day. When I left, it was over 40.”

Wasserman now brings their expertise to Temple’s particularly innovative Adult Gender Affirming Surgery Program. Currently, Temple Health is one of few programs in the United States that performs robotic-assisted peritoneal flap vaginoplasty, which enables surgeons to choose between this technique and the more traditional penile inversion surgery based on individual patients’ needs.

“Patients get to have a conversation with their surgeons about what their options are and what will work best for them,” Wasserman said. “And that’s what we all want, right? For everyone to be able to have more personalized care.”

Wasserman is also dedicated to making Temple Health an even more welcoming community for current and future patients.

“We’re creating LGBT-inclusive and trans-affirming education models for employees across the health system, focused on equipping staff with the tools they need to make patients feel comfortable and safe,” they said. “But honestly, things are already working really well.”

Wasserman stressed that their team provides comprehensive support through every step of the process to help patients overcome barriers they may face before receiving gender-affirming surgery.

“We know how determined our patients are and that none of their decisions are being made lightly,” they said. “That’s why it’s so important that we have an interdisciplinary care team that’s invested in overall patient wellness and that actively engages with our patients to make sure they get what they need.”

Wasserman also plans to expand Temple’s Adult Gender Affirming Surgery Program by building connections with similar departments across the country and establishing a support group for Temple patients.

“This is a small field with a small number of experts, and demand for these surgeries is only growing,” they explained. “The best way to show up for our patients is by staying in touch with other experts to make sure that we’re ahead of the curve.”

“We know that our patients come from diverse backgrounds and can face a myriad of barriers to getting surgery,” Wasserman continued. “Getting a pre-authorization for gender-affirming surgery requires patients to compile extensive documentation and receive external support. Helping our patients through this process allows us to get to know them better and gives us a better understanding of how we can show up for them. That’s why I think establishing a support group where they could connect with other patients preparing for the same procedures would also be very useful, and would be a wonderful source of support for patients on this journey.”