At VNS Health, we believe that everyone deserves health care that supports their gender identity –that is compassionate, unbiased, and culturally sensitive. Our Gender Affirmation Program allows transgender and nonbinary people to recover fully at home where they feel comfortable and safe.
Our patients experience affirming care in their home, which is very important for their safe recovery. We are able to assess the patients’ needs and provide them with a culturally sensitive clinician who knows how to care for them in a patient-centered way.
VNS Health has extensive experience caring for LGBTQ+ individuals. Our GAP team has provided gender-affirming care to over 3,500 patients.
Care after gender-affirming surgery is available in all five boroughs, and in Westchester County and Nassau County.
Gender Affirmation Program FAQs
The VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program supports people with the physical aspects of their recovery as well as the emotional and mental ones. Our care teams:
- Develop a personalized plan of care to guide patients through recovery
- Provide skilled care after discharge, as prescribed by MD
- Educate patients and their families and caregivers, and promote self-care
- Offer care coordination as well as crisis and supportive counseling by the GAP Social Worker
Gender-affirming care is covered by most insurance plans.
Our GAP program is comprehensive. Gender affirming care starts before you’re discharged from the hospital.
Before you go home, a VNS Health intake team member will:
- Assess your needs and ensure a safe transition home
- Create a personal care plan so you have the most comfortable recovery possible
- Get approval for home care services through your insurance
After gender affirmation surgery and throughout your recovery period, a VNS Health nurse will:
- Manage after surgery care and follow-up appointments with your doctor
- Provide skilled nursing services (such as dilation support, emptying drains, and changing bandages), as prescribed by your doctor
- Promote good self-care habits to help with anxiety, dysphoria, or depression
- Assess and address mental health needs
The VNS Health Gender Affirmation Program also has a full-time social worker of trans experience who:
- Has been serving the LGBTQ+ community for more than a decade
- Offers counseling and care coordination to Gender Affirmation Program patients
- Acts as a resource for other social workers in the field
Where Is Gender Affirming Care Available?
VNS Health's Gender Affirmation Program is available in:
- The Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan
- Queens
- Staten Island
- Nassau County
- Westchester County
Paying for Gender Affirming Care
Care from VNS Health's Gender Affirmation Program is covered by most insurance plans.
Related Services
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
VNS Health is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as core elements in every decision we make and at every step of the care journey.
