LGBTQ+ Veteran care

Connect with a care coordinator

Brittany Miklos LCSW, LGBTQ+ VCC

Care we provide at VA Erie

Our LGBTQ+ Veteran care coordinators can answer your questions, advocate for your right to quality care, handle complaints or concerns you have about your care, and help you get started with any of our services for LGBTQ+ Veterans. These include:

• Gender-affirming therapies, including hormone treatment
• Mental Health services, including psychosocial assessments for hormone therapy and gender confirming surgeries. 
• Gender-affirming prosthetics
• Substance use/alcohol treatment
• Tobacco use treatment
• Treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for Veterans at risk for HIV
• Intimate partner violence reduction and treatment of after effects
• Military sexual trauma screening and treatment of after effects
• Suicide prevention services 
• Whole Health
• Cancer screening, prevention and treatment
• Virtual Mental Health Care: Veterans can connect with a VA mental health provider through a computer or mobile device from the comfort of their homes or at their nearest VA health facility
• Reproductive health services, including contraception, family building, specialty gynecology care, pregnancy care, menopause management
• Infertility: VA is committed to helping Veterans navigate challenges that may arise from issues with fertility and the conception of a child.

Policies and practices to know

The care coordinator can help you get started with care or with navigating any of these issues.

Visitation: A same-sex partner, family member, friend, or other individual can be present with the patient for emotional support during the course of the patient's stay.

Definition of family: "Family" may include individual(s) not legally related to the individual. Family members include spouses, domestic partners, different-sex and same-sex significant others.

Advance directives: Veterans may designate any person as a decision-maker for care if they won't be able to make these decisions themselves. This includes same-sex partners. Advance directive agents are chosen by the Veteran and do not need to be biologically related.

Documentation in medical records: VA Erie maintains the confidentiality of information about sexual orientation, sexual behavior, and gender identity, just like any other private health information.

Changing name or sex in records: Your name in your medical record will reflect your legal name. The sex in your medical record should reflect your self-identified gender. You have the right to request that your name and sex are updated as appropriate. There are established procedures for changing your name and sex with the VA Privacy Officer.