Keri Griffin (pictured) is the Orlando VA’s first ever full-time LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Program Coordinator. (Photo courtesy Orlando VA)
ORLANDO | Orlando Veterans Affairs has named Keri Griffin as the medical center’s full-time LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Program Coordinator and LGBTQ+ Special Emphasis Program Manager.
Griffin, who has been with the Orlando VA for the last 16 years, has been in charge of LGBTQ programs at the Orlando VA in an additional duties capacity.
“When I began running the LGBTQ programs here at the VA they were collateral duties that weren’t paid but it was something I was passionate about,” Griffin says. “As time progressed and we got bigger, we’ve gone from one site to nine sites and a hospital here in Central Florida, the number of LGBTQ patients and staff jumped exponentially, and the job became more and more.”
Orlando has the fourth largest population of same-sex couples and is one of the top five veterans populations in the country.
Griffin began her new position on Oct. 1.
“The position does fall under mental health services, that’s where the full-time position and funding came from, but I am very cognizant of making sure that we recognize that LGBTQ is not a mental health issue,” Griffin emphasizes. “Even though my position is there, my supervisor and up to the director know that it isn’t mental health, that’s just where the position came from. We make sure we do not stigmatize in that respect.”
Griffin says the VA is going to great strides to let LGBTQ veterans know that they are safe and welcome when they come to any one of the Orlando VA sites.
“We have several ways to let the veterans know that we are a supportive safe space and when I do trainings, I give the staff tips to show the veterans that we are supportive including wearing pronoun pins, wearing your rainbow lanyard or having safe space allied cards in their office. I think these are good visual cues,” Griffin says. “We also display rainbow-colored posters behind our clerks that say ‘please let me know your name and pronouns so I can address you correctly.’ Those have gone up at all our check-in sites at all our VA sites here in Central Florida.”
LGBTQ veteran care goes further than those visual cues, as the VA offers specific LGBTQ-focused care, especially for transgender veterans.
“We have individual therapy, couples’ therapy, family therapy, all available to our LGBTQ veterans,” Griffin says. “Then we have speech therapy for anyone who wants to work on vocal feminization or something along those lines, prosthetics for transgender females: wigs, bra inserts, for our trans men: stand-to-pee devices, chest binders. We have endocrinology that does all of our hormone replacement therapy.”
The VA also offers HIV and STI testing, counseling and care, including PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for veterans at risk for HIV. The VA is currently working on bringing gender-affirming surgeries to their facilities for its transgender patients as well.
Other changes that have come to the VA include discharge upgrades for LGBTQ veterans discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the addition of gender identifiers, sexual orientation and pronouns to patient records.
“We talk about whole health in serving our veterans but gender identity and sexual orientation is a part of whole health too, and how do you treat the person’s whole health if you don’t have that information,” Griffin says. “So that’s what we’ve been trying to do nationally but we have been driving it home here and making sure patients feel comfortable sharing that information with their provider and that providers are making their patients feel comfortable in sharing that information.”
Self-identified gender and birth sex are already implemented at the Orlando VA. Sexual orientation should begin showing up in screenings starting in April. When the veteran goes to an appointment at the VA their medical records will list the patient’s legal name and birth sex as well as preferred gender identity, the pronouns they prefer to use and their preferred name.
“Let’s be real, not all of our veterans can afford the $400+ that it cost to change your name legally, so their records will show that information but it will also let the staff know what name and pronouns they should be using with the patient,” Griffin says. “What I have added that is unique to Orlando, when a veteran comes in and they have their records pulled up, there is a pop-up window that comes up automatically and stays on screen for about 10 seconds. It says what the veteran’s preferred pronouns are. So there are various ways that staff can see these things in the veteran’s records and be aware of that.”
Griffin’s position at the VA isn’t just for LGBTQ patients. Her role as LGBTQ+ Special Emphasis Program Manager is to make sure that policies are also in place for LGBTQ nurses, doctors and staff at the VA.
“We want all members of the VA — patients and staff — to be able to live as their authentic selves,” Griffin says. “And we want a diverse staff here that reflects the diversity of the patients we serve.”
Getting the word out about the VA’s inclusiveness is a big priority of not just Griffin but everyone, she says, from her supervisor right up to the site’s director. This past June, the Orlando VA displayed Pride flags at all its facilities for the first time and Griffin attends as many LGBTQ pride festivals as she can to let veterans know about the VA’s LGBTQ-focused care. The VA will also host its 12th annual VA Pride Celebration this June.
“Maybe the veteran is coming from another VA that doesn’t offer these services or maybe they are just coming out of the service and they didn’t have a good experience,” Griffin notes. “Not all veterans use the VA period but I’m hoping that getting the word out about this here and the good work being done at VAs across the country, maybe more LGBTQ veterans will come to the VA for their services and feel comfortable doing so.”
For more information on the VA’s commitment to LGBTQ veterans, visit the VA’s VHA LGBTQ+ Health Program page in the Patient Care Services area of the website here.
