McKinley Health Center is the primary source of health care for many students. McKinley patrons include those who identify themselves as transgender, and a lack of specialized care services has them concerned, said Rod Githens, graduate student and participant in a recent Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community forum.

“For transgender students, hormone treatment is very vital,” Githens said. “When you’re dealing with something as central to someone’s well-being, it’s important to get that through to your only primary source of health care.”

McKinley officials have said that, though they address issues of gender identity, they do not offer specialized services for the transgender community.

The doctors hired by McKinley are all general practitioners, so no one doctor specializes in a particular field, said Dr. David Lawrance, medical director of McKinley Health Center. There have been no alterations to McKinley’s health care service in the past several years, he added.

Specialized care services would include a specific area a general practitioner would not normally handle, which could range from cancer treatment to allergy treatment to hormone replacement treatment, Lawrance said.

Having specialized care services at McKinley is an issue that not only affects the transgender population, but the entire student population as well, Githens said.

McKinley doctors refer students to specialists if they are seeking or need specialized care, said Kim Rice, sexual health educator at McKinley.

McKinley providers can administer a valid prescription from a specialist, which could include hormones, Lawrance said. In the past, transgender students with a prescription have received testosterone shots or estrogen hormone pills, he added.

“We try to provide the best care possible where gender identity is concerned,” Lawrance said.

Even though there are no specific services that directly address transgender students and gender identity, there are medical services applicable for everyone, which include counseling services, Lawrance said.

“In our mental health unit, psychiatrists and therapists certainly see patients that address gender identity,” Rice said.

There are advocacy, education and outreach projects within the counseling services that deal with educating students on gender identity, Rice said.

In addition to promoting gender identity sensitivity, McKinley has unisex bathrooms so that transgender students will feel more comfortable, Rice said. The counseling services are now in the process of creating an educational handout on gender identity, soon available on the Web.

“The transgender student population is a pretty small segment,” Githens said. “It’s a sensitive issue.”