The STRIDE Community Health Center offers comprehensive, confidential, and gender-inclusive primary healthcare services for a wide range of populations. Since opening in 2009, the Clinic has seen over 16,000 clients for a total of over 30,000 visits. STRIDE is focused on providing healthcare to medically underserved populations, especially those who have traditionally been overlooked or unable to access care. The Clinic is open 5 days per week with no appointment necessary and has evening hours to accommodate people working during the day. Services are provided by more than one hundred volunteer physicians and advanced practice providers (nurses and social workers) as well as more than fifty staff members.
The STRIDE Community Health Center is the brainchild of a team of physicians, nurses, and other professionals who believed that there was a great need for health services in San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. Very few organizations were providing care to this population in need at the time; furthermore, those organizations that did have space available were not welcoming to transgender people. This is not an unsurprising omission since most healthcare providers do not get training on transgender health topics. Until 2008, the American Medical Association did not regard transgender health issues as a medical necessity and so did not require medical schools to include it in their curriculum.
What is the STRIDE Community Health Center?
The STRIDE Community Health Center (STRIDE) is an inclusive primary healthcare organization serving San Francisco's LGBTQA community. We provide comprehensive, confidential primary health care for a wide range of residents including those who have physical and mental health conditions, are HIV+, seeking primary medical care, those looking for counselling or mental health services, and just need support. We are open 5 days per week with evening hours to accommodate people working during the day. Services are provided by more than one hundred volunteer physicians and advanced practice providers (nurses and social workers) as well as more than fifty staff members.
What is the history of STRIDE Community Health Center?
In 2003, a group of LGBTQA advocates came together to form an organization called the Transgender Healthcare Group. This was a collaboration between transgender advocacy groups, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), and UCSF to provide transgender people with higher quality healthcare. The group worked to advocate for a community-based primary healthcare clinic in San Francisco that would serve trans people living in the Tenderloin and SoMa neighborhoods. In 2008, STRIDE Community Health Center launched on Mission Street in San Francisco.
Who founded and runs STRIDE Community Health Center?
The STRIDE Community Health Center is the brainchild of a team of physicians, nurses, and other professionals who believed that there was a great need for health services in San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. Very few organizations were providing care to this population in need at the time; furthermore, those organizations that did have space available were not welcoming to transgender people. This is not an unsurprising omission since most healthcare providers do not get training on transgender health topics. Until 2008, the American Medical Association did not regard transgender health issues as a medical necessity and so did not require medical schools to include it in their curriculum.
Who comes to STRIDE Community Health Center?
STRIDE serves a wide range of patients. About half of the people who have utilized services at the Clinic have been transgender, and many others needed services for HIV/AIDS and other medical conditions. More than half of our clients have never been to a physician before! Some are new residents in San Francisco, while others have lived here for years. Many are low-income and can't afford health insurance or access to regular primary care.
Conclusion
The STRIDE Community Health Center is the brainchild of a team of physicians, nurses, and other professionals who believed that there was a great need for health services in San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood. Very few organizations were providing care to this population in need at the time; furthermore, those organizations that did have space available were not welcoming to transgender people. This is not an unsurprising omission since most healthcare providers do not get training on transgender health topics. Until 2008, the American Medical Association did not regard transgender health issues as a medical necessity and so did not require medical schools to include it in their curriculum.
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