Mission
The mission of the UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital Gender Institute is to deliver compassionate, affordable, high-quality health services to transgender patients and their families. To improve quality of life for our transgender patients, we work with the community to assess needs and identify gaps in care. In addition, we are guided by standards of care set by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, as we seek to ensure first-rate ethical treatments that center on individual needs, values and goals.
History
UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital has been active in serving the LGBTQ+ community for decades. Our community involvement began in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis. Between the hospital and our philanthropic foundation, we were able to create HIV Care, a center of excellence for HIV/AIDS research and treatment serving patients in San Francisco. Our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community continues today as our experienced surgeons provide crucial gender-affirming procedures to patients who often face serious barriers to health care. With the intention of delivering the best medical care possible, we created the UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital Gender Institute, a council of transgender health experts and collaborators who continually evaluate and address needs locally.
Timeline
1966: in San Francisco, at what was then called Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, Dr. Edward Falces performs the first-ever transgender surgery in the United States. Dr. Lesley Hovey, Dr. James Kauth and Dr. Douglas Ousterhout follow in performing surgeries for transgender patients.
2016: The Saint Francis Hospital Gender Institute is established.
2019: Saint Francis hosts San Francisco's first medical conference on transgender health, marking the public launch of the Gender Institute with transgender care-only surgeons.
2020: The hospital earns the designation of LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader from the HRC Foundation.
2021: A Saint Francis nurse receives a transgender certified care specialization. The Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) accredits UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital as a center of excellence in gender-confirmation surgery. Dr. Heidi Wittenberg, medical director of the Gender Institute, was recognized as a master surgeon by the SRC.
2022: The Human Rights Campaign Foundation continues to recognize Saint Francis as a LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader.
2024: UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital not only maintains its designation as a LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader but also earns a perfect score of 100 on the HRC's Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) survey. This achievement reflects the hospital's unwavering commitment to excellence in delivering LGBTQ+ care – meeting every HEI criterion and providing transgender-inclusive health care benefits for its employees.
The same year, UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital achieves a significant milestone by earning SRC recertification in gender-affirming surgery. This prestigious credential includes the recertification and recognition of three master surgeons in gender-affirming surgery and the accreditation of three additional surgeons, bringing the total to six SRC-accredited surgeons. This accomplishment underscores the hospital's unwavering commitment to excellence in providing comprehensive and compassionate care to the transgender community. Through these achievements, UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital continues to set the standard for high-quality, patient-centered care in gender-affirming surgery.