An Apology
Callen-Lorde would like to extend a profound apology to our patients who have been deadnamed1 in our clinics or in our patient portal. Deadnaming is unacceptable and inexcusable. We fully recognize how this systemic failure deprives our patients of the respect they deserve.
We understand the gravity of these issues and the impact they have had on our patients and their loved ones. We are deeply sorry for any pain and harm that these issues have caused, and we will strive to do better and earn back your trust.
In October of 2022, we rolled out a new electronic medical record system to increase patient access and care, following the recommendations of our vendor. At that time, we invited patients to join our new patient portal, MyChart, and many emails were addressed to our patients’ deadnames. We deeply apologize for this insensitive mistake, and the harm it may have caused.
Some patients may have also experienced deadnaming in other circumstances while we migrated data from our old system to the new one. We have worked to rectify these issues and will continue to work to ensure that errors like this do not happen in the future.
Despite our efforts, external pharmacy and lab orders cannot be resolved by Callen-Lorde as these external entities require the use of legal names. Prescriptions sent to the Callen-Lorde Pharmacy are filled using our patients’ authentic names.
While it is Callen-Lorde’s responsibility to ensure our systems are adapted to meet the needs of our patients, including the use of authentic names and pronouns, we do want to let our patients know that they may also access free legal services to assist with changing their names. This legal support offers our patients full legal representation on their name change proceedings, plus representation on identification updates once the name change order has been secured. All fees are covered.
To access name-change services please contact Legal Services NYC Access Line 917-661-4500 or book a legal appointment through our call center.
Thank you for your patience as we worked to rectify these critical issues.
Sincerely,
Anthony Fortenberry & Christine Smoot-Lowers
Deputy Executive Directors
1Deadname is defined as the name that a person was given at birth and no longer uses upon transitioning.