Dr. Luis Molano and Clinical Care at CHN

We had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Freddy Molano during our visit to CHN, and wow what a force of passion and inspiration  Freddy was! Freddy came to the United States from Columbia back in the 80’s started his HIV testing work in Manhattan but was soon shown a different side of the city when he and to travel to Brooklyn in order to test women, mostly sex workers, for HIV. His story of the women and men he met on during his time testing in Brooklyn were shocking and would have discouraged many people from the work that he was doing. However Freddy saw a need and ran with it. After a brief stay away from United States Freddy returned in order to continue HIV testing in the Bronx. It was here and working with women and transgendered individuals that Freddy was really able to explore and fill a need of the underserved NYC communities. 

 
Through his recollections of 25 years of working with the Community Healthcare network Freddy emphasized how important it was to ask an individual how they would like to be addressed especially with transgendered patients, a concept that is highlighted in our Year 1 On Doctoring class. Throughout his time with us Freddy communicated the need to not separate transgender care from mainstream care.This only continues to marginalize these individuals in society.  Many transgendered individuals wish to be mainstream in a way that transgender clinics often don't allow. Through his story Freddy was able to convey many of the intricacies and complications of health care for transgendered individuals. He emphasize that physician and care provider biased often leads to unnecessary questioning because of curiosity or not enough questioning due to embarrassment. As physicians it is our job to make sure that our questions are appropriate for care and do not convey any of our own discomfort with topics especially those relating to sexual history and sexual practices.

Our time with Freddy really stressed the need for caring physicians who recognize that gender identity and sexual orientation are the choice of the individual patient and are not dictated by genetics or societal constructs. His many recollections of his 25 year history working with the Community Healthcare Network demonstrated to us the importance and challenges of treating patients who are often marginalized by society, mainly of those who are HIV positive or transgendered. His path and journey working with the underserved was truly inspirational and provided a lot of insight for the Urban Health Scholars into issues that are not necessarily brought up in the classroom but are of extreme importance and becoming increasingly common in medical care especially in urban areas. 

-Hayley Jones, UHS Scholar Class of 2017