Reacting to criticism over a controversial anti-LGBT report written by two Johns Hopkins Medicine faculty members published in The New Atlantis, a letter from Johns Hopkins Medicine dated Oct. 7 was sent to colleagues that reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to LGBT health and, in particular, to transgender individuals.

The letter indicates that the institution will be resume gender-affirming surgeries, something that has not taken place in nearly four decades.

A petition signed by nearly 700 current and former students, faculty and staff demanded that Johns Hopkins disavow the report by faculty members Dr. Paul McHugh and Dr. Lawrence Mayer for their “misguided, misinformed attack on LGBT communities.” In addition, the Human Rights Campaign threatened to substantially reduce its Healthcare Equality Index score if Johns Hopkins does not correct the record and insist that McHugh and Mayer’s opinions do not represent Johns Hopkins Medicine. McHugh, for example, believes that trans people should be treated as disordered.

The letter does not specifically address the two authors by name. Instead, it states, “In recent months, some have questioned our position, both inside and outside the institution, not because of any change in our practice or policy, but because of the varied individual opinions expressed publicly by members of the Johns Hopkins Medicine community. We have taken these concerns seriously. We want to reiterate our institutional support for LGBT individuals and update you on the work we are doing to further that commitment.”

The letter also explains, “When individuals associated with Johns Hopkins exercise the right of expression, they do not speak on behalf of the institution.”

After touting the work Johns Hopkins Medicine has done with the LGBT community, the letter announces, “We have committed to and will soon begin providing gender-affirming surgery as another important element of our overall care program, reflecting careful consideration over the past year of best practices and the appropriate provision of care for transgender individuals.”

Some remain cautious.

“As a former employee of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I know that the Johns Hopkins Hospital system is uneven in its approach to transgender health,” Chris Adkins, a Ph.D. candidate, told the Blade. “There are some strong voices within the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine that do not believe in gender affirming surgeries, but the community should focus instead on the faculty members in place that are advancing trans competent health care such as Brandon Lau, MPH, Chris Beyrer, MD, Stefan Baral, MD and Tonia Poteat, PhD PA-C and who have done great work such as the EQUALITY Study.