When New Jersey's health commissioner, Dr. Shereef Elhanal, was a student at Harvard Medical School not that long ago, teachers offered no training on how to approach the unique health issues related to the LGBTQ community.

Earlier this summer, the state's top medical official visited the PROUD Family Health Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset.

The visit, which highlighted the center's work with transgender individuals, was both a symbol of how far the Garden State has come in addressing the needs of LGBTQ residents and a reminder of how much more we need to accomplish.

Healthcare services and facilities for this population are becoming more prevalent here, as evidenced by the recent opening of an Asbury Park program to provide testing for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The initiative, launched by the Prevention Resource Network of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey, received a grant from the state Department of Health. It will soon add primary care and behavioral health, as well as other services focusing on the needs of transgender individuals.

The expansion of LGBTQ services is coming not a minute too soon. More than half the members of this population report having experienced discrimination in healthcare settings, ranging from being treated disrespectfully by health-care givers to being barred from visiting family members in the hospital.

In a recent survey conducted by Lambda Legal, one transgender patient was pressured to undergo a genital exam - when the problem was a broken rib.

Medical schools have a vital role in assuring these incidents don't happen. Administrators need to respond to this realty by adding appropriate courses to their curricula.

"People in the LGBT community deserve to be treated with dignity and professionalism so they can openly discuss their health issues without fear of being judged or mistreated," Elnahal said when he toured the PROUD facilities.

Opened in 2016, the program offers non-judgmental and welcoming care to transgender patients who not only grapple with specific health issues, but also encountered discrimination and even hostility when they sought medical care in the past.

In addition to providing hormone therapy and monitoring, PROUD offers primary medical care for children and adults, referrals to specialty services, and health education and counseling to patients who might otherwise be reluctant to seek them out.

For too long, safe spaces like this have been hard to find for the state's 30,000-plus transgender residents. Thankfully, that's changing. Even more encouraging are signs that the Murphy Administration is receptive to these changes, and will offer its support in the coming months and years.

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