The Lavender Clinic

08/31/2023

Last day of patient appointments. A lot to reflect on. We hope we've been an overall force for good.

07/18/2023

17 July 2023
Dear Patients, Friends, and Supporters of The Lavender Clinic,

This is the notice we’ve given intense effort to avoid. Due to the extreme difficulty of maintaining an independent nonprofit primary care and behavioral health clinic, we are unable to continue operations and will close our clinic at the end of day, Thursday, August 31, 2023. We will continue to work with patients to find appropriate care and complete transfer of all medical records. We will continue sending medical records after August 31, 2023. We've provided a list of resources with this notice as a convenience, and we will make referrals upon specific request. Our Board of Directors will work with the appropriate authorities to dissolve properly and follow all applicable procedures.

It has been one of the highest honors to work with Hawaii’s sexual and gender minority communities these past eight years. The clinic was started to work uniquely with patients: as a partnership sharing information and experiences to improve wellness for all. Our patients’ willingness to work fully with providers allowed us to develop and support protocols for gender affirming care and other services that were effective for individuals and customized for each person’s needs for great holistic health success.

As the focus was intensely on patient care, the needs of the business were not prioritized early enough. This led to financial difficulties which proved to be insurmountable along with the staffing challenges that came during and after the pandemic. We explored every avenue to avoid closure, including changes of leadership, expanding the Board of Directors, grassroots fundraising for which we received overwhelming support, bringing on consultants, and utilizing volunteers; but, with inflation and rising costs for medication and staffing, viable solutions were not found.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/health/primary-care-doctors-consolidation.html This New York Times article from May 2023 explains how huge conglomerates are buying up struggling independent medical practices such that seven of ten primary care physicians are now merely corporate employees frustrated with seeing "30 patients per day [for] seven minutes [each]". For patients and providers wishing to have/provide personalized/holistic care, opportunities are increasingly scarce. The current economic reality in the United States has also reduced fundraising capacity for many nonprofits.

We will still graciously accept donations which will be utilized to lessen the negative impacts of our departure. Any residual funds/assets will be donated to other Hawaii healthcare establishments with similar mission(s) to The Lavender Clinic. If you are wondering what you can do to support us, please understand that reversing our closure is unlikely; however, we will humbly accept all the help and support we can get to leave the Hawaii Community in the best condition possible in the absence of The Lavender Clinic. Specific needs will include patience when awaiting responses, assistance distributing medical records appropriately, helping us divest of our assets, and a myriad of other tasks which will undoubtedly arise.

For primary care patients not receiving gender affirming care services, we urge you to contact Healing Tides Primary Care at (808) 451-9520 or healingtides@protonmail.com or

search online for other providers.

For patients utilizing gender affirming services we encourage you to reach out to:

Nicole Ryan, DNP at Evolve Health (808) 452-1731 or evolvehealth@bac-office.com

or any of the organizations found on

the Department of Health's Sexual and Gender Minorities Resource Hub: https://health.hawaii.gov/harmreduction/sexual-gender-minority/gender/
or

Hawai’i G-ECHO’s Gender-Affirming Providers Directory:https://health.hawaii.gov/harmreduction/files/2023/06/G-ECHO-Gender-Affirming-Directory-1.pdf
which includes resources for youth and adult services.

It is our great hope that providers who come next for our community will have the knowledge and resources to establish sustainability from the outset, and that they’re able to provide the level of excellence the people of Hawaii deserve. Thank you for your understanding as we work together to find the best solutions for each person. If you have questions about how to support TLC in a graceful closure, you are welcome to reach out to management for more information.

Yours in community with sadness and gratitude,

The Lavender Clinic Board of Directors and leadership team:

Renee Pedersen, Doctor of Medicine
Board Presiding Officer and TLC Gender Affirming Care Coordinator

Stephanie Mikhail
Board Secretary and Chief Operating Officer

Jonica Caldwell
Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Sheeren Masifi, MD
Chief Medical Officer

04/23/2023

On Wednesday April 26th come see how you can support and contribute the transgender community! Thank you to Refuse Fascism Honolulu for organizing this event.

04/04/2023

Transgender Day of Visibility! Thank you so much HHHRC for putting this event together 🏳️‍⚧️

03/31/2023

President Biden has proclaimed March 31st as trans day of visibility!

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/30/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility/

03/17/2023

Lavender is Feeling Lucky!!!
Enter The Lavender Clinic's Sweepstakes for a chance at amazing prizes!
3/16-3/31/23
Don't forget to DONATE! Recommended donation $25
These prizes will provide you with much needed TLC.❤
Please read all descriptions and enter your preference in order before submitting the form.
All winners will be contacted on or before 14, 2023.
https://www.lavenderclinic.org/support/sweepstakes

03/06/2023

Disgusting and dangerous rhetoric like this is why places who serve the needs of gender minorities need to not just limp along but thrive.

The Lavender Clinic is working hard to shore up our business foundations for the future so we can stay in the fight. It was only your generosity which allowed us to avoid a catastrophic closure last month and we need more support while we rebuild so that we can place ourselves on stable footing.

Please donate and spread the word far and wide. https://gofund.me/6356fd29

Pay attention.

03/01/2023

Aloha,

It is with great gratitude that The Lavender Clinic doors will remain open due to the generosity of all who donated and supported our cause. Mahalo nui loa.



We at The Lavender Clinic (TLC) know that the work has just started, as we've learned much over the past few weeks. We look toward rebuilding The Lavender Clinic with a stronger organizational structure and with the help that has been offered to us.



The first need that TLC has is for members of the Board of Directors (BOD). We are looking for an eclectic crew, with time to devote to the BOD, energy to help restructure and skills to round out the group. Desired skill sets may include: bookkeeping, accounting, clinical experience, knowledge of local politics and/or the legal system, corporate governance and members who've been on a successful BOD previously. Currently we need Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. To apply to the BOD please send your desired position and qualifications to Stephanie Mikhail smikhail@lavenderclinic.org

Once the BOD is properly filled the second need is for a provider (at least 1.0 FTE, (two 0.5s would be fine as well), preferred PA or APRN), and a full time medical assistant (MA). We look for enthusiasm, familiarity with the communities that we serve and their medical needs and a good fit for the clinic. We are looking to onboard new patients and need a provider with the energy to welcome them. For all applicants please email smasifi@lavenderclinic.org



The next, but just as urgent need, is for volunteers. We are training volunteers to work the front desk and when we get a dedicated group together they will likely fill coverage for that need. Other volunteer opportunities include: grant writing, paperwork, helping at events, fundraising, social media updates, etc. jonica@lavenderclinic.org



The Lavender Clinic's plan for future success includes: revenue from elective cash services, financially supporting the vital care and educational outreach we provide to our community and maximizing grant support.



If you did not get a chance to donate, please see our newest GoFundMe:

We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our community. Your outpouring of aloha for The Lavender Clin… Jonica Caldwell needs your support for Lavender Lives!

02/28/2023

Yup

With so much misinformation and anti-trans legislation, a reality check regarding the social transitions of young trans kids.

02/16/2023

In light of the overwhelming support we've received our Board of Directors was able to vote to continue operations until March 24, 2023, but we may still likely close after that date. If you want to help us avoid that closure, please keep reading and share this far and wide. We are so grateful for the gift the community has given us so far but we are not out of the woods yet!

We would love to tell you that we are "out of the woods" and can continue offering services indefinitely, but the truth is that we need more than just money to continue offering services to the community we love so much. You have shown us how much you love and appreciate us, and thanks to you we are able to continue another 6 weeks to provide the smoothest possible transition of care for our patients.

First of all, this fundraising is amazing, but it needs to continue until we are able to rebuild our cash reserves and accumulate enough operational runway to enact a long-term viability plan. We have a vision for having grant funding and other services to supplement operations but we need not just money but we now need people and skills to help.

Our Board of Directors is very very tired. We have been serving for some long and challenging years stewarding The Lavender Clinic through the COVID-19 emergency and so many other challenges. We need new blood to step up and take the reigns, so in order to continue offering services past March 24, 2023 we will need not just continued fundraising but we will need at least 3 individuals ready willing and able to be elected as the new Board Chair, Board Secretary, and Board Treasurer by March 24, 2023. We will also need to fill critical staffing vacancies. If you have questions about how you can help or you know somebody who can help please email info@lavenderclinic.org and please don't forget about https://gofund.me/b54126c9

It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve this community for the years we have, but it is past time to pass the torch in multiple ways.

01/29/2023

Gender affirming care is under attack in Hawaii! HB891 was introduced to make providing gender affirming care to minors a FELONY! This is just the beginning!

The Lavender Clinic is also in financial crisis and needs to raise $150,000 by February 14, 2023. If TLC closes then so many trans and nonbinary youth will lose access to their medical care and behavioral health. Please spread the word. Please donate to our GoFundMe linked below.

https://gofund.me/b54126c9

The Lavender Clinic is a fully independent non-profit and focused on providers spending more time with patients because Every BODY Deserves a Little TLC.

TLC is also the foremost provider of gender-affirming care in Hawaii.

TLC provides primary care and behavioral health to all who want more time with providers regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

To learn more about The Lavender Clinic check out our website at lavenderclinic.org

Please help us survive--our community needs us! We are raising money to benefit The Lavender Clinic, and a… N Ryan needs your support for The Lavender Clinic