Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s (PCH) treatment for gender dysphoria in children is “gender-affirming care,” a euphemism for medical and surgical procedures to transition genders. Due to SB1138 which banned gender transition surgeries for minors earlier this year, PCH maintains its hormonal and therapy treatments but refers patients elsewhere for surgeries.
PCH asserts that they are the only children’s provider in Arizona with a comprehensive gender transition program. They assert on their website that it is lifesaving medical care.
.@PhxChildrens Hospital boasts about doing medical transitions on kids. They also follow WPATH guidelines which allows “gender affirming” surgeries for minors. pic.twitter.com/hvtt4PoO6n
PCH refers to gender dysphoric minors as “gender-expansive children,” though they offer two other nuanced terms to describe varying degrees of gender dysphoria. Those who “express a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with their sex assigned at birth” are considered gender-expansive, whereas those who are merely exploring and discovering gender identities are considered “gender questioning youth” and those who identify as a gender other than their own are considered “transgender youth.”
It appears that PCH’s adoption of the term “gender expansive” occurred in the last few years. As late as 2019, PCH referred to gender dysphoria as “gender dysmorphia.”
Kathleen D. van Leeuwen, MD, recently spoke about gender dysmorphia at the Neonatal Nurse Practitioners of AZ Conference and shared info about our Reproductive Anomalies & Disorders of Sexual Development Clinic. Great job, Dr. van Leeuwen! https://t.co/GbwuausvrNpic.twitter.com/xKvgHIdYdZ
For a girl desiring to become a boy, gender-affirming procedures may include a testosterone prescription, hysterectomy, mastectomy, and metoidioplasty. For a boy, this may include an estrogen prescription, breast mammoplasty, orchiectomy, and vaginoplasty. Prepubescent children may be given puberty blockers. There’s emerging evidence that these procedures aren’t as irreversible as first thought, and appear to cause adverse health effects.
PCH offers hormonal and therapeutic services to children through their Gender Support Program. They also offer to assist with a minor’s identity transition for school and identifying documents, as well as their legal name change.
PCH told The Arizona Republic earlier this year that a child being below the age of consent doesn’t impact their services. Rather, they said that they allowed parents to make the decision on behalf of their children.
The PCH Gender Transition Program team members include psychologist Jenna Rudo-Stern, endocrinologist Reeti Chawla, adolescent medicine physician Veenod Chulani, and Gisel Trevino-Martinez, Patrick Goodman, Andrew Medina, Ijeoma Ogbuchiekwe, and Amira El-Ahmadiyyah.
Chulani is the chief of PCH’s adolescent medicine division. He created the gender transition program.
According to PCH, their Gender Support professionals train others outside the hospital through local, regional, and national lectures and workshops. PCH also provides referrals to peer support programs: One N Ten, Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization (AZTYPO), Gender Proud Patient and Family Advisory Council, and Transfamilies.
Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Kathy Hoffman is a supporter of AZTYPO.
The Gender Proud Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is made up of parents who had their gender dysphoric children undergo PCH’s gender transition procedures.
One of PCH’s widely-shared cases is of a gender dysphoric girl, Sheila, who underwent procedures at PCH to become “Luke.”
The Gender Proud PFAC (source: Phoenix Children’s Hospital website)
The supplemental resources that PCH offers are links to the Genderbread Person, a pronoun guide from the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a Gender Support Plan from Gender Spectrum, and information on how to change a child’s legal name and gender in government records.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Phoenix Children’s Hospital appears to have let go one of their pediatric radiologists, Dr. Fidaa Wishah, after she posted a promise that Israel’s end would come soon.
“We will not be #censored anymore ! Bomb our media buildings and we have the phones[.] Bribe the mainstream media and we have our small #socialmedia platforms[.] From our windows.. from our streets .. next the rubble we will expose you to the world[.] We will expose the #massacre and #genocide you #zionists are proud of[.] We will uncover your thirst to kill our Palestinian children[.] Through our small platforms we undress your ugly souls and watch your barbaric desperate comments[.] We sense your fear .. The fear of your collapse[.] A state based on atrocity, inhumanity, racism and cannibalism never lasts long ! Hey #israel … your end is coming sooner than you think[.]” (emphasis added)
As of Tuesday, Wishah’s profile on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital website was still up. By Wednesday, it was gone. Her LinkedIn profile still identified her current occupation as a radiologist with the hospital, as of Wednesday night.
In the picture accompanying her post, Wishah is wearing pink scrubs with her name on them.
AZ Free News inquired with Phoenix Children’s Hospital whether they agreed with Wishah’s statements. Phoenix Children’s Hospital didn’t respondby press time.
In other reports, the hospital stated that it was investigating the matter.
This wasn’t the first time Wishah posted a political statement in scrubs. Last year, Wishah posted a picture about COVID-19 that went viral after it was reposted by a meme page.
“STAY HOME UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE INTUBATED BY A RADIOLOGIST,” read the piece of paper.
Wishah also appeared to be the Creighton University Phoenix campus associate professor. Her profile is no longer available on Creighton University’s website. Wishah was appointed as an associate professor with that university last January.
According to Wishah’s doctor profile on Phoenix Children’s Hospital Care Team page, Wishah received her medical degree from the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, Jordan. After that, she came to Dearborn, Michigan to finish her residency and fellowship at Wayne State University. Dearborn is predominately Muslim – like Irbid.
Wishah first joined Phoenix Children’s Hospital in 2019. Prior to her apparent release, Wishah specialized in fetal ultrasound and MRI imaging, vascular malformation, and musculoskeletal radiology.
Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.
Arizona now prohibits health care providers from using an individual’s disability as a disqualification from an organ transplant. The sole exception would be in the case that a patient’s disability poses a medical problem when receiving an organ transplant, excluding that patient’s ability to comply independently with the procedure.
The legislation also requires health care facilities to accommodate their organ transplant-related services for disabled patients, such as communications and counseling. It included specific provisions for patients with hearing and visual impairments, as well as cognitive, neurological, developmental, or intellectual disabilities.
Comprehensive information on all organ transplant centers’ policies regarding patients with disabilities doesn’t exist — only studies exist. A 2019 study from the National Council of Disability, a federal agency, confirmed that to be the case, observing a lack of transparency and consistency concerning organ transplant policies. What’s more, the council reported that individuals with disabilities and their families actually face pressure to donate organs. One of the most comprehensive studies, conducted in 2008, estimated that 43 percent of organ transplant centers “always” or “usually” deny children with a neurodevelopmental disability, while about 39 percent “rarely” or “never” do.
One Arizona mother, Felicia (Josie) White testified to the House Health & Human Services Committee that she supported this bill because Phoenix Children’s Hospital policy didn’t confirm that they would approve her daughter for a heart transplant, due to her having Down Syndrome. The White family felt compelled to seek treatment across the country, 3,000 miles away, in Boston, Massachusetts.
“We know individuals with Down Syndrome live full and fruitful lives well into adulthood. If transplant centers can teach illiterate, non-English speaking parents to dose meds, there’s no reason someone with Down Syndrome could not be taught,” said White. “I understand that organ allocation is a limited resource, but I also know that labeling anyone with cognitive delays ‘unable to transplant’ is a slippery slope that could include everything from ADHD to who knows what.”
Another mother, Andrea Temarantz, shared that her son also has Down Syndrome and would be jeopardized if he needed an emergency organ transplant. Temarantz informed the legislators of the studies on organ transplant discrimination. She insisted that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) already prohibited such discrimination, but that there weren’t any enforcement mechanisms to protect patients with disabilities from ADA violations in Arizona.
“Every life is precious, and no one should be blocked from a transplant because of stereotypes about persons with disabilities,” said Temarantz.
Governor Doug Ducey signed that anti-discrimination bill, HB2659, into law in March.
Every single life has value, and everyone deserves equal access to critical health care like organ transplants — H.B. 2659 will help us attain that for those with disabilities. @kaiser4azpic.twitter.com/EDgJQun9FK
Phoenix Children’s recently announced the five winners of its inaugural Heart & Hand Clinical Excellence Awards which recognize exceptional contributions to pediatric medicine in the areas of clinical care, research, and medical education.
The Oct. 21 awards event was held at the Phoenix Country Club. Among the special guests were Phoenix Coyotes executive Shane Doan who provided the keynote speech, with Phoenix Children’s own Dr. Jared Muenzer, who is the hospital’s physician-in-chief, serving as emcee.
Other speakers included Phoenix Children’s President and CEO Robert L. Meyer along with Dr. Daniel Ostlie, the surgeon-in-chief.
“These awards are uniquely special because all of those nominated were done so by their peers,” said Steve Schnall, senior vice president of Phoenix Children’s Foundation. “With countless examples of excellence exhibited by our amazing physicians and advanced practice providers, we are honored to be able to recognize all of those who offer exemplary service and foster an environment of hope, healing, and world-class healthcare.”
Physician of the Year – Wendy P. Bernatavicius, MD, selected as the doctor “who lives and breathes” the values of exemplary service, while excelling clinically and going “the extra mile to demonstrate service” while communicating with staff and patient families.
Advanced Practice Provider of the Year – Katherine M. Harrison, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC, CCRN, selected for embodying family-centered care, placing the child’s needs first, and putting in the effort “to ensure the family is informed, empowered and valued as part of the care team.”
Researcher of the Year – Michael C. Kruer, MD, recognized for being actively involved “in the conversation around improvement and innovation, making contributions in clinical, translation and/or basic science research.” The researcher award is also designed “for the intensely curious.”
Teacher of the Year – Vasudha L. Bhavaraju, MD, selected from Phoenix Children’s teaching faculty for taking time to coach those around her and actively mentoring future clinicians “to carry on a shared mission of hope and healing.”
Advocate of the Year – Alexandra M. Walsh, MD, recognized for her passion every day “to help bridge the gaps in care in the surrounding community.”
Event sponsors recognized by the Phoenix Children’s Foundation include Arizona Coyotes, Gammage & Burnham, IES Communications, In-Group Hospitality, Littler, Maricopa Ambulance, Palo Alto Networks, Progressive Management Systems, Staybridge Suites, Stifel Hagen Wealth Management Group, and Trident Security.
Phoenix Children’s is one of the largest pediatric health systems in the United States, comprised of Phoenix Children’s Hospital – Main Campus, Phoenix Children’s Hospital – East Valley, 4 pediatric specialty and urgent care centers, 11 community pediatric practices, 20 outpatient clinics, 2 ambulatory surgery centers, and 6 community outpatient clinics throughout Arizona.
The Phoenix Children’s Care Network includes more than 850 pediatric primary care providers and specialists in more than 75 subspecialties.
