New York, NY — Today Family Equality Council announced the launch of a new, virtual training program for family building providers. The Open Door Professional Training Program is designed for family building providers, from reproductive endocrinologists, OB/GYNs, nurses, and pediatricians to midwives, family law practitioners, surrogacy center staff, holistic health providers, and perinatal social workers. Participation in the Open Door Program enhances the ability of providers to welcome LGBTQ prospective parents with open arms and meet this community’s unique needs as they embark on their family-building journeys.
“The majority of LGBTQ millennials are considering growing their families in the coming years, and many in our community are leaning more heavily on assisted reproductive technology to grow their families,” said The Rev. Stan J. Sloan, CEO of Family Equality Council. “We need providers who are prepared to meet the full range of physical and emotional needs that LGBTQ prospective parents have when they show up at their doors. Family Equality Council has developed the Open Door Professional Training Program to help providers meet this growing need.”
“For too long, LGBTQ people have borne the responsibility of educating their healthcare providers and other professionals about what they, as members of the LGBTQ community, need,” said Amanda Hopping-Winn, chief program officer at Family Equality Council. “As the number of LGBTQ families grows, Family Equality Council is proud to help healthcare providers relieve LGBTQ patients of this burden.”
The Open Door Professional Training Program not only creates a family-building workforce prepared to engage with LGBTQ prospective parents sensitively during this most vulnerable time, but it also minimizes the need for an individual to have to explain what it means to be transgender and pregnant, bisexual and single, or queer and gender non-conforming while on an exam table in a gown.
The first two modules, Beyond Diversity: LGBTQ 101 and Trans Fertility Considerations are now available for purchase. Each self-guided module takes between 90-180 minutes to complete. For more information, visit www.familyequality.org/opendoor or contact opendoor@familyequality.org.
About Family Equality Council
Family Equality Council advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ families, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change. Family Equality Council believes every LGBTQ person should have the right and opportunity to form and sustain a loving family, regardless of who they are or where they live. Learn more at familyequality.org.
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Media Contact
Ed Harris / Chief Communications Officer
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communications@familyequality.org