Vanderbilt Medical Center cuts LGBTQ staff, ends 'Trans Buddy' program
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) laid off five staff members for its LGBTQ Health program, becoming among the latest of institutions to cut back from identity-based centers and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology.
The institution laid off the staff members on June 24, according to an Instagram post from the Tennessee Transgender Task Force.
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) laid off five staff members for its LGBTQ Health program, becoming among the latest of institutions to cut back from identity-based centers and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology.
The institution laid off the staff members on June 24, according to an Instagram post from the Tennessee Transgender Task Force.
As a result of the layoffs, the institution’s “Trans Buddy Program” was eliminated, according to Tennessee Lookout. The program aimed to embed gender ideology in health care by assigning volunteers to advocate for transgender-identifying patients during medical visits, free of charge.
[RELATED: Proposed California legislation taps state university system for reparations eligibility]
On the description page for VUMC’s “Program for LGBTQ Health,” the institution describes it as “an innovative effort to improve healthcare for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adults.”
“LGBTQ patients experience disparities in access to and quality of care, leading to preventable, adverse health outcomes including elevated risk for specific chronic diseases and increased rates of suicide and depression,” the page continues.
The program aims to address “disparities,” foster “education around LGBTQ Health, and foster research on the optimal ways to care for LGBTQ patients and families.”
Ray Holloman, chair of the Tennessee Transgender Task Force, called the layoffs “targeted” because LGBTQ programs can be “deemed as DEI.”
“It kind of feels like, if it’s anything to do with a marginalized community that can be deemed as DEI, those positions seem to be targeted first,” Holloman said, according to The Vanderbilt Hustler. “That’s what seems to have happened here, at least from my perspective.”
Other LGBT advocacy groups, including the Metro Nashville Council’s LGBTQ Caucus, also condemned the move. One activist described the layoffs as “systemic discrimination.”
Campus Reform has reported about the Department of Education’s notice that DEI in higher education could lead to funding loss.
“All students are entitled to a school environment free from discrimination,” the department’s notice stated. “The Department is committed to ensuring those principles are a reality.”
VUMC is not the first institution to cut LGBT resources following the federal crackdown on DEI.
Earlier this year, Ohio State University removed its LGBT resource page in response to Senate Bill 1, a new state law limiting DEI programs.
The law, which prohibits initiatives that primarily serve specific identity groups, led the university to review and begin shutting down such programs for compliance. Other Ohio universities, including Kent State, also closed LGBTQ programming as a result.
