UCHealth Integrated Transgender Program (UCH ITP)

Founded in September 2017

Vision

We provide extraordinary whole-person care for transgender and gender diverse individuals

Mission

To provide integrated, collaborative clinical care, to advance research, to educate others, and to engage with the community


People talking around a table

Pre-Clinic Huddle

Clinical Care Highlights

  • 2019 University of Colorado Hospital Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Clinical Innovation
  • Model of care: Patients can see multiple providers on the same day, in the same room, sometimes at the same time, and for one co-pay
  • Vast spectrum of gender-affirming hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery offered, and we are the only place in Colorado that currently offers phalloplasty
  • Monthly Patient Review Board to discuss complex medical and mental health concerns that arise during preoperative evaluation
dr. rothman We are one of the only adult programs in the country where patients can see multiple providers as part of the same visit in the same clinic. This makes it easier for the patient and allows providers to communicate plans in real time for optimal coordination of care. We also provide care in a gender neutral space to ensure patient comfort.
—Micol Rothman, MD

Research Highlights

  • A strong research arm was designated as a 5-year goal by our Division Head, Dr. Bryan Haugen, in 2020
  • We are recruiting transgender and gender diverse participants for studies funded by the CU Center for Women’s Health Research, CCTSI/CTRC, Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and an NIH/BIRCWH K12 Scholar Training Project (Dr. Sean Iwamoto)
  • Developing a patient registry to monitor retrospective and prospective outcomes at UCH ITP and TRUE Center for Gender Diversity as part of a national database

 


endo transg 2

ENDO 2018

dr. iwamoto It is important to develop studies that represent the transgender and gender diverse populations we see in Colorado. Our results will help inform future research, contribute to improvements in gender-affirming care, and improve confidence that shared decision making between patients and providers is more evidence-based. 
— Sean Iwamoto, MD

 

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USPATH 2019

Education Highlights

  • 2017 CU Diversity & Excellence Grant to fund a provider education day 
  • Give lectures on transgender and gender diverse health across disciplines on local, state, national and international stages
  • Helped create an education video for UCHealth staff on sensitively collecting sexual orientation/gender identity information in Epic
  • Drs. Micol Rothman and David Saxon organized the 12-month online Comprehensive Care for Transgender Patients sessions, partially funded by a Medicaid Upper Payment Limit grant
  • Bringing transgender and gender diverse health to the new CUSOM Trek medical school curriculum
Dr. SaxonI've been struck over the past few years by how far some of my transgender patients need to travel to see me for gender-affirming care. My interest in being involved in our transgender ECHO program is rooted in the hope that with a little bit of education, over an extended period of time, more and more clinicians will be locally available for transgender individuals so that they don't have to be inconvenienced in seeking out what I believe should be routine and standard care.
— David Saxon, MD

Community Engagement and Advocacy

  • 2019 Ally Award from One Colorado Education Fund, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group
  • Denver PrideFest 2019 and community health resource fairs
  • A Community Advisory Board, with gender diverse patients, providers and community advocates, provides feedback on UCH ITP patient education materials, patient flow through our program, and research studies
  • Drs. Sean Iwamoto and Micol Rothman represent UCH ITP and CUSOM as part of an 11-member inaugural Endocrine Society Transgender Research & Medicine Special Interest Group Steering Committee


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Health Fair 

The Community Advisory Board solicits valuable insights from the community to guide program growth and direction. Direct feedback from the LGBTQ community ensures our program and services are aligned with community needs. Post-visit feedback assists in process optimization, organizational improvement, and visibility where change is needed.
— Keily Fisher, UCH ITP Program Coordinator

Current Research Studies

Recent PubMed Publications

1.Health considerations for transgender women and remaining unknowns: a narrative review. 
Iwamoto SJ, Defreyne J, Rothman MS, Van Schuylenbergh J, Van de Bruaene L, Motmans J, T'Sjoen G.
Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Aug 30;10:2042018819871166. doi: 10.1177/2042018819871166. eCollection 2019.
PMID: 31516689 Free PMC article. Review.
2. Bone Health in the Transgender Population.
Rothman MS, Iwamoto SJ.
Clin Rev Bone Miner Metab. 2019 Jun;17(2):77-85. doi: 10.1007/s12018-019-09261-3. Epub 2019 Jul 2.
PMID: 31452648 Free PMC article.
3. Letter to the Editor: "Progesterone Is Important for Transgender Women's Therapy-Applying Evidence for the Benefits of Progesterone in Ciswomen".
Iwamoto SJ, T'Sjoen G, Safer JD, Davidge-Pitts CJ, Wierman ME, Glodowski MB, Rothman MS.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Aug 1;104(8):3127-3128. doi: 10.1210/jc.2019-00249.
PMID: 30860591 No abstract available.
4. The (Slow) Depathologizing of Gender Incongruence.
Davies RD, Davies ME.
J Nerv Ment Dis. 2020 Feb;208(2):152-154. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001119.
PMID: 31977826
5. Gender-Affirming Hormone Use in Transgender Individuals: Impact on Behavioral Health and Cognition.
Nguyen HB, Chavez AM, Lipner E, Hantsoo L, Kornfield SL, Davies RD, Epperson CN.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Oct 11;20(12):110. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0973-0.
PMID: 30306351 Free PMC article.  Review.
6. Gender Minority Stress, Depression, and Anxiety in a Transgender High School Student.
Davies RD, Kessel B.
Am J Psychiatry. 2017 Dec 1;174(12):1151-1152. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17040439.
PMID: 29191036 No abstract available.
7. Measuring the Health of an Invisible Population: Lessons from the Colorado Transgender Health Survey.
Christian R, Mellies AA, Bui AG, Lee R, Kattari L, Gray C.
J Gen Intern Med. 2018 Oct;33(10):1654-1660. doi: 10.1007/s11606-018-4450-6. Epub 2018 May 15.
PMID: 29761263 Free PMC article.
8. Technical Refinements of Vulvar Reconstruction in Gender-Affirming Surgery.
Dy GW, Kaoutzanis C, Zhao L, Bluebond-Langner R.
Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020 May;145(5):984e-987e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000006796.
PMID: 32332553
9. Body Composition and Markers of Cardiometabolic Health in Transgender Youth Compared With Cisgender Youth.
Nokoff NJ, Scarbro SL, Moreau KL, Zeitler P, Nadeau KJ, Juarez-Colunga E, Kelsey MM.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Mar 1;105(3):e704-14. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgz029.
PMID: 31544944 Free PMC article.
10. Health and Cardiometabolic Disease in Transgender Adults in the United States: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015.
Nokoff NJ, Scarbro S, Juarez-Colunga E, Moreau KL, Kempe A.
J Endocr Soc. 2018 Mar 5;2(4):349-360. doi: 10.1210/js.2017-00465. eCollection 2018 Apr 1.
PMID: 29577110 Free PMC article.
11. Maximizing Resources: Ensuring Standard of Care for a Transgender Child in a Rural Setting.
Reirden DH, Glover JJ.
Am J Bioeth. 2019 Jul;19(7):66-67. doi: 10.1080/15265161.2019.1618944.
PMID: 31237502 No abstract available.


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Meet our team

Endocrinology
Micol Rothman, MD *
Sean Iwamoto, MD *
David Saxon, MD
Daniel Hammond, PA-C  

Primary Care/General Internal Medicine
Rita Lee, MD *
Danielle Loeb, MD, MPH

Mental Health
Robert Davies, MD *
Debbie Carter, MD *

Gynecologic Care & Surgery
Tricia Huguelet, MD *
Veronica Alaniz, MD *

Plastic Surgery
Christodoulos Kaoutzanis, MD
Brooke French, MD *
David Mathes, MD
David Khechoyan, MD
Tae Chong, MD
Shannon Phillips, PA

Urologic Surgery
Ty Higuchi, MD
Paul Maroni, MD

ENT/Speech 
Andrew Winkler, MD
Matthew Clary, MD
Marie Jetté, PhD

Infectious Diseases
Katherine Frasca, MD *

Dermatology
Carla Torres-Zegarra, MD

Pediatric Endocrinology at TRUE Center for Gender Diversity
Daniel Reirden, MD
Natalie Nokoff, MD, MPH
Sarah Bergamy, PsyD *

Social Work
Lauren Barr, MSW, LCSW

Nursing
Shelby Daniels, BSN, RN

Administrative
John Hart, MHA
Keily Fisher (Program Coordinator) *

Professional Research Assistant
Danielle Kline, MS (Senior)
Mary Mancuso, MA

* Co-Founder