New LGBTQ Health Care Provider to Open in Northern Virginia
Inova Health's Pride Clinic will provide LGBTQ-affirming and culturally competent health care services to patients.
Inova Health, Northern Virginia’s largest nonprofit healthcare provider, will open The Pride Clinic, the first-ever LGBTQ-specific health center in northern Virginia beginning this week.
The Inova Pride Clinic will offer a range of services to meet the specific needs of both children and adults in the LGBTQ community, offering patients a safe, comfortable, and affirming environment.
The clinic will be open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 500 N. Washington St., Suite 200, in Falls Church.
Dr. Jorge Ramallo will be the clinic’s lead physician. Ramallo, a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine who completed his residence at Howard University Hospital in Washington, is double board-certified as both a pediatrician and an internist.
Ramallo says the chief idea behind the Pride Clinic is to provide a safe space for LGBTQ individuals, who may have trouble seeking out doctors who can provide comprehensive, culturally competent and affirming care.
“As a member of the community myself, I understand the hesitation and the very long history we have with the health care establishment,” Ramallo told Metro Weekly. “A space dedicated to LGBTQ people and their health care needs was something that was desperately needed.”
Examples of LGBTQ-specific services that the clinic will offer include gender-affirming care for trans patients – including hormone therapy – and prescriptions for both pre-exposure prophylaxis, which preemptively minimizes the risk of HIV exposure, and post-exposure prophylaxis, which minimizes HIV infection after possible exposure.
The clinic will also provide more traditional services such as preventive screenings, STI testing, chronic care for long-term illnesses or medical conditions, and primary care checkups. Staff, including a behavioral health technician, will be hired in the coming months to address the mental health concerns of patients, especially those who are LGBTQ.
Nearly 10% of individuals living in the Washington metropolitan area are members of the LGBTQ community, according to data collected by UCLA’s Williams Institute, a think tank focusing on LGBTQ issues at the UCLA School of Law.
To announce its opening, the Pride Clinic will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 8, followed by tours of the new facility.
“Everybody deserves what Inova promotes, which is world-class healthcare,” Ramallo says. “So that’s what we’re trying to do here for these patients.”
Inova Health’s Pride Clinic is located 500 N. Washington St., Suite 200, in Falls Church, Virginia. For more information, or to book an appointment, visit www.inova.org/locations/inova-primary-care/pride-clinic.
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