From Hartford Business Journal:
Kellie Hale is the lead clinician serving as the only medical provider servicing people living with HIV at Fair Haven Community Health Center. She is in charge of the clinical aspects of gender-affirming medicine, HIV prevention and Hepatitis C.
What have been your significant contributions to your organization?
I have increased the amount of patients receiving Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to prevent HIV from 60 to 135 in one year. This was achieved by identifying patients at risk and fostering strong partnerships with local community advocacy groups.
I volunteer at APNH offering gender-affirming hormone education to their transgender support group. I have educated Fair Haven clinicians on topics of PrEP and gender-affirming medicine and have implemented PrEP clinics for clinicians to shadow to help achieve this aim.
As the sole HIV specialist at my clinic and managing a large panel of HIV-positive patients, I have initiated HIV care for an additional 22 patients in the past year, many of whom are uninsured or uninsurable with many other comorbidities and complex socioeconomic factors.
Good, quality HIV care with high rates of viral suppression means fewer new cases of HIV in the state of Connecticut and beyond. I am immeasurably proud of this work and hold to the goals of ending the HIV epidemic through accessible and quality HIV care.
Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.
As a community health clinic, there have been challenges in making sure we are all offering equitable and LGBTQ+ competent care. When I first came to the clinic several transgender patients had reported being misgendered and/or dead named by staff.
Out of these unfortunate instances, I implemented teaching for all nursing staff. Asking for patient pronouns is now a required part of medical assistant rooming workflow and pronouns have been made more visible in the electronic health record, leading to more equitable and dignified treatment of the patients we serve.
What’s your next major goal and/or challenge?
The next big challenge is to direct a cultural shift at Fair Haven, bringing gender-affirming medicine, LGBTQ+ competent care and HIV prevention to other sites and educating medical providers in this field.
This work is currently being siloed into specialty clinics, often with long waits and insurance restrictions adding barriers to this life-saving medicine. This type of medicine belongs in the primary care space. All primary care clinicians should feel empowered to engage this type of work in their practices.
Personal side:
Residence: Hamden
Favorite way to relax: Gardening
Hobbies: Swing and tango dancing
Favorite movie: “The Princess Bride”
Currently reading: “Great Expectations”
Favorite cause: Transgender rights
Fun fact: I am a huge Star Trek nerd