Los Angeles Times: LGBTQ+ Healthcare Workers Fight for Gender-Affirming Care Amid Rise in Anti-Trans Laws
The Los Angeles Times recently interviewed Nico Olalia, MSN, a clinical nurse in the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai, about how she inspires and leads as a transgender healthcare provider and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
The LGBTQIA+ community is growing, as is its representation in the healthcare field. In particular, the number of people who identify as transgender—someone whose gender identity and/or gender expression differ from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth—is increasing.
Olalia, who is working toward a doctorate in nursing, told the Los Angeles Times that she moved back to the U.S. from the Philippines to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse and working in a leadership role.
“There are a lot of trans Filipinos, but they’re always known in the beauty industry, and they’re very seldom found in the professional side,” she said.
Olalia recently received a $10,000 no-strings-attached gift from the Simms Mann Institute and Foundation, which recognizes and invests in extraordinary nurses in Los Angeles’ health systems for their leadership and expertise.
She told the Los Angeles Times that she hopes to help transgender people feel empowered to achieve limitless success.
“I do hope that I can have more power to inspire transgender women,” Olalia said. “I want those who are walking behind me to ... have that opportunity to go beyond what they’re told to do or what society deems them to be.”
Though restrictions on gender-affirming care are increasing across the country, Cedars-Sinai is committed to providing essential healthcare to members of this community through the LGBTQ+ Center and Transgender Surgery and Health Program.
Click here to read the complete article from the Los Angeles Times.