There’s a whole lot that goes into being a woman, from societal and personal standards. To put it plainly, that crap can feel like an unsolicited burden to bare:
- Our bodies are fortresses of irregularities that everyone has opinions on.
- We are smacked in the face with beauty standards on the daily.
- There’s this superhuman expectation for our mothers to hold everything together.
- Let’s talk about how the trans community has been deemed as “taboo” and left out of the conversation for centuries.
Those examples don’t even sum it all up, but Dr. Susan Lacy of MORE Gynecology, knows what we are up against. That’s why she opened a practice that provides:
- MORE empathetic and passionate care.
- MORE time spent focusing on your concerns.
- MORE access for patients who have limited options, and
- MORE access to reproductive healthcare.
“I think my gynecologic patients sort of are the people who hold it all together,” Lacy said. “You know, they’re holding everything together for everybody else. Once they get in my room, and, suddenly, it’s all about them, it’s like everything comes out—and it sometimes it flows out through their tears. Stuff like that happens all the time, and it leads to a discussion. Like, ‘OK, what’s the underlying issue here?'”
From cosmetic procedures to individualized wellness plans to cis/transgender hormone therapy, the MORE team provides a multitude of services that help patients feel more like themselves.
And for our friends in the trans community, that’s everything and then some.
The report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey—which is the largest survey ever devoted to the lives and experiences of trans people—revealed that:
- 28 percent of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings
- 50 percent reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care.
- Nearly 1 in 5 (19 percent) reported being refused care outright because they were transgender or gender non-conforming, etc.
“I’ll freely admit that I don’t think we ever saw a transgender patient when I was in private practice,” Lacy said. “So, when I started providing that care, I realized how significant that need was and still is. To be part of that transition for people during a period that’s so crucially important for their identity is really meaningful. It’s similar to feeling I got when I was delivering babies. It’s an influential transition, and that means a lot.”
And while we’re on the topic of transitions, we humans are constantly going through them—mentally, emotionally, and physically.
“For trans patients, it’s more obvious,” Lacy said. “But what about the 45-year-old woman who looks seemingly perfect on the outside who’s struggling with hormone management on the inside? She needs help too—and so does the man who’s dealing with issues like weight gain, brain fog, night sweats, and hot flashes.”
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Dr. Lacy’s desire to meet patients, no matter who they are, wherever they are is what we need more of to continue moving forward in the world of medical practice. Like most people, Dr. Lacy is working hard to make up for the setbacks that the pandemic presented. The Medical Group Management Association reported that a whopping 97% of practices have experienced a negative financial impact directly related to this devastating international crisis.
“First step is to sort of get through the the challenges that we’ve had to face while rebounding from everything that Covid has inflicted,” Lacy said. “But, I have some some interesting ideas about where we may go with the practice. One of the things that we really want to be able to do as soon as possible is work on getting our own nonprofit arm of our practice that can help support the transgender piece and even GYN in the uninsured community.”
They’ve also started working with UT residency program to provide education to medical students, “because the key is going to be getting people trained who can go out into their communities, and share their experience, and provide this care.”
You can help Dr. Lacy and her team build upon her dream to provide compassionate, gynecological care that meets the needs of everyone in the community!
Donate to the MORE Go Fund Me campaign here.
Check out their official website to see what services they provide.
Follow their Instagram to get to know the staff, and follow their journey.
MORE is located at 1407 Union Ave, Suite 1401, Midtown Memphis.
