JEFFERSON CITY — The president and CEO of BJC HealthCare and the chancellor of Washington University on Tuesday said they were “establishing additional oversight” at the transgender center that is currently the focus of state and federal scrutiny.
The statement from Richard Liekweg, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare, and Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin, came in response to a letter Friday by Attorney General Andrew Bailey calling for a moratorium on puberty blockers and hormone therapy at Washington University Transgender Center at Ƶ Children’s Hospital pending investigation. Children’s is a BJC hospital.
In the letter, the two leaders rejected Bailey’s call for a moratorium, saying they wouldn’t deny critical care to patients. The two said they would establish additional oversight, but didn’t detail steps that would be taken.
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“We cannot institute a moratorium that would deny critical, standards-based care to current and new patients,” Liekweg and Martin said in the letter to Bailey.
“Out of an abundance of caution, however, we are establishing additional oversight at the Transgender Center,” they said “and we will continue our internal review of practices at the Center to ensure that our patients and families are receiving the appropriate guidance and care for their individual medical needs.”
Jamie Reed, a former case manager at the center, has alleged that instead of providing mental health treatment to children who needed it, the center gave them puberty blockers, which pause the physical change of growing up, or cross-sex hormones. She alleged cases moved forward despite disagreements between parents about their child’s need for gender-affirming care.
, Reed alleged the center regularly referred minors for gender-transition surgery, contrary to public assurances by its doctors.
Republicans on Tuesday cited Reed’s allegations in a hearing on legislation to restrict gender-related health care for minors. A Democrat on the committee questioned the timing of the report, in the middle of the legislative session while Republicans were considering the health care limits.
“As we stated last week, we continue to review allegations by a Washington University employee regarding care provided at the Washington University Transgender Center at Ƶ Children’s Hospital,” Liekweg and Martin said.
“Like you, we were concerned by the allegations,” the letter said. “We have begun the process of reviewing practices and protocols at the Transgender Center to ensure that we are upholding the highest standards of care in service to our patients and their families.”
“We are committed to providing lifesaving, evidence-based care that aligns with the standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics,” they said.
Originally posted at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14.
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