ST. LOUIS — The woman who created a national firestorm with her allegations about the Washington University Transgender Center at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Children’s Hospital said Tuesday that the center would permanently close.
In an op-ed submitted Tuesday to the Post-Dispatch, Jamie Reed said it was “quietly announced†last week that the clinic where she once worked “will be permanently closed.â€
Reed acknowledged her whistleblower complaint last year that the clinic had hastily prescribed hormones to minors with other mental health issues may have played a part in the decision. But she stood by her decision to take her concerns public.
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Those concerns echoed throughout the national media and added fuel to the nation’s culture wars. They were latched onto by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who opened an investigation into the center amid his primary campaign to remain the state’s top lawyer. The Missouri Legislature passed a law last year outlawing hormone treatment for minors looking to transition, though it allowed existing patients to continue their treatment.
Reed, in an interview Tuesday, said only was closing, not that provides services for those 18 and older. She said she heard of Washington University’s decision last week from two sources close to the university, though she declined to reveal them.
Pediatric patients with gender dysphoria will no longer be funneled through the pediatric Transgender Center at Children’s and instead will be “integrated back to general care,†Reed said she was told.
A closure of the pediatric center would be more symbolic than anything else. Washington University last year said its doctors stopped prescribing puberty blockers and gender transition hormones in the wake of a new state law, though it said it would continue to provide mental health services for all ages through the Transgender Center.
It’s unclear how many minor patients still used the center for mental health services and other resources. The pediatric center website, which is still active, says services include assistance with transition plans and options, referrals to psychologists and therapists and voice and speech therapy.
Many patients had already moved to other providers in order to access hormones or puberty blockers.
Michael Walk’s transgender daughter used the pediatric center until being forced to seek services at Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights last year. She returned to the Washington University Transgender Center this year after turning 18, but Walk, of west ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, lamented the reduction in services for minors.
“What they had there was so helpful for so many people, and it was gutted,†he said.
Laura High, a spokeswoman for BJC HealthCare, , would not say whether BJC or Children’s made the decision and referred questions to Washington University.
Washington University spokeswoman Julie Flory said Friday that she didn’t believe anything had changed since the university’s September announcement that it would stop prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to all minors for purposes of gender transition.
The university, whose Washington University Physicians staffs BJC facilities, prompted its decision to stop prescribing hormones for even existing minor patients. The Washington University Transgender Center planned to continue to provide care for patients 18 and older and mental health support for all ages.
But on Tuesday, Flory did not dispute Reed’s assertion that the pediatric center was shutting down.
“We continue to support our transgender patients appropriately and in accordance with the law,†Flory said in an email.
Asked whether that meant care would continue to be provided, just not under the Transgender Center brand, she said “there have been some changes in personnel, and we are adjusting.â€
In deep-red Missouri, the clinic had put a political bull’s-eye on Washington University, BJC and Children’s Hospital. Bailey and U.S. Sen Josh Hawley, both Republicans, announced investigations into the pediatric transgender center shortly after Reed’s allegations went public early last year.
And Washington University had to sue to prevent Bailey from accessing its medical records. It won a court victory earlier this month when ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte ruled that the attorney general’s office could not access patient records as part of its investigation into the pediatric Transgender Center. Bailey’s office has not yet said whether it would appeal.
But on Tuesday, the attorney general was quick to tout the news of the pediatric clinic’s planned closure.
“HUGE WIN for the rule of law and safety of children throughout the state,†.
Coverage of the Washington University Transgender Center
Selected coverage of the Washington University Transgender Center at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Children’s Hospital and former employee-turned whistleblower Jamie Reed.
Whistleblower Jamie Reed, who worked at the transgender center between 2018 and 2022, said staff too freely prescribed medications and did not properly explain the side effects. “I was struck by the lack of protocols and treatment,†she wrote.
Missouri Republican lawmakers have filed more than two dozen bills directed at the LGBTQ community, including some that target gender transition therapy.
‘I want to see the kids protected,’ she says.Â
“The cat’s out of the bag,†said Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto.
“We cannot institute a moratorium that would deny critical, standards-based care to current and new patients.â€
“This is incredibly ideologically-oriented,†said Rabbi Daniel Bogard who has a transgender son. “Her attorneys are involved nationally in targeting trans kids and their parents and trying to deny their existence.â€Â
The vote, less than a week after a hearing on the issue, shows the urgency Republicans have placed on gender-related health care.
Dozens of transgender people, parents of trans kids and clinicians spoke in favor of the resolution.
The critical report was released by the Clark-Fox Policy Institute and appeared on the institute’s website and in an email newsletter to subscribers.
Accounts from almost two dozen parents contradict examples provided by former case manager at transgender center.
The Transgender Center at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Children’s Hospital has been under scrutiny since the release of a whistleblower report.
Narrative by former Transgender Center employee Jamie Reed “puts us in the bullseye,†one mother said.
Andrew Bailey acts as the Missouri Senate again takes up legislation to restrict transgender care, trans athletes.
Andrew Bailey’s claims about transgender care “were either taken out of context, cherry-picked, or from unverified sources,†WPATH says.
If they support gender-affirming care, Sen. Bill Eigel says he hopes they do.
Washington University staff followed "accepted standards of care" in treating transgender youths, according to an internal review. A former employee made scathing claims of malpractice at the center earlier this year, but the review found them unsubstantiated.Â
The line had attracted attention on social media, and users suggested flooding the tip form with spam.
Ex-employee at transgender center says number of patients treated at clinic is higher than Washington University has reported.
Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation limiting transgender care and transgender athletes on Wednesday.
No news to share about investigation into Washington University months after the school said a whistleblower’s claims were unfounded.
“Washington University physicians will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors for purposes of gender transition,†the university said.
University’s announcement came as a surprise to those who thought they were protected by new Missouri law.
The university stopped treating transgender minors for gender dysphoria in September, citing concerns about a new law’s provision placing more liability on physicians than other treatments.
The hearings showed conservative lawmakers aren’t finished addressing transgender issues after contentious debate last year.
Health care professionals and parents of transgender youth are raising concerns about use of private medical records in the statewide probe.
In one of four cases between a provider of gender-affirming care and the Missouri Attorney General, a judge ruled Missouri’s consumer protection law doesn't authorize Bailey’s demands for unredacted records.