Dr. Mark Baehser
Dr. Mark Baehser, a
pediatrician, is the
clinical director of
Judson Health Care
Center, a Gotham Health site
located on Spring Street
in Lower Manhattan that
is part of NYC Health
+ Hospitals, the nation’s
largest municipal
healthcare system.
Judson’s Pride Health
Center is a primary
care facility focused
on the needs of LGBTQ
community members,
providing culturally informed
and fully integrated
care for both their physical
and their behavioral health
needs. The Center’s aim is to provide
easy access to robust mental
health and wellness services. The
nine-member team has fluency in
both Spanish and Chinese.
Among the primary care services
offered are routine medical
visits, immunization and health
screenings for school enrollment
and employment, and same-day
sick visits.
Sexual health services include
STD and HIV testing and treatment,
as well as prevention tools,
including PrEP, PEP, and condoms;
pregnancy testing and options
counseling; birth control
and emergency contraception; and
pap smears for cervical cancer
screening.
The Pride Health Center’s gender
affirming medical treatment options
include hormone therapy and
gender-affirming surgery referrals.
At Judson Health Care Center,
Mark initiated and directly
oversees The Bridge Program,
a primary care service
for adolescents and
young adults, ages 12 to
34, with a specific focus
on youth growing into
adulthood, particularly
those from the LGBTQ
community. The Bridge
aims to empower its clients
to take charge of their
health by providing specialized
services focused on prevention,
relationship-building, and
ease of accessing needed services.
When the COVID crisis this past
spring shuttered many facilities
providing healthcare to New Yorkers,
Judson Health Care Center
scrambled to keep its offerings
easily available, temporarily relocating
to Gotham Health, Gouverneur
on Madison Street on the
Lower East Side.
“As New Yorkers experience a
reduction of some healthcare services
due to the Coronavirus pandemic,
NYC Health + Hospitals
understands the importance of
continuing to reach LGBTQ communities,”
Michelle Lewis, CEO of
NYC Health + Hospitals/ Gotham
Health, said at the time.
As with other NYC Health +
Hospitals facilities, Judson Health
Care Center offers care regardless
of the ability to pay, of immigration
status, and, of course, of gender
identity and sexual orientation.
Cost for services varies depending
on a patient’s health insurance.
Mark is a graduate of Fordham
University and completed his
medical training at SUNY Downstate
in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Clinical Director,
Judson Health
Care Center/
NYC Health
+ Hospitals/
Gotham Health
Kristen Browde
Kristen Browde is an attorney
by day, but her work
in that capacity represents
only a glimpse into
the life of a change-maker who has
made a difference on numerous
fronts.
Still, Kristen’s career as a lawyer
is no small feat: She successfully
launched her own law firm,
Browde Law, which helps corporations
as well as individuals seeking
legal assistance regarding divorces,
as a second career.
Kristen’s legal career represents
a major shift from her previous
work in journalism. She spent 17
years as a correspondent and anchor
at CBS News, covering the
Pentagon, the Supreme Court,
and overseas wars in a career
that brought her multiple Emmy
Awards. Kristen was still at CBS
when she completed law school.
At the 2016 Inner Circle Dinner,
an annual gathering of New
York journalists, Kristen came
out as transgender, setting up a
new chapter in both her life and
her career. She went on to assist
Hillary Clinton’s presidential
campaign and to fight against
North Carolina’s transphobic HB2
bathroom bill.
Kristen is also an important
player in the local political
world. She narrowly
lost her 2020 Democratic
primary bid in the State
Assembly’s 93rd District
in Westchester County,
falling short by less than
200 votes.
During her campaign, Kristen told
Gay City News that one of the key
reasons why she ran for office was
to fight the ongoing rash of gun violence
across the US, especially at a
time when her son is in high school.
“It occurred to me that these
kids are growing up in an era
in which they’re worrying about
whether they would be next,”
Kristen said. “It is still easier
in the State of New York to
get a high-powered weapon
than it is to buy a pack of
Sudafed – and that’s just
wrong.”
Kristen has been highly
visible in other New
York political efforts.
She sat next to Governor
Andrew Cuomo last
year at an event where
the governor highlighted
his support for the Gender
Expression Non-Discrimination
Act and for reform of
New York’s gestational surrogacy
laws. GENDA was enacted
shortly after that event, and the
surrogacy measure was approved
this year as part of the April 1
budget package.
Among other posts, Kristen is
the board president of the LGBT
Bar Association of Greater New
York and co-chair of the National
Trans Bar Association.
A resident of Chappaqua, Kristen
has two children.
Attorney,
Browde Law,
& Board
President,
LGBT Bar
Association
of Greater
New York
2020 Impact A 6 wards | GayCityNews.nyc