Utah Opens First LGBTQ+ Community Health Center

The first-ever health clinic in Utah to focus on LGBTQ+ patients, UAF Legacy, celebrated its grand opening in Salt Lake City last month.

UAF Legacy Health was originally the Utah AIDS Foundation until a decision to expand last year. The center describes itself as “dedicated to improving and transforming healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community in Utah,” and it’s the first queer community health center in the entire state. There, patients can receive mental and medical primary care, as well as HIV prevention and treatment and therapy services.

The center is open for everyone, but CEO Ahmer Afroz emphasizes that the focus is on LGBTQ+ healthcare: “We’re seeing the need (for LGBTQ-competent care) get bigger, and we’re seeing these kind of disparities in health and negative health outcomes get even larger. And so we knew we needed to pivot and shift to fill the gaps.”

The opening of UAF Legacy Health couldn’t be more timely and more needed. Just a couple days before, Utah’s state senate revised their laws on transgender bathroom access, barring trans people from using public or school bathrooms in alignment with their gender. Overall last year was devastating for trans Utahns, as the “Don’t Say Gay” bills and bans on gender-affirming care for youth seemde to strangle people’s options for representation and fair treatment.

Afroz and the the team at UAF Legacy Health understand this. They expect to see much higher rates of individuals needs physical and especially mental health support in coming months. But Afroz remains hopeful and determined. At the opening ceremony for UAF Legacy, he says, “We’re really hoping to be a beacon of hope, whether people access our services or not. Just knowing that we exist and we’re doing the work we do, that’s critical. And that’s what I hope we can really spread.”

Photo courtesy of social media