Pride Award honors MD for outreach & caring

A MultiCare physician has been honored for his outreach and service to others during the pandemic. Joseph Angel (he/him/his), MD,  MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine physician and faculty member, is one of three MultiCare employees in July to receive awards at the Tacoma Pride celebration from the Rainbow Center.

“Health care workers like Dr. Joseph Angel have been weathering the most devastating epidemic in our lifetimes. As a Latinx queer health provider, Dr. Angel has gone out of his way to reach out to his patients, in particular his queer patients and patients of color to make sure they stay physically and emotionally healthy,” said the emcee of the awards event, Troy Christensen, executive director of the Rainbow Center.

“This year has been difficult for all of us, but with physicians like Dr. Angel, we can all breathe a little easier. “

The nomination submitted to the Rainbow Center by another MultiCare physician went on to say: “Dr. Angel knows firsthand how our health care institutions have failed queer communities and communities of color. This is why he has made it his personal and professional mission to change that.

“He has created change by one patient at a time, and by challenging our systems to do better. Dr. Angel has helped to write and implement a curriculum that teaches medical students and residents the nuances of working with the queer and Latinx patients and their families.”

Here’s a Q and A with Dr. Angel:

Q: What does Pride mean to you and how does in impact your work?

Dr. Angel: Pride is meant to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, where a group of LGBTQ+ individuals, many of whom were drag queens, transgender or people of color, made a conscious decision to resist harassment and stand for justice. Pride for me is a remembrance of the importance of supporting, defending and protecting human rights.

My daily work is informed by this remembrance where as Family Medicine physicians we are constantly striving for social justice by providing quality and compassionate care to all.

Q: What does gender-affirming care means to you in your daily work?

Dr. Angel: Gender affirming care at its most complex is providing treatment to allow for one’s physical state to align with their gender identity. However, ultimately it’s really just about providing essential medical care to individuals to improve their health and well-​being.

Q: The nomination said you had gone above and beyond while reaching out to underrepresented communities during the pandemic – why and what did that outreach look like?

Dr. Angel: There remains a significant amount of distrust of the medical system among many people of color, rightfully so, based on previous mistreatment and gruesome experimentation by the medical establishment. The COVID pandemic, though, has unfortunately devastated many communities of color. As a Queer Latinx individual, I have attempted to make a dedicated effort to perform outreach and education, specifically concerning the vaccine, to underserved populations.

Q: In your talk at the awards event, you referred to how we have seen some advancement in reducing disparities, but there’s a long way to go. Can you give us examples of what’s been accomplished to reduce disparities and examples of the work that still needs to be done?

Dr. Angel: Over the past 10 years there has been large strides concerning acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals within the broader community which has made it easier for many individuals to “come out” to their medical provider. Increased access to welcoming providers has really been the largest and most beneficial step to help moderate health care disparities. We have seen improved outcomes concerning mental health, substance abuse, HIV/STDs and gender affirming care.

However, while there have been improvements, health disparities remain including with the above as well as obesity, anal cancer, cervical/breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and domestic violence —  to name just a few.

You can watch the Pride Awards ceremony online via the Rainbow’s Center Facebook page​. The section with Dr. Angel begins at about 21 minutes into the video.

Read about the other MultiCare winners, Aytch (they/them), MSW, and Tammy (she/her), RN, from the Mary Bridge Children’s Gender Health Clinic in this story on the Mary Bridge Children’s Blog, Kite Strings.