BOSTON– FOLX Health, the first digital healthcare service provider designed by and for the medical needs of the LGBTQIA+ community, today launched education, counseling, evaluation, and referrals for Monkeypox treatment. This launch comes on the heels of the Biden administration declaring Monkeypox (MPX) a public health emergency and is designed to be the ultimate resource on the virus for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“The LGBTQIA+ community has long struggled to access affirming and expert care and has a history of being unfairly blamed for the spread of viruses, as was the case during the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis. As Monkeypox began to spread, we felt it was our duty and responsibility as a queer and trans healthcare provider to quickly mobilize and serve as a source of truth in a sea of misinformation,” said Liana Douillet Guzmán, CEO of FOLX Health. “Health scares like this are one of the many reasons FOLX Health exists – as a safe space for queer and trans folx to receive education, counseling, evaluation, and referrals.”
At FOLX Health, LGBTQIA+ community members can now book an appointment to discuss Monkeypox with a licensed clinician in their state through the company’s recently launched Virtual Healthcare offering. Through this visit, members will receive education, counseling, information on symptoms and safety, and help finding a vaccination or treatment site for Monkeypox. Over the past month, all FOLX clinicians have undergone Monkeypox-specific training to equip them with the information needed to treat FOLX members.
“This past year, we’ve seen so many marginalized communities be stripped of their rights when it comes to healthcare. As a clinician who has spent her career at the frontlines of queer health and reproductive health, I firmly believe in the importance and power of agency and autonomy when it comes to how people seek and receive healthcare,” said Kate Steinle, Chief Clinical Officer at FOLX Health. “Providing the platform and clinical care model that allows for that agency has been our mission since day one at FOLX Health, and I couldn’t be prouder to have collaborated with a team of queer and trans-focused clinicians to support our community through this Monkeypox outbreak.”
In addition to launching resources for Monkeypox, FOLX community members in nearly all 50 states are also able to receive consults and prescriptions for general health, sexual health – including access to birth control, infection, family planning, and more. This builds upon the company’s existing end-to-end care, which offers gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy, PrEP, care navigation, content and community through a diverse network of queer and trans specialized providers. In June, FOLX Health launched its enterprise solution that enables employers, such as Grindr, planful, and the Ali Forney Center, to offer their LGBTQIA+ workforce its healthcare services, which now includes a Monkeypox offering.
