PHOENIX - Arizonar -- Dr. DeShawn Taylor is a board-certified Gynecologist and Family Planning Specialist, the founder of Desert Star Institute for Family Planning since 2017. Dr. Taylor is making a difference in the lives of queer, transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people of color by providing trauma-informed, patient-centered, and highly personalized gender-affirming care.

On the third Saturday of each month, Dr. Taylor will offer dedicated initial consultations to transgender and gender-nonconforming people to discuss goals and tailor their care based on their wishes for their transition.  The purpose of hosting a dedicated day for the consultation is to give each patient the proper support in a safe and welcoming environment. Some of the services she will provide include wellness exams, STI testing and prevention, vaccinations, hormone therapy with dispensing of meds on-site and monitoring, gender-affirming surgical referrals, and linkage to behavioral health services.

As a Black woman and medical professional, Dr. Taylor is grounded and committed to providing health care that leads with racial, gender, and reproductive justice. Unfortunately, there is a lack of resources for health care for transgender people in Arizona, especially for people of color.  Furthermore, there are not many Black clinical providers in this field. The service that Dr. Taylor has curated is informed by the transgender community, for the transgender community.  "I am excited to combine my medical expertise and social activism to help people in our trans community thrive, no matter their gender, race, sexuality, or documentation status," Dr. DeShawn Taylor.

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According to the School of Law, Willimas Institute conducted a study in April 2020; it is estimated that there are 300,000 16-year-old + LGBTQ residents who are unprotected by the state non-discrimination statutes that include sexual orientation gender identity in Arizona.  About 10% of those people identify as transgender, and about 5% are people of color.  These statistics show a population within the state who needs these services but are not receiving them.

Fortunately, Dr. Taylor has partnered with two community organizations to provide resources for transgender residents of Arizona.  Equality Arizona, a non-profit organization, builds a solid and resilient social, political, economic, and cultural movement by increasing access to resources for the LGBTQ residents.  Trans Queer Pueblo, a base-building racial and gender justice organization, focuses on creating health justice and autonomy, social justice, and economic empowerment. With these partnerships, social, political, and now health care services are strengthened.

Dr. Taylor wants to create equitable access to health care for all. Please visit desertstarfp.com for more information.

ABOUT Dr. DeShawn Taylor, MD, MSc, FACOG   Dr. DeShawn Taylor, is a board-certified Gynecologist and Family Planning Specialist, Clinical Professor, and Reproductive Justice Advocate who established Desert Star Family Planning clinic in Phoenix in 2013 and founded Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, a non-profit organization for which she is the President, in 2017. Recognized in 2020 by the Maricopa County NAACP as a Trailblazer, Dr. Taylor is committed to providing a steadfast resource for comprehensive family planning and sexual health care, a safe and welcoming space for queer, transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people, and a hub for abortion training. She is a trusted thought leader on reproductive justice who shares her expertise with various national, state, and local boards, committees, and programs. She has co-authored academic publications and appeared in local and national television, print, and digital news media, including Rewire News, Huffington Post, ABC 15, the Arizona Republic, SELF Magazine, and Bloomberg News. Dr. Taylor was conferred the Doctor of Medicine degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. After completing post-graduate training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, she completed the Fellowship in Family Planning at the University of Southern California where she was also conferred a Master of Science Degree in Clinical and Biomedical Investigations.

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