WesternU to host internationally renowned transgender dentist to address LGBTQ health care needs
Western University of Heath Sciences College of Dental Medicine will welcome internationally renowned speaker Anne L. Koch, DMD, to campus Oct. 18-19, 2018 for a series of lectures and discussions focused on meeting the health care needs of the transgender community and supporting LGBTQ health care professionals.
Click here to register for the Distinguished Lecture and workshops with Dr. Anne Koch. Registration is free but required.
Koch, a transgender who transitioned at the age of 65, earned her DMD and Certificate in Endodontics from the University of Pennsylvania and is the founder and past director of the Postdoctoral Program in Endodontics at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Koch will share her experience as a transgender patient and health care provider addressing the medical and oral health care needs of transgender patients.
“Dr. Koch is very knowledgeable and will answer every question the audience may have in a very clear and direct manner,” said College of Dental Medicine Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion Bertha Alarcon, DDS. “She will discuss the price she had to pay personally and professionally in order to transition, and she will address specific areas of health care related to the trans population.
“When we talk about disparities in health care delivery, the transgender and gay communities at large are among the groups marginalized with limited access to health care,” Alarcon added. “It’s very important for our students as future health care providers to have this information. By exposing them to this event, at least we have that awareness so we can better serve this community.”
Koch will also talk about “The Entrepreneurial Woman Doctor,” “Use of Bioceramic in RCT obturation,” and “Transgender Medicine in the Health Professions.” She will meet with students and faculty from all WesternU colleges, and her lectures will be open to all. Lectures will be streamed to WesternU’s Lebanon, Oregon campus.
“This is consistent with the humanistic tradition of our campus, to make sure we’re providing quality but also culturally-competent health care to our community,” said CDM Associate Dean for Research and Biomedical Sciences Bradley Henson, DDS, PhD.
