Hospitals in New York City are putting their staffs through a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender awareness program in the hopes of closing the gap of treatment between the LGBT community and their heterosexual counterparts.

38,000 staffers are scheduled to see a 10-minute video, entitled, "To Treat Me, You Have to Know Who I Am." It is a compilation of stories from LGBT patients, who claimed to be treated differently by doctors. One story focused on a transgender, who could not find a doctor to treat his breast cancer for some time. Another focuses on a lesbian, whose daughter would not be accepted for care because she had two mothers. Yet another story relates the difficulties of a transgender, who, upon finding a doctor who does not "treat me like a zoo animal," must then work on getting the doctor to treat him medically.

Recently, a study was released, proclaiming doctors to be improperly trained to treat LGBT patients. This is particularly disheartening, because the LGBT community is at greater risk of cancer, depression, and substance abuse. Advocates hope the video becomes a successful training tool nationwide.

As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with cases of improper medical behavior and treatment, like that of the LGBT community, every day. If you have experienced related problems, pick up the phone and call me. I can help.

If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational medical malpractice website. If you have legal questions,  I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at [email protected] to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.