Before he was placed at the IU School of Medicine, Keller Vincent knew Bloomington was the place for him. Not just because he earned his undergraduate degree at IU and didn’t want to find a new vet for his dog, but because he heard about a unique opportunity: the Gender Diverse and Queer Clinic.
The GDQC is a monthly student-run clinic that treats patients who are uninsured or underinsured, meaning IU Health does not accept their insurance. Currently, the clinic can see about six patients every month, but it has long-term plans to double its capacity as the student volunteer team grows.
“We do have an emphasis on providing queer competent care, but someone does not have to identify as part of that community to get services from us,” Vincent said.
Since the clinic was established in October 2024, it has treated "around 30 to 40 people so far.” The clinic operates out of an already functioning IU Health clinic at 1302 S. Rogers St., where physicians and student volunteers work together.
“They sort of go in with the patient first, get a general history, do a physical exam, come back, present to our attending physician, and then altogether they come up with kind of an assessment of the situation, a treatment plan moving forward,” Suki Sasic, second-year chair of the clinic, said.
Community outreach efforts are a key part of the clinic’s plans to expand. This Friday, the GDQC is hosting a Benefit Drag Show at the Bloomington bar, The Back Door. The event, which starts at 9 p.m. and has a $10 cover, will raise funds for laboratory supplies and costs associated with sending lab tests to pathology.
“We're at the beginning of a partnership with IU Health where we're able to draw specimens and send them over to IU pathology lab and cover those costs for our patients,” Sasic said.
Vincent and his fellow first-year co-chair, Sage Sweeney, have been planning the benefit for months. It is the GDQC’s second event at The Back Door this year; the first was in July. The show is sponsored by Stonewall Sports, an Indianapolis non-profit that offers LGBTQ+ friendly sports leagues and open gyms. Stonewall Sports’ sponsorship allows proceeds from door sales to be donated to the clinic.
Outside of patient care, the clinic also has an education committee dedicated to informing patients and medical students about medical topics related to LGBTQ+ care. This year, GDQC leadership started bringing in speakers to talk to volunteers and other medical students.
“We just had our first talk in November, and we had Dr. Deborah Herbenick, who's a sexual health researcher here at IU,” Sweeney said. “She's pretty amazing, and she came to speak with us some about the health implications of certain rough sex behaviors in connection to the LGBTQ community.”
Patient education involves giving out pamphlets with information about condom use, safe sex and using gender-affirming products. Isabella Rodriguez, the clinic’s third-year chair, said clinic volunteers often pass out these pamphlets at events like pride festivals, or to patients individually.
Rodriguez became involved in the clinic after a gap year in Washington, D.C., working with HIV/AIDS patients who struggled to access healthcare.
“Coming into school, knowing that there was this vacuum, at least in south central Indiana, where folks didn't have access to healthcare...” Rodriguez said. “I just thought that was unacceptable.”
As the clinic works toward doubling the number of patients it sees each month and stocking gender-affirming clothes for patients, increasing outreach and community understanding is a priority for the students behind the scenes.
Vincent hopes that as GDQC becomes further established in the community, more Bloomington organizations will be open to partnerships for events like the drag show, which the clinic would like to become a twice-yearly event.
“Bloomington is such a rich pool of resources that either have the same mission or a mission that really aligns,” Vincent said.
Many student volunteers echoed a shared sentiment for why the clinic is important to them: it's a resource that would have improved and expanded the healthcare experiences of their friends.
Keller said he has many friends who have had trouble accessing health care in Indiana, and Sweeney has friends who have felt like they couldn’t discuss their sexuality with their doctors.
“For me, being able to contribute to a space that's safe and offers free healthcare to those who need it, those are two things that really drew me into being involved with GDQC,” Sweeney said.
Going forward, the GDQC will focus on providing patients with free lab work, gender-affirming clothing and continuing to provide consistent care for uninsured or underinsured community members seeking LGBTQ+-friendly care. The clinic has more information about healthcare and appointment scheduling on its website.
“I think the impact on the community is just as important as the impact that it has on us as medical students,” Keller said.
