Livingston, NJ, November 20, 2024 – RWJBarnabas Health is pleased to offer the Name Change Clinic, providing transgender and non-binary community members legal advice, services and guidance to legally affirm their names. RWJBarnabas Health, in partnership with Legal Services of New Jersey and with volunteer support from The Waterfront Project, will provide legal advice through the Name Change Clinic to help transgender and non-binary community members to legally affirm their names. The Name Change Clinic is primarily offered virtually, with an option for in-person appointments available upon request. Individuals seeking legal assistance for name affirmation may qualify for free services, depending on income level.

“RWJBarnabas Health is proud to be the only hospital system in New Jersey offering this service on an ongoing basis,” says Patrick Koslecki, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, who coordinates the program on behalf of the system. “This life-altering work is meaningful because identification documents are required for all aspects of everyday life, including job or housing applications and accessing health care and public benefits.”

“People who do not have identification documents that match their preferred name and gender identity may avoid participating in these activities of daily life for fear of being outed as transgender and exposed to discrimination,” continues Richard J. Routh, Esq., Chief Attorney, Legal Assistance to Medical Patients (LAMP) Project, Legal Services of New Jersey.

“We firmly believe everyone has the right to accurate identification. We are delighted to continue our work in this space by volunteering with RWJBarnabas Health’s Name Change Clinic to serve patients through the name and gender marker change process,” says Barry Dayton, Esq., Staff Attorney, The Waterfront Project.

“The RWJBarnabas Health Name Change Clinic is another way we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to providing essential support to the LGBTQ+ community,” says David A. Mebane, Esq., Executive Vice President, General Counsel, RWJBarnabas Health. “RWJBarnabas Health facilities have been designated as ‘Leaders in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality’ by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.”

For more information about the name affirmation process and to schedule an appointment, visit rwjbh.org/namechangeclinic, email NameChangeClinic@RWJBH.org or call 973-322-9824.

RWJBarnabas Health leads the way in New Jersey in providing healthcare services for the LGBTQ+ community, including specialized primary care and care navigation services for LGBTQ+ adults at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset’s Babs Siperstein PROUD Center; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s PROUD Gender Center in New Brunswick; and the PROUD Center at Community Medical Center in Toms River. Thirteen RWJBarnabas Health hospitals are proud to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as Leaders in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality.

About RWJBarnabas Health

RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering eight counties with five million people. The system includes twelve acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton in Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway in Rahway and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, three acute care children’s hospitals, Children’s Specialized Hospital with a network of outpatient pediatric rehabilitation centers, a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, two trauma centers, a satellite emergency department, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, affiliated medical groups, multi-site imaging centers and two accountable care organizations.

RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers – with more than 41,000 employees and 9,000 physicians – and routinely captures national awards for outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health launched an affiliation with Rutgers University to create New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers’ education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute – the state’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center – and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. For more information, visit rwjbh.org.

About Legal Services of New Jersey

LSNJ coordinates and supports the statewide Legal Services system, which provides free legal assistance to low-income New Jerseyans for their civil legal problems. Through its work, LSNJ strives to secure substantive and procedural justice for those living in poverty.

About the Waterfront Project

Founded in 2013, The Waterfront Project, Inc. (WFP) is a vital non-profit legal center dedicated to advocating for and empowering Hudson County’s underprivileged and disenfranchised populations. By offering free civil legal services and comprehensive housing counseling, WFP actively combats homelessness and ensures the preservation of safe, stable housing for low and moderate-income families. Our team is committed to a variety of critical services including foreclosure prevention, eviction defense, landlord-tenant mediation, elder law, and public benefits advocacy. Through partnerships and community engagement, WFP strives to provide a foundation for economic and social well-being, facilitating access to the resources needed for our clients to thrive.

Contact:
Carrie Cristello
carrie.cristello@rwjbh.org