Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Health Systems Independent/No System, Northwestern Medicine

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

501(c)(3)

225 E. Chicago Ave. Box 282
Chicago, IL

145

Total Sex Change Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
39

Total Surgery Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming surgical procedures.
108

Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients

info icon Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
962

Total Prescriptions Written

info icon Total number of scripts for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones.
$274,228

Total Submitted Charges

info icon Total amount submitted by providers or pharmacies to insurance for services, treatments, or prescriptions, before any reviews or adjustments. Includes medical procedures and prescription charges but may not reflect the final amount after negotiations.

The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit hospital and part of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine located in Chicago, Illinois. The hospital operates the Gender Development Program, which is focused on “supporting the physical, mental and social health of patients and their families as youth progress through gender identity development.” The hospital provides puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and non-reproductive gender surgeries for minors. Claims data shows the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, as well as the wider Northwestern Medicine health system, have billed for dozens of gender medical treatments for minors since 2019. These include gender surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

For more information on the specific procedure and diagnostic codes and other methodology used to make these determination, read our white paper here.

Key Findings

The Lurie Children’s Gender Development Program is “gender-affirmative” and offers puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and non-reproductive surgical interventions.

In 2022, it was reported that the clinic had condensed its initial assessment phase in a single one-hour session. As of 2022, Lurie Children’s had provided “clinical care” to over 2,000 transgender and gender-diverse children. Lurie Children’s was also criticized “for depicting a 13-year-old dressed in provocative, sexualized clothing as part of an official promotional video” for its gender clinic.

In 2023, Lurie Children’s was accused of “secretly holding gender reassignment sessions with young children” at some Chicago schools.

In 2022, it was alleged that Lurie Children’s had partnered with Chicago school districts “to promote radical gender theory, ‘kink,’ ‘BDSM,’ and ‘trans-friendly’ sex toys for children.”

In 2015, PBS Frontline released a documentary called “Growing Up Trans” which prominently featured senior doctors from The Lurie Children’s Gender And Sex Development Program.

Dr. Robert Garofalo, head of the hospital’s Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine division, admitted “there is not a full range of evidence to support” the use of puberty blockers, but there is “a lot of anecdotal evidence to support it.”

In 2013, Garofalo co-authored an academic paper on “the gender affirmative model” which claimed that “gender may be fluid, and is not binary,” that “many children develop a strong sense of gender identity at a young age,” and that suppression of a preferred gender identity could lead to suicide.

Physicians running the Lurie Children’s Gender Program have criticized attempts by U.S. lawmakers to restrict access to gender-affirming medical procedures. (The Guardian, 4/7/21; Texas Tribune, 8/15/23; KUT News, 8/15/23; Texas Tribune, 8/15/23)

Lurie Children’s claimed that “gender-affirming medical treatments are not experimental” and are “well-studied and well-supported by scores of scientific research conducted across the globe.” Lurie Children’s also claimed that “the overwhelming predominance of scientific research confirms that being transgender is not a phase” but “a natural expression of the human condition.”

The Gender Development Program webpage provides links to various web resources, such as school alliances and the Human Rights Campaign, that promote gender-affirming ideology.

Gender Development Program resources include a document on Illinois “transgender athletic policies” which endorses transgender inclusion in school sports.

Sex Change Treatments Offered

Gender Development Program

The Lurie Children’s Gender Development Program, which opened in 2013 as the Midwest’s first-ever gender identity clinic, describes itself as “gender-affirmative.” The program does not specify a lower age limit; new patients can begin care up to age 22 and continue services until age 25.

Sex change treatments offered include:
  • Puberty blockers
  • Hormone therapies
  • Non-reproductive surgical interventions

Lurie Children’s claims that “pubertal suppression therapy is a non-invasive, reversible process.”

The program offers some “gender-affirming surgery” options but “does not perform gender-affirming surgery involving reproductive organs.”

“Gender-Affirming Surgery and Referrals: Gender affirming surgery refers to a wide range of surgical interventions, including chest surgery, surgery involving reproductive organs, and surgery on facial structures. Lurie Children’s does not perform gender-affirming surgery involving reproductive organs on patients of any age for the purposes of gender affirmation or transition.”

 

Definitions

SEX CHANGE PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.

TOTAL SURGERY PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures.

TOTAL HORMONE AND PUBERTY BLOCKERS PATIENTS: Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.

TOTAL PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN: Total number of prescriptions written by a provider for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for children.

TOTAL SUBMITTED CHARGES: This is the initial amount a healthcare provider or pharmacy submits to the insurance company for a specific service, treatment, or prescription before the insurance company reviews and adjusts the payment. This value includes both the pharmacy-submitted cost of prescription drug claims and the line-item charges associated with medical procedures. Please note that this amount does not necessarily reflect the full cost of the procedure or prescription, as it is subject to adjustments and negotiations by the insurance company.

Leadership

Executive Leadership

Name Title Compensation
Thomas Shanley, MD President & CEO $2,234,530
Derek Wheeler, MD Executive Vice President & COO N/A
Fatema Zanzi, Esq. Executive Vice President & Chief Administrative and Legal Officer $792,539
Lisa Dykstra Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer $774,845
Courtney Hardy, MD, MBA, FAAP Chief Integration Officer N/A
Susan Hayes Gordon Senior Vice President & Chief External Affairs Officer $2,186,739
Rich Lehmuth Chief Strategy Officer N/A
Marcelo Malakooti, MD Chief Medical Officer N/A
Kary McIlwain Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing and Communications Officer N/A
Alex Miller Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer N/A
Brian Stahulak, DNP Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer & Chief Clinical Officer $518,035
Krista Tartoni Vice President of Strategy Execution & Chief of Staff N/A
Kendra Allaband Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer N/A
Mary Kate Daly Senior Vice President & Chief of Community Health Partnerships and Transformation N/A
Dana Schinasi, MD, MHSI Chief Medical Informatics Officer & Digital Health Medical Director N/A
Brenda Davis Vice President of Budget and Planning $325,771
Ken Gray Vice President of Medical Services N/A
Adeola Oduwole, MSc Vice President & Chief of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion N/A

The current leadership/titles are based on the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital leadership website, but the compensation information is from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Of Chicago 2022 Form 990, filed 7/12/23.

Board of Trustees

Name Title Compensation
Roxanne Martino Chair $0
Karen S. Sauder Vice Chair $0
H. Thomas Watkins III Vice Chair $0
Fatema Zanzi, Esq. Corporate Secretary $792,539

The current leadership/titles are based on the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital board of directors website, but the compensation information is from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital Of Chicago 2022 Form 990, filed 7/12/23.

In the News

Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.

North Cook News

Lurie’s Children Hospital accused of secretly holding gender reassignment sessions…

03/15/2023

In 2023, Lurie Children's was accused of "secretly holding gender reassignment sessions with young children" at some Chicago schools.

Read More →
Reduxx

“You’re Never Too Young”: 13 year-old Trans Teen Featured in…

09/06/2022

. “A video of a young trans-identified teenager is sparking controversy on social media for depicting a 13-year-old dressed in…

Read More →
City Journal

Unholy Alliance: In Chicago, the city’s largest children’s hospital has…

08/31/2022

“The largest children’s hospital in Chicago has created partnerships with local school districts to promote radical gender theory, “kink,” “BDSM,”…

Read More →
WTTW

Lurie Children’s Hospital to End Intersex Surgeries on Children

08/03/2020

“Under growing pressure from employees and activists, Lurie Children’s Hospital says it will stop preforming surgeries on children who are…

Read More →
PBS

Growing Up Trans

06/30/2015

“Growing Up Trans: A FRONTLINE Documentary . . . In 2015, Lurie Children's Gender and Sex Development Program was featured…

Read More →