Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

Health Systems Penn State Health

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital

501(c)(3)

600 University Drive
Hershey, PA

10

Total Sex Change Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
10

Total Surgery Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming surgical procedures.
0

Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients

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

Total Prescriptions Written

info icon Total number of scripts for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones.
$252,243

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.

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit hospital under Penn State Health System located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, within the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Penn State Children’s Hospital has a Gender Health Clinic, which provides services including psychosocial and physical evaluations for minors. The Gender Health Clinic serves children and young people aged 10-24, but states that it “does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.” However, Penn State Children’s Hospital has billed for sex change surgeries for children, while the broader Penn State Health System has billed for hormone therapy and sex change surgeries for minors. 

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

Penn State Health Children’s Hospital has a Gender Health Clinic, launched in 2019, which provides sex change treatments such as psychosocial and physical evaluations for minors. The Gender Health Clinic serves children and young people aged 10-24, but claims it “does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.” However, Penn State Health Children’s Hospital has billed for sex change surgeries for children.

The Penn State clinic advertises the fact that it provides puberty blockers, permanent hormone therapy, and surgical referrals to young people up to the age of 25.

During a March 2015 Transgender Conference in Pennsylvania, now-Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine thanked “leaders at Penn State Hershey and her patients [for being] supportive after she transitioned to living as a female. ‘I give a big shout out to the Hershey Medical Center,’ Levine said.”

In 2018, Dr. Rollyn M. Ornstein, an adolescent medicine specialist previously at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, emailed then-Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Levine citing “potential revenue” as a reason to hire a gender clinic social worker.

In September 2021, Lynette Chappell-Williams, Penn State Health’s vice president and chief diversity officer, said their goal was to be a leader in “culturally responsive care for sexual and gender minority patients.”

In a 2022 article, STAT reported that purported harassment about “gender-affirming care” led several children’s hospitals to strip their websites of any “gender-affirming care” content. “On Penn State Health’s webpage, for example, a newly added section states that the hospital’s services are in line with several professional organizations’ standards of care.”

In April 2022, Penn State Health CEO Steve Massini reiterated Hershey Medical Center’s longstanding commitment to LGBTQ+ patients, including transgender-specific clinical services.

A 2023 report revealed that over $20 million in Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars were used to pay for transition-related services and drugs for minors since 2015 at three Pennsylvania children’s hospitals including Penn State Health Children’s hospital. It’s unclear how much specifically went to each hospital.

Sex Change Treatments Offered

Gender Health Clinic

The Gender Health Clinic at Penn State Children’s Hospital advertises sex change treatments for children and young people aged 10-24, including psychosocial and physical evaluation. It states it “does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.”

“The Gender Health Clinic can diagnose and manage gender dysphoria and other related health concerns for patients between 10 and 24 years of age, including mood problems, menstrual management, and other related health concerns. Understanding that each patient’s concerns and needs are unique, the clinic’s care providers work with the patient and their family to develop an individualized plan to help them address their specific concerns. The clinic can provide a full psychosocial and physical evaluation as well as ongoing care, including gender-affirming counseling and medical care, with treatment plans tailored to each individual patient’s needs. Penn State Health does not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.”

The Gender Health Clinic team includes specialists who are trained in sex change treatments for children. The team includes adolescent medicine physicians, therapists, and consulting specialists.

“The Gender Health Clinic team at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital includes a variety of specialists who are trained in gender-affirming care for children, adolescents and young adults. Together, they address the social, emotional, and physical health care needs of their patients with compassion, understanding and support.”

Penn State Health claims to follow “standards of care” to provide “medical necessary, gender-affirming health care.”

“Penn State Health adheres to the standards of care outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and other professional organizations in providing medically necessary, gender-affirming health care to people up to their 25th birthday. Patients aged 25 and older may be referred to other clinics. In accordance with current guidelines, we do not offer medical care to prepubertal individuals, and we do not see patients younger than 10.”

 

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
Steve Massini CEO $2,036,683
Deborah Addo, MPH President & COO $288,292
Tom Stoessel, MBA EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, & Chief Transformation Officer $834,745
Sheilah Borne Associate VP, Government Health Relations N/A
Lynette Chappell-Williams, JD VP & Chief Diversity Officer N/A
Christopher J. DeFlitch, MD, FACEP VP & Chief Medical Information Officer N/A
Kenneth E. Wood, DO, FACP, FCCP, FCCM EVP & Chief Medical Officer N/A

The current leadership/titles are based on the Penn State Health leadership website, but the compensation information is from the Penn State Health 2022 Form 990, filed 5/15/23.

Compensation reflects the tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.

Board of Trustees

Name Title Compensation
Neeli Bendapudi, PhD President $0
Timothy Brown Chairman & CEO $0
Peter Carlino Chairman Emeritus $0
Mark Dambly Member $0
Tony G. Farah, MD, FACC, FSCAI Member $0
Karen L. Hanlon Member $0
Karen Kim, MD, MS Member $0
David Kleppinger, Esq. Member $0
Keith Masser Member $0
Stephen Massini CEO of Penn State Health $0
Deborah Rice-Johnson Member $0
Barry K. Robinson Member $0
Sara F. Thorndike Member $0
Peter Tombros Member $0
Steven Wagman Member $0

The current leadership/titles are based on the Penn State Health board of directors website, but the compensation information is from the Penn State Health 2022 Form 990, filed 5/15/23.

Compensation reflects the tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.

It is unclear how often elections for the Board of Directors are held and how long terms may last (if any).

In the News

Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.

Daily Signal

Pennsylvania Children’s Hospital Hires Gender Clinic Social Worker for ‘Revenue’

02/20/2023

“Penn State Health launched a Pediatric Gender Clinic in 2019. The clinic hired Amy K. Keisling, a licensed social worker,…

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STAT

Harassment prompts children’s hospitals to strip websites, threatening access to…

10/03/2022

In a 2022 article, STAT reported that harassment about "gender-affirming care" led several children’s hospitals to strip their websites of…

Read More →
The Daily Herald

Pennsylvania spent over $20 million on transgender surgeries, services for…

10/23/2023

A 2023 report revealed that over $20 million in Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars were used to pay for transition-related services and…

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Penn Live

Transgender physician general Dr. Rachel Levine addresses conference, reaches out…

03/20/2015

During a March 2015 Transgender Conference in Pennsylvania, Dr. Rachel Levin thanked leadership for their support, "leaders at Penn State…

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Penn State Health News

Penn State Health establishes Sexual and Gender Minority Advisory Council

09/30/2021

In September 2021, Lynette Chappell-Williams, Penn State Health’s vice president and chief diversity officer, said their goal was to be…

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Penn State Health News

Hershey Medical Center earns top recognition for LGBTQ+ inclusion and…

04/19/2022

In April 2022, Penn State Health CEO Steve Massini reiterated Hershey Medical Center's longstanding commitment to LGBTQ+ patients, including transgender-specific…

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