Medical giant Sanford Health is partnering with an organization that promotes gender transitions for children for an upcoming conference focusing on the needs of transgender patients in health care.
The 3rd annual Midwest Gender Identity Summit will be held on Jan. 13, 2023 at the Sanford Research Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The event is being coordinated with The Transformation Project, a nonprofit based in South Dakota with a mission of “supporting and empowering transgender youth.” Attendees can earn up to 6.5 professional education credits.
CEUs are available for our 3rd Annual Midwest Gender Identity Summit! Visit https://t.co/OQkMMnOpH0 for more information and to register. pic.twitter.com/7V10dtsM1p
— TransformationProjectSD (@SDTransformProj) November 23, 2022
Workshops at the one-day gathering will focus on an array of subjects meant to advance the lie that men and women can change their gender. Several of the session topics include: “Supporting Your Two-Spirit & Native LGBTQ+ Patients and Coworkers,” “Learning to Address Implicit Bias Towards LGBTQ+ & 2S Patients,” and “Gender Affirming Care and The Attitude of Affirmation in Assessment.”
Presenters at the conference include an assortment of left-wing activists and social justice-minded medical professionals, including Natasha Smith, Sanford’s head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The Transformation Project’s ability to partner with Sanford Health is no small matter. According to its website, Sanford is “the largest rural health system in the United States.” It also serves more than one million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles, including parts of Minnesota and surrounding states. The company operates 47 medical centers and employs 2,800 physicians.
The Transformation Project regularly engages in activities that target conservative lawmakers as well as young adults. The group helped lead opposition to a South Dakota bill that would have made it a felony for doctors to perform gender reassignment surgeries on children or prescribe them puberty blockers.
In its opposition to the bill, the group highlighted the story of a 16-year-old who was “saved” by puberty blockers.
In its first edition of “Transforming South Dakota” magazine — published in 2019 — the organization told the stories of more than a dozen gender-confused persons. One profile explained how “Cameron” began questioning his gender at age 5. Another recounted how “Sebastian” — a 14-year-old girl — came to know she was “non-binary” around age 11.
The Transformation Project holds an annual event where participants, including children, ritually “burn” their “old name or pronouns.”
Join us for the 2nd Annual Phoenix Festival to burn your old name or pronouns, release the past and step forward into the light.
RSVP at https://t.co/XplhxRFUw8 to participate.#transformation #trans #nonbinary #genderfluid #phoenix #siouxfalls #fallspark #transformingsodak pic.twitter.com/uCTW90iHYA— TransformationProjectSD (@SDTransformProj) September 22, 2022
An article published on Sanford Health’s website in July reiterated its commitment to “LGBTQ+” patients by noting it is pursuing policies that increase its “Healthcare Equality Index,” an accreditation instituted by the left-wing Human Rights Campaign that gauges an organization’s level of support for gender-confused persons.
Alpha News reached out to Sanford Health for comment but did not receive a response.
Stephen Kokx
Stephen Kokx, M.A., is a journalist for LifeSiteNews. He previously worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago under the late Francis Cardinal George. A former community college instructor, Stephen has written and spoken extensively about Catholic social teaching and politics. His essays have appeared in such outlets as Catholic Family News and CatholicVote.org.
