pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 16 April 21-27, 2017
Philly Family Pride to stage school fair PAGE 2
Paying tribute to Pulse in person Spring Travel Section PAGES 14-17
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Living-organ donor program holds fundraiser to increase awareness, educate PAGE 5
Investigation ongoing as Mazzoni medical director steps down
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PA gay man granted widower status By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Jeremy Rodriguez and Jen Colletta jeremy@epgn.com, jen@epgn.com Dr. Robert Winn submitted his letter of resignation last week as Mazzoni Center’s medical director. The resignation was accepted by the agency’s board and was effective immediately, Mazzoni Director of Development Perry Monastero told PGN last Friday. Dr. Shanin Gross has taken over as acting medical director. Winn has been at the center of allegations regarding sexual impropriety with patients. Earlier last week, Mazzoni officials confirmed Winn was on paid leave but declined to comment on the reason. “This is a complex situation and we have an obligation to respect the rights and confidentiality of all parties,” Dr. Jimmy Ruiz, Mazzoni board president, said in a statement. “We also have an obligation to help ensure that the conclusions we reach are based on facts.” Ruiz said a “third-party, legal investigation” into allegations against Winn is ongoing. In a conversation with PGN last Friday, Ruiz said CEO Nurit Shein updated him when she convened the investigation. He declined to provide the date the investigation began but said it was “recent.” Ruiz declined to comment on the nature of the investigation, and whether the sexual allegations against Winn were brought before the full board. He said Winn submitted his resignation letter in writing last Thursday and did not meet with the full board at its emergency meeting that evening. In his statement, Ruiz sought to “emphasize that Mazzoni has not previously ignored and is not now ignoring any allegations. PAGE 16 There is zero tolerance at
Family Portrait: John Tanzella helps others hit the road
RAINBOW-READY: Armando Martinez, manager of The Raven in New Hope (from left), New Hope Celebrates Vice President Matthew B. Hanson and NHC Founder Daniel Brooks unfurled NHC’s new 100-foot rainbow flag April 15 outside Humphrey’s Flag Company in Old City. The flag will replace a 50-foot version the organization previously used in the parade at its Pride celebration. A 50-foot flag will be officially hung at the corner of Main and Bridge streets May 14 to kick off the 2017 festivities. NHC was notified that the flag was ready on the same day that Gilbert Baker, who created the rainbow flag as an LGBT symbol, died; the organization plans to hold a moment of silence in Baker’s honor during the May 20 Pride parade. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Michael Hunter never had the satisfaction of legally marrying Stephen Carter before Carter’s sudden death in 2013. But a recent court ruling confers upon Hunter the legal status of being Carter’s widower. The men had presented themselves as a married couple since 1997. They lived together in Philadelphia for several years before moving to the Pittsburgh area in 2005. But Carter died in a motorcycle crash in 2013, before they could legally marry in Pennsylvania. In 2014, due to the Whitewood ruling, same-sex couples began to marry legally in Pennsylvania. The following year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared marriage equality the law of the land in the Obergefell ruling. Last year, Hunter petitioned to have his union with Carter recognized as a common-law marriage, even though the Pennsylvania state legislature abolished common-law marriage in 2005. Hunter, 62, emphasized the marital nature of the couple’s relationPAGE 19
Study finds local syphilis resurgence in men who have sex with men By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com According to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, cases of syphilis among local men who have sex with men are on the rise. The PDPH study, entitled “Resurgence of Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men,” was first published this month in CHART, the department’s publication on under-reported public-health issues. The study noted that syphilis diagnoses have more than quadrupled since 2005, from 208 to 925 last year. Of those cases, 61 percent were among men who have sex with men. Cases are also increasing at slower paces among women and men who have sex with women. Men diagnosed in that population had a mean between five and nine sexual partners during the 12 months before their diagnosis. This number has not increased signifi-
cantly as of 2014, according to the report. The men frequently met their sex partners through mobile apps. “These apps present a challenge for identifying and treating sexual partners of syphilis cases because the interaction is often anonymous and cannot be retraced,” the study notes. The PDPH offered several recommendations for at-risk individuals and healthcare providers. People can recognize the signs and symptoms of syphilis, which can include painless genital ulcers or rashes that begin on the trunk before covering the entire body. The department recommends seeking medical care if you suspect an infection or exposure to syphilis. Additionally, at-risk individuals should undergo regular testing, use condoms and limit their number of sexual partners. For health-care providers, the PDPH recommends they regularly test high-risk individuals, increase surveillance of patients
with rashes and sores and presumptively treat patients with genital ulcers or rashes on hands and feet. According to the study, PDPH is using social media, mobile technology, dating apps and other strategies to reach people at risk for syphilis. Additionally, the department will advise the public about the “importance of syphilis testing and prevention.” Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Caroline Johnson told PGN this week that attention from both the public and providers is needed to confront the issue. “I think we are going to continue to see these increases over the next year but, with the public paying attention and health-care providers doing more screening and diagnosing with the cooperation of patients, we hope we can get the outbreak under control,” Johnson said. Visit http://www.phila.gov/health/commissioner/chart.html for the full study. n