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Almost six months ago in our pages, therapist Tamara Pietzke blew the whistle on how her former employer, MultiCare Health System—one of the largest health providers in Washington State—instructed staffers to approve all teen gender transitions, regardless of patients’ other health concerns.
Pietzke refused to rush vulnerable young people with multiple mental health difficulties into a life-altering gender transition. In her essay, she wrote that she quit her job and spoke out “because nothing will change unless people like me—who know the risks of medicalizing troubled young people—blow the whistle. I am desperate to help my patients. And I believe, if I don’t speak out, I will have betrayed them.”
She added that she was villainized for her decision by her colleagues, who made her feel like she “had gone insane.”
Now, in a dramatic turn, MultiCare has issued a memo to its board members announcing what the hospital is calling its new “holistic approach” to gender care. In September, the hospital’s gender clinic will begin implementing new standards for providing “gender-affirming health care for adolescents,” ensuring that they are “backed by the most up-to-date science.” The memo, first reported by the site [un]Divided, was sent to board members from the hospital’s CEO on July 17.
Though far from a detailed plan, MultiCare’s letter seems to acknowledge some concerns Pietzke raised in her story for The Free Press. The memo states that MultiCare has carried out a “thorough review of our pediatric gender health services” and will take “a judicious approach to providing care” moving forward.
Pietzke told The Free Press that reading the memo made her “want to weep with relief that my voice mattered.”
But Pietzke wonders if the clinic will implement any tangible changes. “I feel like it’s saying a lot of nothing,” she said of the memo. “We’ve heard all of this before, that they’re ‘holistic.’ I feel like they’re kind of talking in circles trying to appease a variety of different audiences.”
She would like to see “more specifics,” such as a firm commitment to treating patients’ underlying mental health problems instead of rushing them into taking life-altering hormones.
“We remain committed to providing access to the best and safest care for our patients and their families, no matter their age or health need,” said MultiCare in a statement to The Free Press.
Still, Pietzke, 36, said she is “hopeful” and “encouraged” that the hospital—based in one of the most progressive states in the country—is making any changes at all.
Since her piece was published, the single mom of three lost her most recent job with a new employer and hasn’t been employed since. While she doesn’t regret speaking out, she said she feels “betrayed” by higher-ups in her field who are putting young people at risk.
Tamara is now trying to start her own practice where she “can help people who genuinely want good care for their gender distress or their children’s gender distress.”
Francesca Block is a reporter for The Free Press. Follow her on X @FrancescaABlock and read her piece “Why Are American Gymnasts Breaking?”
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