The QueerCentric

Howard Grossman is a board-certified internist, who had a private practice in Manhattan from 1988 to 2005, which he reestablished in 2009. In 2013 he opened the only primary care private practice dedicated to LGBT health and HIV care in the state of New Jersey. He is a general internist, but is most widely known as a specialist in HIV medicine and LGBT Health. Dr. Grossman is a Senior Attending in the Department of Medicine at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU-Langone Medical Center and an Attending Physician at Overlook Hospital in Summit, NJ, part of the Atlantic Health System.

Dr. Grossman left private medical practice in 2004 to serve as the Executive Director of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, a professional association of 2100 front-line HIV providers, based in Washington, DC and held this position until 2006. In 2007 he served as the Medical Director of the Conant Medical Foundation in San Francisco, an organization dedicated to education and care as a way to fight the HIV epidemic. In that role he had both clinical and administrative functions. From 2008-2009 Dr. Grossman was part of the amazing team at Fenway Community Health in Boston, where he served as a staff clinician and as Associate Director for Industry-Sponsored Trials.

In the interim between leaving AAHIVM and joining the Conant Medical Foundation Dr. Grossman worked as an international clinical mentor. He educated doctors and nurses in Russia and Belarus working with the American International Healthcare Alliance and he spent seven weeks in the Far West of Nepal helping to establish the first HIV treatment facility in this area with a high rate of HIV infection among migrant workers. This was a collaborative program between the International Center for Equal Healthcare Access (ICEHA) and Family Health International.

Dr. Grossman earned a B.A. in political science at Haverford College and studied medicine at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn. He did his residency at Kings County Hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Brooklyn. It was there that he saw some of the first cases of AIDS in the early 1980’s.

Dr. Grossman worked at St. Clare’s Hospital, at the first dedicated AIDS unit in the country and entered private practice in 1987. He has one of the largest HIV practices in New York and serves a diverse patient population. He has become nationally recognized as an educator on HIV issues and as an advocate for gay and lesbian civil rights and the rights of People with HIV.

His work with people affected by HIV led him to become one of the plaintiffs in the landmark suit Vacco v. Quill, et al., which sought to overturn laws preventing terminally-ill patients from obtaining their physicians’ help to end their own lives. The case was decided in 1997, with the Supreme Court finding no constitutional guarantee of the “right to die,” but leaving the door open for states to experiment with various options.

Dr. Grossman has written articles for many publications and for The Body.com. He has reviewed articles for The AIDS Reader and served as medical editor for columns in HX, POZ, GMHC’s Treatment Issues, AMFAR’s treatment newsletter among others.

Dr. Grossman has served in the past as a consultant to many pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Tibotec, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott, Hoffman-LaRoche, Ortho Biotech, Janssen, Agouron, Gilead, Chiron, Monogram Biosciences, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He has also worked with government panels at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration and served as a reviewer for CDC grant applications. Dr. Grossman was the medical advisor for the patient-oriented website www.aidsmeds.com. He has been involved with multiple community-based organizations. Most recently Dr. Grossman has served as Chair of Physicians for Compassionate Care, an organization of over 600 physicians in New York State who support the medical use of marijuana. Prior to taking the reins at AAHIVM he served as the Board chair for the New York State Chapter, and worked as the chairman of the Public Policy Committee and Chairman of the Ethics Committee. He has also served on the Board of Directors of several other organizations. He most recently served on the board of Bailey House, which provides housing and case management services for homeless people living with HIV and their families. In the past he has been on the boards of Visual AIDS, working with artists with HIV and using art to educate about HIV; the New York Chapter of Compassion in Dying, a national group dedicated to helping patients with end-of-life issues, especially around pain control; the Organization of HIV Healthcare Providers, a PAC organized to work on various issues of interest to people with HIV and their practitioners; and the honorary board of Love Heals/The Allison Gertz Foundation. Dr. Grossman also served on the boards of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and the People with AIDS Health Group in the past. He organized and ran the medical tent for the GMHC Morning Party on Fire Island for 9 years, providing one of the first organized medical operations to serve a large party of this kind and helping to promote harm reduction and HIV prevention in this setting. He has been involved with a number of activist groups including ACT-Up, TAG, the Coalition for Salvage Therapy (CST) and the AIDS Treatment Activists’ Coalition (ATAC).

You can find more info about Howard A. Grossman, MD  practice at www.alphabettercare.com.

There are some writings Howard A. Grossman, MD has done for thebody.com on PrEP -

Do HIV-Negative Gay Men Need Condoms if They're on PrEP? Here's What I Tell My Patients

I'm an HIV Physician. And I'm Starting PrEP.

Ty Herndon is a master of the ties that bind. The Grammy Nominated and Dove Award Winning Country Recording Artist has the ability to connect with an audience far beyond his onstage performance.  Ty Herndon has a passion and commitment to his music that shows in his lyrics.  “If I haven’t lived it, I haven’t sung it” as Herndon says.  For a career spanning two decades with 20 Billboard chart songs and 5 million albums sold, Herndon sees no signs of slowing down.

Starting as a teenager, Ty Herndon performed at OPRYLAND USA, won Best Male Vocalist on the iconic “Star Search,” and proceeded to receive the title Texas Entertainer of the Year in 1993.  In 1995, Herndon signed with Epic Records, where he made his chart debut with “What Mattered Most,” which became his first #1 single and won Song of the Year from Music Row Magazine.  His album of the same title debuted at #15 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and had the biggest first-week shipment in the history of Epic Records Nashville.

Since then, Ty Herndon has continued to find success and overcome the hurdles that come with fame.  He has released ten more albums, most recently Lies I Told Myself (2013), which highlights the original style that made him famous and also demonstrates his growth as an artist.  With this album Herndon found a new platform for bonding with fans.  He invited folks to participate in his album launch via a well-publicized Kickstarter campaign that allowed fan investors to be involved both financially and emotionally.  The end result was a testimony to Herndon’s affinity for connection; devotees more than doubled the original funding goal.

In November of 2014, Ty Herndon was the first major market male country artist to publicly come out as gay.  Herndon received a wave of support that only strengthened his relationship with fans.  Using his celebrity power for the better good, Herndon is in the planning stages of a new coalition called RALY (Rescue A Life Y’all) to help save lives and raise awareness for those with addiction or identity issues.  This is not the first time he has reached out to make a difference.  In the past he’s utilized his talents to work with organizations such as the Trevor Project, Make A Wish, St. Jude, and Feed the Children.

Today Ty Herndon is spending his days writing music and collaborating with all of his famed country colleagues and new up and coming artists to create the best album yet.  Still the same redneck he’s always been, the king of connecting continues to exhibit all signs of a country superstar who is here to stay.

Straight Talk

The Boyz welcome the point of view of the heterosexual persuasion, our brother from the other side of the aisle, Sather will be giving his view point! Tune in and turn up! 

Introduction to Gwen and Ty

What does it mean to be transgender? Straight to you from the voices of two self-identified trans individuals themselves; this is ‘Spill The Tea.’ Here to provide a rudimentary level education and allow you to begin to walk in the shoes of a different perspective. There is no set stereotype-there is no one individual. Tune in and see what the conversation is all about.

From the voices of two trans identified individuals- this is “Spill The Tea.”

Tyson is a 25 year old eager college student, always looking for ways to advocate within the LGBT community-more gearing towards the transgender spectrum. Besides being an intern with OUTSpoken; Ty spends his time as the co-chair of two Transgender Support Groups as well as attending school full time in pursuit of a Women’s and Gender Studies Degree in his last year at Eastern Washington University. He plans to further his education by obtaining a Master’s Degree at the University of San Francisco. With his degree he hopes to continue his advocacy within the community; primarily working with transgender youth-in hopes to further educate and build future leaders. He is absolutely thrilled to be a part of the team that is OUTSpoken, in hopes to continually break down barriers and will not stop advocating until equality is established for all.

Gwendelen is an out and proud transwoman in her youth, on a mission to break down archaic gender spectrum views. She has been in her physical transition since high school and has known her status from a young age. She has worked as a production assistant to the producer of the OUTSpoken show and is now emerging on a separate segment as a host. She has interests in modeling and leadership. Her goals in life are to give a voice to the transgender community and to educate those who are uninformed.