Indy VA employees upset by Trump's transgender policies on hospital bathrooms, LGBTQ+ care
Mary Claire Malloy
Roudebush VA Medical Center employees say the hospital is ending gender-neutral bathrooms and pronouns in emails.
Officials at the Department of Veteran's Affairs say they will "fully, faithfully and thoughtfully" carry out President Donal Trump's transgender policies.
Future of gender-affirming care at the VA hospital remains unclear.
This article was originally published by Mirror Indy and is republished through our partnership with Free Press Indiana.
The Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis is removing gender-neutral bathrooms and requiring employees to erase pronouns from their email signatures and documentation, Mirror Indy has learned.
Now, some employees believe the VA health system in Indiana will soon end all LGBTQ+ health programs for veterans, including an Indianapolis clinic that provides gender-affirming care.
'I just filled my testosterone and picked it up before they say I can't have it,' said one employee, who is transgender and has been receiving hormones at the clinic for years. 'I do not want to go back. I would rather die than go back.'
The employee is one of two who shared concerns about the Indiana VA's abrupt changes with Mirror Indy, which is not naming them because they are not authorized to speak and fear retaliation from their employer.
The changes in Indianapolis stem from an executive order from President Donald Trump, who directed the federal government on his first day in office to only recognize 'two biological sexes' and to end federal programs that 'promote gender ideology.' They come as part of a larger wave of policy changes and legislation by politicians, who are mostly Republican, targeting people who are transgender. Indiana lawmakers, for example, banned gender-affirming care for minors in 2023.
Thomas Hossfeld, the assistant director for VA Indiana health care, informed employees about the new policies during a Jan. 30 staff meeting. Mirror Indy obtained an audio recording of the meeting. The employees confirmed its authenticity.
'We have to review all agency programs, contracts, grants and terminate any that promote gender ideology,' Hossfeld said at the meeting.
Staff expressed confusion, and at times, anger, about the changes coming to their workplace.
'I know it's part of the effort of this whole thing of getting us to resign and be so confused and flustered that we can't take it anymore,' said one employee who said they work with transgender veterans. 'It ain't going to work on me, I'm here till the end but I do need guidance.'
Another staff member asked about bathrooms.
'What we know is there will be a restroom for men and for women,' Hossfeld said. 'That's how we have to identify them.'
Hossfeld said he did not know how care for transgender veterans would be affected. At one point during the call, he reminded staff that the orders came directly from the president.
'Whether we like (executive orders), don't like them, it's not up for debate,' Hossfeld said. 'Once they come out, it's up for execution.'
Hossfeld has not responded through a spokesperson to a Mirror Indy request for an interview.
Mark Turney, a spokesperson for Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, said he did not know if gender-affirming care would be affected by Trump's executive order.
Turney noted that staff has 120 days to implement the order, and they are waiting for more information from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
'We haven't gotten any guidance,' Turney said. 'We don't know what this will look like.'
Worries about safety
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs did not answer Mirror Indy's questions about gender-affirming care, but said the department will 'fully, faithfully and thoughtfully execute' Trump's order.
Changes to veterans services won't come until a formal order from the VA's Office of the Secretary, the spokesperson said.
It's unclear if VA health systems in other states are on a similar timeline, but the changes already appear to be happening in Indianapolis. An employee told Mirror Indy that staffers were no longer using gender-neutral bathrooms or displaying their pronouns.
'Employees are stressed to the max and worried about their safety here now,' the person said, referring to concerns such as potentially losing their jobs, experiencing harassment or being required to use a bathroom that does not match their gender identity.
The Indiana VA policy changes would align with a U.S. Office of Personnel Management memo that instructs federal agencies to place employees whose positions promote 'gender ideology' on administrative leave, update agency forms to only list 'male and female' as identity options and eliminate gender neutral bathrooms.
So far, Indiana Republicans in Washington have not weighed in on how the executive order will affect veterans in their home state. U.S. Sen. Todd Young, a Marine Corps veteran, declined to comment Jan. 31 through a spokesperson. U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, who served in the Navy Reserve, did not respond to requests for comment — though he has previously pushed to ban transgender people from military service.
Separately, Trump also recently signed an executive order banning transgender people from the military. Six transgender service members are suing to block the order and be re-enlisted under equal protection.
'It's a problem for me to exist'
The VA health care system has been providing gender-affirming care since 2011. Ten years later, the agency allowed service members who were discharged based on their sexual orientation or gender identity to receive veteran benefits, including health care.
Gender-affirming care, which can include surgery and hormone therapy, helps people transition when their sex assigned at birth does not match their gender identity. It is supported by virtually every major health care organization, including the American Medical Association.
Cutting off access to health care would hurt transgender veterans, said Dr. Hannah Locke, an OB-GYN who has provided gender-affirming care in Indianapolis.
'As physicians, we are being asked to go against best practices,' she said. 'Gender-affirming care reduces suicide, anxiety and depression. Taking that away is going to increase all of those things.'
One of the employees interviewed by Mirror Indy said their diagnosis and treatment for gender dysmorphia happened at the VA. The employee is devastated by what's happening.
'I am everything the VA made me and now it's a problem for me to exist,' the employee said. 'And that's all I'm literally asking to do.'
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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