Tacoma children’s hospital closes gender-affirming care clinic
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital stops gender‑affirming care for minors.
- System leaders cite federal pressures and potential loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding.
- Behavioral care continues; minors on hormones face canceled future appointments.
Several months after The News Tribune reported that the MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma had stopped accepting new gender-affirming care patients, MultiCare has closed its gender clinic and no longer will be offering gender-affirming medical treatment to any patients under the age of 18 after this week, according to a message sent to patients Monday.
Patients may still access behavioral health care at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and MultiCare, according to the health system.
Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital was one of the few places youth could receive such care in Pierce County, as previously reported by The News Tribune. The move comes despite Washington’s Shield Law protecting access to gender-affirming care.
Gender-affirming care includes a variety of cosmetic or medical treatments, including puberty blockers and/or hormone therapy that can delay puberty or promote the development of masculine or feminine sex characteristics. Surgery is rarely provided to people under 18, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. A vast majority of studies show that gender-affirming care is safe and can significantly reduce suicidality in transgender and nonbinary youth under 18, in some cases by over 70%, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
In September, Mary Bridge declined to provide information about how many people have received gender-affirming care in Tacoma or how many people were on the waiting list for care.
“Due to recent escalations at the federal level to eliminate medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria for minors nationwide, as well as investigations and significant penalizations of health care organizations that provide such care, MultiCare Health System has made the difficult choice to close the MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Gender Health Clinic,” MultiCare said in an emailed response to The News Tribune on Tuesday. “Over the last year, we have worked to find options that would allow us to continue to care for this important group of patients. Unfortunately, continuing to provide gender-care-related medical treatment to minors puts our organization and our providers at too great a risk for government investigation and enforcement actions, including cutting off Medicare and Medicaid payments to MultiCare’s entire health system.”
A MultiCare spokesperson said nearly 75% of MultiCare’s patients — and more than 62% of Mary Bridge Children’s patients — depend on Medicare and Medicaid.
“Loss of this funding not only undermines MultiCare’s ability to operate, but more critically, threatens patients’ access to essential care in every region that MultiCare offers care,” per the statement. “We have had conversations with local leaders including members of the LGBTQ+ community about our implementation plan and how we, as a community, can support these patients and families. This was an incredibly painful decision, and one that we wish that we did not have to make.”
What will happen to current patients?
In a message sent to patients Monday, which was obtained by The News Tribune, MultiCare CEO Bill Robertson said without the Medicare and Medicaid payments, “our organization would cease to exist.”
Robertson said, over the next few weeks, clinic operations will wind down and any future appointments will be cancelled. For patients who are under 18 and taking medications like puberty blockers and/or hormones, the gender health team “will make every effort to provide options … though the current landscape may make that difficult,” he said.
Patients under 18 who are not currently on medications “will not be able to add any medication treatment to their care plan,” Robertson said.
Patients who are 18 and older will be transitioned to their current primary care provider, if they have one, and MultiCare staff “will be reaching out to discuss the best plan for your care, including any questions about your existing prescriptions,” he said. “It may take some time to be seen, and if you are able to secure health care at another location on a shorter timeline, we encourage you to do so.”
The Seattle Children’s Hospital, which offers gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News Tribune about care options on Tuesday.
In an interview Tuesday, Oasis Youth Center executive director Matthew Wilson said youth and their families can reach out to the center for help and guidance. More information will be released soon, he said.
“We are disappointed to learn that MultiCare is refusing care to transgender youth in contradiction to Washington state law,” Wilson said. “This decision abruptly leaves hundreds of youth without care and contributes to the already tense atmosphere that transgender people are experiencing. We’ve already had concerned youth reach out to us.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 3:43 PM.
