During Pride month we'll spotlight some of our Swedish caregivers who will share what Pride means to them.
Jessica Bruey-Doyle, patient services representative, at Swedish Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) says for her pride is about unity, visibility and openness.
"Whatever flavor you are as a person, at the end of the day, we all collectively have more in common than we don't. Community is important, and we should all support one another," Jessica says. "Pride for me, is about creating community and making it normal again."
Swedish caregiver Jessica Bruey-Doyle, at left wearing a mask and rainbow t-shirt, with the Providence Swedish contingent at last year's Seattle Pride parade.
Growing up in Philadelphia in the late 1980s, Jessica says it took decades to realize her identity as a bisexual woman. For a long time, she would say that she was "heteroflexible" due to her attraction to women and left it as a lighthearted joke. It wasn't until the rise of social media and meeting people talking online about their sexual identity that she started to realize it wasn't a joke, it was a valid part of who she was.
By the time she came out in her twenties, she was living in Washington state and said those around her made her feel safe to express herself.
Last year she joined Providence Swedish at Pride, her first Pride parade, and was happily surprised to see 12 of her fellow parade walkers were members of her team at Issaquah OB/GYN.
"It was only a few months after I'd started this job, so it was nice to have that extra connection and a way to relate to each other," Jessica says.
Jessica started her career at Providence Swedish after being inspired by the care she received as a patient at our Ballard campus.
"I wasn't used to (a health care team) remembering me and my health issues, talking to me, and the whole team was great," Jessica says. "It's amazing what good care can do. I wanted other people to get the care I did because it changed so much for me."
Not long after that, Jessica went to a job fair at Issaquah campus and was interviewed and hired on the spot. Jessica was already personally interested in women's health and joined the Issaquah OB/GYN team as a patient services representative.
She says there is a lot of care on the team, for patients and each other. The main goal for Jessica in her day-to-day is to help make navigating healthcare easier for their patients, from appointment reminders to insurance information.
"Something people might not know about OB/GYN is it’s not just patients having babies and getting annuals, we are also giving our community the specialized care they need," Jessica says. "We have patients that are older and require specialized pelvic floor care, and we have patients seeking hormone replacement therapy and consulting. It's hard to find good specialists, so we need to keep our team as accessible as possible to the community. I hope to help as much as I can."
Learn more and find a provider
If you have questions about LGBTQIA+-informed care, contact LGBTQIA+ Care or Transgender Health at Swedish. We can accommodate both in-person and virtual visits.
Swedish Virtual Care connects you face-to-face with a nurse practitioner who can review your symptoms, provide instruction, and follow up as needed. If you need to find a provider, you can use our provider directory.
Join our Patient and Family Advisory Council.
Related resources
Pride month caregiver spotlight: Luke Van de Krol, ARNP
Pride month and every month: Celebrating our right to thrive
How two trans community leaders are making a difference at Swedish
Working toward more compassionate and inclusive care for the LGBTQIA+ community
This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your health care professional's instructions.
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