Desiray C. Bailey, MD, is a retired anesthesiologist in Seattle, Washington. She is also an Alternate Delegate for GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality and a GLMA delegate to the AMA's LGBTQ Advisory Committee. She has been a member of the American Medical Association (AMA) since 2012 and of the GLMA Board of Directors, as well as serving as its president for two years.
Dr. Bailey spent approximately 40 years as a clinical anesthesiologist and 18 years as a hospital head of staff. During her career, Dr. Bailey has been outspoken in her campaign to ensure high quality, fair treatment and medical care for LGBTQ patients. She also prioritized the creation of a safe work environment for LGBTQ physicians and other healthcare staff and hospital employees.
In 2013, she was honoured with the Group Health Physicians Corporate Award for Lifetime Achievement. That same year, she was GLMA's first delegate to the AMA House of Delegates.
In an interview with the AMA, she said that “I didn’t have any role models for a career in science in the early 70’s, but as I did my clinical training for medical technology as a senior in college, I discovered that I really liked working with patients in a hospital setting. And so, I decided to become a physician.”
Dr. Bailey also stated that;
“My passion is advocacy for underserved populations, especially the LGBTQ communities.
I represent GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality at the AMA to help shape policy and education, and improve access to competent health care.”
I chose to highlight Dr. Bailey during Pride Month due to the effort she has put into improving hospital and health care policies to better serve under-represented groups, including the LGBTQ community.
Source:
American Medical Association (AMA), 2019