Morgan Weinert, AGPCNP, PMHNP, AAHIVS

About

  • Pronouns: they/them

  • Occupation and Specialty: Nurse Practitioner (adult primary care, lifespan psychiatry, HIV+ primary care)

  • Location (Clinic/hospital): Community-University Health Care Center

  • Location (City): Twin Cities, MN

  • Offers Telehealth: Yes

  • Contact Information: (612) 301-3433

  • Bio: Morgan is a primary care provider who also specializes in sexual health (including HIV and HCV treatment), substance use treatment, psychiatry, and gender care. They are passionate about providing non-judgmental, patient-centered care for people who use drugs, people living with mental illness, LGBTQ+ people, people living with HIV, fat people, and people experiencing homelessness.

Approach to care

  • What does it look like for you to provide care to patients in larger bodies? How is, or isn’t, your approach different from how you care for patients in smaller bodies? If you work with children, how is or isn’t your approach different when working with children?

    I believe all my patients deserve compassionate, patient centered, evidenced based care. I make sure to explain my reasoning for diagnoses to my patients, and offer two or more care plans so patients can pick the plan that feels best to them. I never make assumptions about someone's health status based on their weight, and never order tests or refuse care just because a person is fat.

  • What is your perspective on how weight is or is not related to health?

    I just wrote a chapter in a primary care text book about this! Here's the quote from my chapter-: "Diet, exercise, mental health and relationships all impact the health of our patients, regardless of weight. ...Re-framing the approach to working with [fat] patients is crucial in addressing the behaviors that cause ill health. As health care providers, it is critical that a healthy diet, regular exercise, mental health care, and healthy relationships are at the core of all of the lifestyle interventions we prescribe, regardless of a patient’s weight or perceived health."

  • Finish this sentence: “Fat people are…” 

    people.

  • How do you, your clinic, and the healthcare system you work in use BMI (i.e BMI cutoffs for accessing certain services, BMI on charts and printouts, etc)? Is this flexible?

    I am starting at CUHCC in December, so am unsure if they use BMI and how this might play into their systems. But at my last job I ignored a lot of how BMI popped into charts. BMI never impacts the care I offer to patients.

  • If a patient declines to be weighed, how do you and/or your staff proceed?

    It's their right, I never require it and usually ask my MAs to offer weighing vs assuming all patients want it.

  • If a patient declines to discuss weight loss, nutrition, and/or exercise, how do you proceed?

    It's their right, I never push it. I actually don't bring up weight loss unless a patient does first. And nutrition/exercise are only discussed within the universal recommendations for all people within the context of preventative care.

  • What does the physical accessibility of your office space look like? What kinds of accommodations are present for people in larger bodies? Are there things you wish were in place that are currently not? 

    Observationally in the first couple days I have seen wider chairs with arm rests available in psych rooms. Medical rooms have regular chairs without arm.

  • What do you do to allow fat people to feel comfortable and welcome in your office? 

    I don't have control over the physical space, but am willing to discuss any issues that I might see once I start there.

  • If you’d like to use this space to talk about any identities (gender, race, size, sexuality, etc.) you hold and how this relates to your care, please do so. 

    I'm queer, trans, and fat!