St. Mary Medical Center March 31, was recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer by the Human Rights Campaign which is the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ organization.
The HEI is the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of healthcare facilities on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and employees.
The HEI evaluates and scores healthcare facilities on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:
Foundational Policies and Training in LGBTQ+ Patient-Centered Care; LGBTQ+ Patient Services and Support; Employee Benefits and Policies; and Patient and Community Engagement.
LGBTQ+ patients have historically faced significant and long standing challenges to accessing the care they need. The CARE Center at St. Mary was founded at the start of the AIDS crisis in 1986 to support people living with HIV and others directly impacted by the virus.
St. Mary Medical Center is one of dozens of Dignity Health care sites recognized in the 2022 HEI. As part of the HEI survey process, St. Mary worked with a nationally recognized LGBTQ+ health expert to undertake a comprehensive review of LGBTQ+ care policies and practices within the organization. St. Mary updated dozens of policies to support LGBTQ+ health care outcomes, expanded training for staff and clinicians, updated patient forms and IT processes to better capture preferred pronouns and solicit feedback from LGBTQ+ patients, created the role of an LGBTQ+ patient advocate, and clarified wording in employee benefits to be explicitly inclusive of LGBTQ+ employees – to name just a few examples.
Details: www.dignityhealth.org/lgbtqcare