NYU Winthrop Hospital, part of NYU Langone Health, recently announced that it has been awarded the LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). HRC is the education arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. To be awarded the designation, healthcare facilities must concretely demonstrate initiatives that go far beyond the basics when it comes to adopting policies and practices in LGBTQ care.
“We have a dedication to creating and providing high quality, culturally competent, inclusive healthcare to all our patients, visitors and employees,” Valerie Terzano, vice president for Nursing and Patient Care Services at NYU Winthrop Hospital, said. “By reducing barriers to quality care, we ensure that our patients and their families feel welcome, safe and valued at NYU Winthrop Hospital.”
NYU Winthrop Hospital’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee is continually seeking enhancements to patient care. Hospital neuropsychologist Carole Filangieri, PhD, who co-chairs the committee along with Valerie Terzano, said that upcoming initiatives include lunch-and-learns on LGBTQ+ care, which will be open to all hospital staff. Additionally, NYU Long Island School of Medicine is developing a two-week elective focusing on LGBTQ+ patient care across the lifespan. That elective will be for third-year medical students in order to train culturally competent, inclusive primary care physicians.
Every year, HRC recognizes healthcare facilities for their dedication and commitment to LGBTQ inclusion with evaluations based on participation in the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). Healthcare organizations that receive an overall score of 100 are awarded the LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader designation. In addition to NYU Winthrop Hospital, NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital and NYU Langone’s Tisch Hospital also earned this esteemed designation.
“The healthcare facilities participating in the HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) are not only on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also making it clear from their participation in the HEI that they stand on the side of fairness and are committed to providing inclusive care to their LGBTQ patients,” HRC President Alphonso David said. “In addition, many have made strong statements on racial justice and equity and are engaging in efforts to address racial inequities in their institutions and their communities.”
The 2020 awards were announced in the 12th edition of the HEI.
Among noteworthy progress reflected in the 2020 HEI:
- 99 percent of HEI participants documented that they include both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in their patient non-discrimination policy—and in their employment nondiscrimination policy.
- 92 percent of participants met the HEI’s training requirements, completing more than 150,000 hours of staff training in LGBTQ patient-centered care.
—Submitted by NYU Winthrop Hospital
