Local hospitals achieve top scores in ‘equality index’
Both hospitals have again earned the title of “LGBTQ+ Health Care Equality Leader” for 2022 after a comprehensive assessment process by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Honor is the fourth consecutive for Twin Cities, third consecutive for Sierra Vista
– Tenet Health Central Coast has announced that both Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton have again earned the title of “LGBTQ+ Health Care Equality Leader” for 2022 after a comprehensive assessment process by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Both hospitals received perfect 100 scores in the 2022 assessment.
“Being part of a community means more living in the same area – it means you share kinship and are safe among those who care about you. That is exactly what Tenet Health Central Coast is all about,” said Mark Lisa, the CEO of both hospitals. “Everyone who enters our doors is treated as a person with respect and individual concern because we are place of healing for all, regardless of background, beliefs or identity expression. Earning the HEI Leader designation for Tenet Health hospitals year after year is an affirmation that communities are, indeed, built on care.”
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.
“Every person deserves to have access to quality healthcare, be respected and heard by their doctor, and feel safe in the facility where they are receiving care. But LGBTQ+ people are often subject to discrimination in all spaces, including healthcare facilities, which leads to members of the community avoiding care and anticipating our voices will not be respected in an incredibly vulnerable environment,” said Director of Health & Aging at The Human Rights Campaign Tari Hanneman. “The Healthcare Equality Index, at its core, strives to ensure LGBTQ+ people are protected and affirmed by their healthcare providers and feel safe seeking services. Our HEI active participants are truly pioneering the healthcare industry by implementing robust, comprehensive LGBTQ+ inclusive policies that hopefully, because of their work, will become standard practice.”
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