Dr. Ram Raju, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, announced today that Harlem Hospital in Harlem and 20 others in the City’s essential public health system have been recognized as angel by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for 2016. The honor acknowledges hospitals, neighborhood health centers and nursing homes that have superior non-discrimination and training criteria and that demonstrate a commitment to equitable, inclusive care for LGBT patients and their families.
“NYC Health + Hospitals is a leader in LGBTQ issues and is fully committed to providing responsive, compassionate and respectful health care in a welcoming environment with a positive patient experience,” said Dr. Raju. “We train our staff to have zero tolerance for discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and we honor open visitation rights for all LGBTQ patients. We will continue to provide quality and affordable care to all New Yorkers.”
To further demonstrate the public health care system’s commitment to empowering LGBTQ New Yorkers to live their healthiest lives, NYC Health + Hospitals is launching its “WE ARE AN ALLY” LGBTQ awareness campaign among the workforce and patients at hospitals, neighborhood health centers and nursing homes throughout the City.
“WE ARE AN ALLY” pins, posters and postcards will be distributed at NYC Health + Hospitals patient care locations. Staff are encouraged to wear the pin and display the postcard in their workspace to show their commitment to the goal of health care equality for LGBTQ New Yorkers.
In 2011, NYC Health + Hospitals became the first public health care system in the United States to mandate LGBT Cultural Competence Training for staff, and it has continued to develop and evolve LGBTQ training. NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan opened an LGBTQ Health Center in 2014 to help reduce barriers and increase access to health care for the LGBTQ community.
Most recently, the health system began planning for the implementation of non-discriminatory signs for single and multi-stall bathrooms, with a rollout of new single-stall signage beginning at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan.
NYC Health + Hospitals also has a LGBTQ Advisory Group that meets regularly to address the community’s health care issues. MetroPlus, the system’s health insurance plan, features information for LGBTQ customers on its website and markets its plans directly to LGBTQ New Yorkers.
See the complete list of 21 NYC Health + Hospitals patient care locations HERE recognized as “Leaders in LGBT Healthcare Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Visit us at nychealthandhospitals.org.
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