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NewYork-Presbyterian campuses have achieved the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 15th anniversary edition of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), 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. A record 906 healthcare facilities actively participated in the 2022 HEI survey and 496 of those earned the leader designation.

“We are honored to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a ‘LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equity Leader,’” said Dr. Laura Forese, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NewYork-Presbyterian. “We are committed to providing respectful, affirming and inclusive care to our patients, and regularly assessing our systems, processes, and environment to help make sure the LGBTQ+ community feels safe and heard.”

NewYork-Presbyterian demonstrates its commitment to health care equality in many ways, including adding preferred names to patient wristbands and using electronic medical record technology that captures pronouns, sexual orientation, gender identity and diverse family structures (such as same-sex parents of pediatric patients). NewYork-Presbyterian also collaborates with community-based organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.

“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,” said Tari Hanneman, director of Health & Aging at The Human Rights Campaign. “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.”

The HEI evaluates and scores healthcare facilities on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:

1. Foundational Policies and Training in LGBTQ+ Patient-Centered Care
2. LGBTQ+ Patient Services and Support
3. Employee Benefits and Policies
4. Patient and Community Engagement

In the 2022 report, 496 facilities earned the leader designation,receiving the maximum score in each section and earning an overall score of 100, demonstrating concretely that they are going beyond the basics when it comes to adopting policies and practices in LGBTQ+ care.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people.

NewYork-Presbyterian

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the nation’s most comprehensive, integrated academic healthcare systems, encompassing 10 hospitals across the Greater New York area, nearly 200 primary and specialty care clinics and medical groups, and an array of telemedicine services.

A leader in medical education, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is the only academic medical center in the nation affiliated with two world-class medical schools, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. This collaboration means patients have access to the country’s leading physicians, the full range of medical specialties, latest innovations in care, and research that is developing cures and saving lives.

Ranked the #1 hospital in New York and the #7 hospital in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals rankings, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is also recognized as among the best in the nation in the U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. Founded 250 years ago, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has a long legacy of medical breakthroughs and innovation, from the invention of the Pap test to pioneering the groundbreaking heart valve replacement procedure called TAVR.

NewYork-Presbyterian’s 48,000 employees and affiliated physicians are dedicated to providing the highest quality, most compassionate care to New Yorkers and patients from across the country and around the world.

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