Rush Is Named Leader in Healthcare Equality Index For Fourth Consecutive Year
Newswise — (CHICAGO) – For the fourth consecutive year, Rush University Medical Center has been named a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality in the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) report, an annual survey of U.S. hospitals regarding treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients and their families and hospital employees. The report was released today.
Rush is one of only five hospitals in the nation that the survey has ranked as a leader for four or more consecutive years, and one of only three in Illinois that met all of the survey’s main criterion this year. The survey’s 122 respondents represented 407 health care facilities nationwide.
The HEI survey is administered annually by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of HRC, the country’s largest LGBT civil rights organization. The survey evaluated hospitals on the basis of key indicators of equitable treatment, including nondiscrimination policies for LGBT patients and employees; visitation policies that grant same-sex partners and parents equal access as different sex partners and parents; and training in LGBT patient-centered care for key staff.
“LGBT patients deeply appreciate the welcoming environment provided by a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality,” says HRC family project director Ellen Kahn. “It makes a big difference to know that your healthcare facility is fully committed to providing the same care it gives your neighbors and co-workers.”
“Rush is proud to have been among the earliest Leaders in Healthcare Equality and to have maintained that leadership since 2009,” says Dr. Larry Goodman, Rush CEO. “It reflects our overall commitment to fostering a culture of respect, inclusion and equal treatment for patients, visitors and employees from all the diverse groups that make up our Rush community.”
“We work hard to make Rush a place where our diverse patients, visitors and employees feel welcome, comfortable and assured that they will be treated equally and with respect,” said J. Robert Clapp, Jr., executive vice president, Rush University Medical Center and executive director, Rush University Hospitals.
Clapp chairs Rush’s Diversity Leadership Group. Established in 2007, the group is charged with providing direction and guidance for furthering the Rush mission of providing “the very best care for our patients… and enhancing excellence in patient care for the diverse communities of the Chicago area, now and in the future."
The Healthcare Equality Index 2011 is available online in PDF format at www.hrc.org/hei.
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Rush is a not-for-profit academic medical center comprising Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Health.
Rush’s mission is to provide the best possible care for its patients. Educating tomorrow’s health care professional, researching new and more advanced treatment options, transforming its facilities and investing in new technologies—all are undertaken with the drive to improve patient care now, and for the future.
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