ECMC achieves national LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index 2022 'Leader Status'

ECMC one of 496 national health care institutions to earn ‘LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader’ designation; more than 2,000 health care facilities nationwide evaluated for dedication & commitment to LGBTQ inclusion

Erie County Medical Center Corp. announced it has achieved “Leader Status” in the Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). ECMC scored 100 points in the HEI to earn the “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released its 15th anniversary edition of the HEI on Sunday. ECMC said it is the country’s foremost benchmarking survey of health care facilities on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and employees. A record 906 health care facilities actively participated in the 2022 HEI survey, and 496 of those earned an “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation, while 251 earned the “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Top Performer” designation.

ECMC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., PhD, said, “ECMC is committed to the principles and objectives of Human Rights Campaign, and we are honored to receive this designation, which reinforces our dedication to ensuring these important standards are maintained throughout our institution. I commend ECMC’s HEI council members for their hard work and success in achieving this important recognition from such a prestigious national organization.”

ECMC Chief Diversity Officer Cynthia R. Bass, MBA, CDM, said, “After much time and effort put forth to achieve this goal, we are honored and thankful to the Human Rights Campaign for recognizing ECMC’s commitment to achieving this level of recognition. As a result, ECMC is now nationally a recognized LGBTQ+ health care leader; we are pleased and proud of this very gratifying accomplishment.”

The Human Rights Campaign Director of Health & Aging Tari Hanneman said, “Every person deserves to have access to quality health care, 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 health care facilities, which leads to members of the community avoiding care and anticipating our voices will not be respected in an incredibly vulnerable environment. The Healthcare Equality Index, at its core, strives to ensure LGBTQ+ people are protected and affirmed by their health care providers and feel safe seeking services. Our HEI active participants are truly pioneering the health care industry by implementing robust, comprehensive LGBTQ+ inclusive policies that hopefully, because of their work, will become standard practice.”

The Healthcare Equality Index has four core objectives:

√ Ensure foundational nondiscrimination protection for patients, visitors and staff in via policy implementation, and provide cultural competency training on LGBTQ-inclusion.

√ Demonstrate progress toward inclusion on LGBTQ patient care services and support.

√ Cultivate an inclusive workplace by providing LGBTQ-inclusive employee policies and benefits.

√ Demonstrate engagement with and public commitment to the LGBTQ community.

In a press release distributed by the HEI, the organization noted significant progress achieved in 2022:

√ 93% of participants met the HEI's training requirements, completing more than 200,000 hours of staff training in LGBTQ+ patient-centered care.

√ 82% of participating facilities earned either the Leader or Top Performer.

√ 99% of HEI participants documented that they include both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in their patient nondiscrimination policy.

√ 99% of HEI participants documented that they include both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in their employment nondiscrimination policy.

√ 81% of HEI participants offer transgender-inclusive health care benefits to their employees, up from 75% in 2019, which was the first year this it was required in order to obtain Leader status.

√ A record 176 facilities, nearly 20% of all participants, participated in the HEI for the first time.

View the Healthcare Equality Index 2022 here: https://www.hrc.org/resources/healthcare-equality-index.