Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago earns “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader” Designation in HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index

Lurie Children’s joins 406 health care providers nationwide earning the “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader” designation

WASHINGTON -- Today, Lurie Children’s announced their “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 12th edition of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), released today. A record 680 health care facilities actively participated in the HEI 2019 survey, with HRC Foundation proactively researching key policies at 1000 additional non-participating hospitals. Of those included in the HEI, 406 earned a “LGBTQ health care Equality Leader” designation.

The 12th edition of the HEI assesses participants on four criteria: Non-Discrimination and Staff Training, Patient Services and Support, Employee Benefits and Policies, and Patient and Community Engagement.

In the 2019 report, an impressive 406 facilities earned HRC’s “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader” designation, receiving the maximum score in each section and earning an overall score of 100. Another 148 facilities earned the “Top Performer” designation for scoring from 80 to 95 points. With 81% of participating facilities scoring 80 points or more, health care facilities are demonstrating concretely that they are going beyond the basics when it comes to adopting policies and practices in LGBTQ care.

The remarkable progress reflected in the 2019 HEI includes:

• Over half of HEI participants now have written gender transition guidelines;
• 75% of hospitals surveyed offer trans-inclusive benefits -- an impressive eight percentage point increase over last year, and numbers that bring them on par with their corporate counterparts, as measured by HRC’s 2019 CEI;
• A 35% increase in training hours recorded -- clocking in at more than 94,000 hours of LGBTQ care training provided;
• A 60% increase in the number of HEI participants whose electronic health records capture a patient's sexual orientation, and a 40% increase in the number of HEI participants whose electronic health records capture a patient's gender identity.

 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is education arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.