Today, West County Health Centers has received an evaluation of 85 out of 100 and the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer” 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 251 of those earned an “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer” designation. West County Health Centers is the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Sonoma County and in the bay area to receive this designation.
This award aligns with West County Health Center’s value of providing non-judgmental, equitable care to members of our diverse community.
“Since 2016, West County Health Centers has been particularly focused on developing and expanding access to gender-affirming health care for all ages into the primary care medical home. Our Gender Expansive Services Program addresses the basic human right of Sonoma County transgender and gender-expansive individuals in accessing comprehensive, quality, and culturally appropriate health care. Providing access to quality, multidisciplinary, gender-affirming care is aligned with West County’s mission to reduce barriers to healthcare and improve health disparities. Each week, I speak to patients and families for whom access to gender-affirming medical care is life-saving and essential. It is profoundly meaningful to witness, guide and facilitate care for our patients and I remain committed to continuing to develop and grow our services.”
– Dr. Brooke Vezino, Program Medical Director, Gender Expansive Services Program.
“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. But LGBTQ+ people are often subject to discrimination in all spaces, including healthcare facilities, which leads to members of the community avoiding care and anticipating our voices will not be respected in an incredibly vulnerable environment,” said Tari Hanneman, Director of Health & Aging at The Human Rights Campaign. “The Healthcare Equality Index, at its core, strives to ensure LGBTQ+ people are protected and affirmed by their healthcare providers and feel safe seeking services. 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:
Foundational Policies and Training in LGBTQ+ Patient-Centered Care;
LGBTQ+ Patient Services and Support;
Employee Benefits and Policies; and,
Patient and Community Engagement.
In the 2022 report, an impressive 496 facilities earned HRC’s “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation, receiving the maximum score in each section and earning an overall score of 100. Another 251 facilities earned the “Top Performer” designation with scores between 80 to 95 points and at least partial credit in each section. With 82% 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 2022 HEI includes:
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 non-discrimination 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 healthcare benefits to their employees, up from 75% in 2019, which was the first year that it was required to receive Leader status.
