Kaiser Permanente earns "Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality" designation in Healthcare Equality Index

OAKLAND, Calif., March 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- All 38 of Kaiser Permanente's hospitals have been recognized as a "Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality" by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization.

The designation, reported in the 10th edition of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), demonstrates Kaiser Permanente's commitment to equitable, inclusive care for LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees. This is the eighth consecutive year that Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest integrated health system, has earned a perfect score on the annual survey encouraging equal care for LGBTQ Americans.

"This honor reflects our ongoing commitment to continuously improve the personalized care experience and equitable health and health care outcomes for our LGBTQ members, patients and families," said Ronald L. Copeland, MD, FACS, senior vice president and chief Diversity and Inclusion officer for Kaiser Permanente. "This aspiration demands that we are tireless in our efforts to ensure that Kaiser Permanente facilities are inclusive environments where all patients are treated with empathy, dignity and respect."

The 2017 HEI implements new criteria to achieve the "Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality" designation. For the first time, HEI honorees were given scores in four areas rating their policies and best practices for foundational elements of LGBTQ patient-centered care, LGBTQ patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and LGBTQ patient and community engagement.

"The 2017 HEI reminds us again that though we have made tremendous gains over the past decade, there is still much more work left for us to do. With some of our biggest battles still ahead of us, it is crucial that institutions continue to demonstrate that the march toward full equality is not slowing down," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "For the past decade, the HEI has been the roadmap to closing the gap in ensuring equal care to LGBTQ patients and their families, and we urge every health care facility to join us in this continuing effort to provide inclusive care to all."

Kaiser Permanente has participated in the HEI since 2008 and has consistently moved up in its rankings, achieving a perfect score in 2010 and each year since. For the past decade, Kaiser Permanente has also received a top score on the Human Rights Campaign's annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for its commitment to creating internal policies that foster diversity and inclusion, and providing training and benefits that create a fair and equitable workplace.

For more information about the 2017 Healthcare Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, visits hrc.org/hei.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 11.3 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

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