By Courtney Schmoll—
Ball Hospital is one of 496 healthcare providers nationwide to earn the coveted “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation
MUNCIE, Ind. – For the tenth consecutive year, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital has achieved a perfect score and the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” 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 496 of those earned an “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation.
“Healthcare equality continues to be incredibly important to us as an organization,” said Megan Haymaker, vice president of human resources for IU Health’s East Central Region. “It is a key component of our culture. In order to deliver the best care possible, we must ensure all people feel safe to seek medical treatment in our facilities and are confident that they are receiving the highest quality of care for their individual needs. Our team members must also feel they are safe to bring their whole self to work and that we care about them as individuals.”
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.
“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 and 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 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 Leader (overall score of 100) or Top Performer (score between 80 and 95 points)
- 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 this it was required in order to obtain Leader status.
“We are honored to be named an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader,” said Haymaker. “I am proud of the entire team’s collective efforts and hard work to achieve this recognition.”
