PROVIDENCE – Providence VA Medical Center earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index 2018, the only hospital in the state to do so, the nonprofit HRC announced Tuesday.
The Providence VA Medical Center is run by the Veterans Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The index measures policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees by actively participating health care facilities.
In addition to the Providence VA Medical Center, four Lifespan hospitals in Rhode Island were designated as “Top Performers,” with scores of 95 out of 100, including Bradley Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Newport Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital. All four hospitals received perfect scores across the board except for patient and community engagement, in which all four received 5 of 10 points. The measures were: patient services and support (worth 30 points); employee benefits and policies (20 points); employment non-discrimination, equal visitation, patient and community engagement, patient non-discrimination, and training in LGBTQ patient-centered care (all 10 points).
“This benchmark not only acknowledges what we’ve accomplished, but propels us to strive for new goals related to maintaining an inclusive culture, which will result in stronger employee engagement and superior patient outcomes,” said Lisa Abbott, Lifespan’s senior vice president for human resources and community affairs, in a statement.
Two Care New England Hospitals took part in the evaluation as part of the index in 2018. Butler Hospital received a score of 55, while Kent Hospital received a score of 45.
The HRC also graded non-participating CNE hospitals for 2018 with unofficial scores. Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island earned an unofficial score of 65. Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, which has been closed, earned an unofficial score of 40.
Last year, all but one CNE hospital, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, were ranked higher than Lifespan hospitals by the HRC.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
