Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation recently announced it received the “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Top Performer” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 13th edition of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), released in September.
A record 765 health care facilities actively participated in the HEI 2020 survey. Of those included in the HEI, 193 earned an “LGBTQ Health Care Equality Top Performer” designation.
“We are extremely pleased to have achieved this designation as an LGBTQ Health Care Equality Top Performer,” said Cynthia Bass, director of diversity and Inclusion at ECMC. “Our goal advanced by our executive leadership team and supported throughout our entire organization is to lead the way in human rights and this recognition is a testament to our commitment in this regard.”
In the 2020 report, 495 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 193 facilities earned the “Top Performer” designation for scoring from 80 to 95 points. With 90% 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, according to a hospital news release.