Roswell Park Earns Perfect Score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Healthcare Equality Index

• LGBTQ+ Task Force strengthened equitable policies, resources
• Index is a benchmark on treatment of patients, visitors and employees
• Roswell Park received maximum score in every area evaluated
   

Newswise — BUFFALO, N.Y. — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is proud to announce its designation as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) 2022.

Established in 1980, the Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Its educational arm, the HRC Foundation, annually publishes the HEI as a benchmark on treatment and inclusion of patients, visitors and employees. The 2022 report highlights nearly 500 organizations around the country that have earned the Leader designation for their proactive efforts to ensure high-quality, equitable care for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

Over the last two years, Roswell Park’s LGBTQ+ Task Force closely examined the center’s practices, policies and programs, highlighting many existing strengths but also taking strides to ensure equality by:Roswell Park received the maximum score in each qualifying criterion, earning a perfect score of 100. 

• Highlighting LGBTQ+ healthprograms and care on the Roswell Park website
• Updating the patient Electronic Health Record (EHR) by expanding options for preferred name, pronouns, gender identification and additional inclusive language
• Expanding patient-centered training opportunities for Roswell Park staff
• Cultivating a culture of inclusion through year-round communications and activities

“Being recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a leader in providing equitable, inclusive care means the world to our team,” says Maansi Bansal-Travers, PhD, LGBTQ+ Task Force Chair and a scientist in the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park. “As an important healthcare provider in our community, we want our patients to know that we see and hear them, and work hard to care for every individual with the equity and respect they deserve.”

“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,” says 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.”

For more information about Roswell Park’s commitment to inclusive and equitable care, please go to roswellpark.org/cancer-care/support/lgbtq-health.

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This press release is also available on the Roswell Park website: https://www.roswellpark.org/newsroom/202203-roswell-park-earns-perfect-score-human-rights-campaign-foundations-2022-healthcare

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a community united by the drive to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity by unlocking its secrets through personalized approaches and unleashing the healing power of hope. Founded by Dr. Roswell Park in 1898, it is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. Learn more at www.roswellpark.org, or contact us at 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or [email protected].