Newswise — NEW BRUNSWICK AND SOMERVILLE – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick and Somerset has been recognized as “Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” for the third consecutive year by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. This designation was reported in the 10th edition of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), reflecting on a decade of progress in LGBTQ healthcare.
Both RWJUH facilities earned top marks in meeting non-discrimination and training criteria that demonstrate a commitment to equitable, inclusive, and compassionate care for LGBTQ patients and their families, who often face significant challenges in securing the medical care they need and deserve. To earn this recognition, RWJUH reached a set of LGBTQ-inclusive benchmarks from the HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index, an annual survey that encourages equal care for the LGBTQ community by evaluating inclusive policies and practices related to patients, visitors and employees.
“Receiving this honor once again is a testament to the quality of care Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital continually delivers to our diverse patient population across the region,” said Michael Antoniades, MPA, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJUH New Brunswick and Somerset. “The physicians and staff at RWJUH make the upmost effort to ensure patients of any orientation feel welcome so they can focus on wellness, healing and recovering. We are proud to be named as a trusted healthcare leader and provider that the LGBTQ community can rely on.”
A record 590 healthcare facilities actively participated in the HEI 2017 survey. In addition, the HRC Foundation proactively researched key policies at more than 900 non-participating hospitals. Of all those included in the HEI, 302 earned a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality” designation.
This honor comes just weeks after the grand opening of the PROUD Family Health Clinic at the RWJ Somerset Family Practice on January 30, 2017. The new office offers specialized healthcare tailored for the LGBTQIA community in a safe and supportive environment. Services provided include primary medical care for children and adults, hormone therapy and monitoring, HIV care, health education, counseling, support groups and referrals for specialty services such as behavioral health services. Last March, the hospital also launched the Transgender Family Support Group, the first of its kind in the region, to help spouses, partners, and children better understand their transgender family members.
RWJUH New Brunswick and Somerset are joined by Jersey City Medical Center, also an RWJBarnabas Health facility, as three of a few hospitals in the region to earn this distinction for creating diversity and inclusion policies and practices that respect the rights of patients, employees, physicians and families.
To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjuh.edu. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, please call 1-888-MD-RWJUH. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rwjuh and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RWJUH.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 965-bed academic medical center with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville, NJ. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, joint replacement, and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org).
As the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, RWJUH is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report seven times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in numerous specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report three times. In addition, RWJUH was named among the best places to work in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine and received the Equity of Care Award as Top Hospital for Healthcare Diversity and Inclusion from the American Hospital Association.
Both the New Brunswick and Somerset campuses have earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and “Most Wired” designation by Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine. The Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services have designated the New Brunswick Campus as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and the Somerset Campus as a Primary Stroke Center.
The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH New Brunswick among the nation’s best comprehensive cancer centers and designated the Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJ Somerset as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center. The Joint Surgery Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery.
RWJ’s New Brunswick and Somerset campuses are now part of RWJBarnabas Health. RWJBarnabas Health is the most comprehensive health care delivery system in New Jersey, treating over 3 million patients a year. The system includes eleven acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, RWJUH in New Brunswick and Somerville, RWJUH- Hamilton, RWJUH- Rahway and Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston; three acute care children’s hospitals and a leading pediatric rehabilitation hospital (Children’s Specialized Hospital), a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, a medical group, multi-site imaging centers and four accountable care organizations.
RWJBarnabas Health is New Jersey’s second largest private employer – with more than 32,000 employees, 9,000 physicians and 1,000 residents and interns – and routinely captures national awards for its outstanding quality and safety.
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