Memorial Hospital in Los Banos named as a leader in LGBTQ health care equality

Memorial Hospital in Los Banos earned recognition as a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality,” from a LGBTQ civial rights foundation, according to a statement from Sutter Health.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, or LGBTQ, civil rights organization, conducted their annual survey, the Healthcare Equality Index, or HEI, that selected hospitals around the nation that met certain criteria pertaining to LGBTQ pateints.

LGBTQ patient services and support, employee benefits and policies and LGBTQ patient and community engagement were some of the criteria that the survey considered, the statement said.

“Valuing the diversity in our workforce and our patients is key to who we are at Sutter Health,” said Doug Archer, administrator for Memorial Hospital Los Banos in a statement. “As a healthcare organization and a major employer in Merced County, we’re proud of earning this recognition and we’re committed to continuously pursuing ways we can enhance care for our LGBTQ community.”

There were 302 facilities chosen out of hundreds of other hopitals that were considered, the statement said.

“The 2017 HEI reminds us again that though we have made tremendous gains over the past decade, there is still much more work left for us to do,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “With some of our biggest battles still ahead of us, it is crucial that institutions continue to demonstrate that the march toward full equality is not slowing down.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Memorial Hospital in Los Banos named as a leader in LGBTQ health care equality."