The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) has released its Healthcare Equality Index ( HEI ) 2016, an annual survey that evaluates inclusive policies and practices related to LGBT patients, visitors and employees.
More than 2,000 healthcare facilities were evaluatedwith 496 being designated "2016 Leaders in LGBT Healthcare." Four statesAlaska, Idaho, Oklahoma and Wyomingdo not have Equality Leaders this year.
Moreover, when HRC launched the HEI in 2007, just 78 major hospitals participated. This year, a record 568 healthcare facilities in states across the country demonstrated their commitment to LGBT inclusion by participating in the HEI survey.
Illinois featured 25 Leaderssecond in the Midwest only to Ohio's 29.
Facilities in Illinois, cities in parentheses, are:
Advocate BroMenn Medical Center ( Normal )
Advocate Children's Hospital-Oak Lawn ( Oak Lawn )
Advocate Christ Medical Center ( Oak Lawn )
Advocate Condell Medical Center ( Libertyville )
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital ( Downers Grove )
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital ( Barrington )
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center ( Chicago )
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital ( Park Ridge )
Advocate Sherman Hospital ( Elgin )
Advocate South Suburban Hospital ( Hazel Crest )
Advocate Trinity Hospital ( Chicago )
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago ( Chicago )
Howard Brown Health Center ( Chicago )
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital ( Winfield )
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital ( Geneva )
Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital ( Lake Forest )
Northwestern Memorial Hospital ( Chicago )
Rush Oak Park Hospital ( Oak Park )
Rush University Medical Center ( Chicago )
University of Chicago Medical Center ( Chicago )
University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System ( Chicago )
VA Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center North ( Chicago )
VA Edward Hines Jr. Hospital ( Hines )
VA Illiana Health Care System ( Danville )
VA Jesse Brown Medical Center ( Chicago )
The four criteria for the evaluations were patient non-discrimination policies; equal visitation policies; employment non-discrimnation policies; and training in LGBT patient-centered care.
The report is at HRC.org/hei .