Stony Brook Hospitals National Leaders In LGBTQ+ Equity: Survey

LONG ISLAND, NY — Stony Brook University Hospital has received a prestigious designation — named a national leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare equality.

All Stony Brook Medicine hospitals were included in the honor, including Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital; all were named “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders” for 2022 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 15th anniversary edition of the Healthcare Equality Index.

According to a release from Stony Brook, all hospitals received the top score of 100 on a survey including issues such as non-discrimination and staff training, patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and patient and community engagement.

“Year after year Stony Brook’s LGBTQ+ committee is committed to providing high quality, equitable care to our LGBTQ+ community in Suffolk County,” said Hal Paz, MD, executive vice president, health sciences, Stony Brook University and chief executive officer, Stony Brook University Medicine. “I am proud of the entire Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system’s collective efforts and hard work to achieve this recognition.”

According to the facility, SBUH is always looking for new ways to address and affirm the specific and unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals.

In 2021, Stony Brook Medicine realized there was scarce quantitative information available both nationally and regionally on the healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ persons. Stony Brook collaborated with more than 30 Long Island-based organizations and community leaders to reach all sectors of the LGBTQ+ community to complete the LGBTQ+ Health Needs Assessment Survey, launched during Pride Month in June 2021. By the end of September 2021, a total of 1,150 participants completed the survey.

In addition, Stony Brook Medicine continues to grow its LGBTQ+ committee.

In May 2021, SBSH’s Edie Windsor Healthcare Center, which has provided care for the LGBTQ+ community and those with HIV since the 1990s, moved to its new location in Hampton Bays to better serve the LGBTQ+ community.

“The Edie Windsor Healthcare Center supports the right of every member of the LGBTQ+ community to receive world-class clinical care in a compassionate environment that is culturally sensitive to the specific needs of the individual,” said Robert S. Chaloner, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. “The Center is dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Also, Stony Brook Southampton’s Diversity Leadership Council, a committee of 25 administrators, physicians, nurses, and other staff, actively educates, informs, and provides resources for the wider hospital community about diversity issues while seeking opportunities to build an inclusive and safe environment for all who work in, seek care at, or visit hospital facilities.

Upon reviewing HEI recommendations and criteria to better understand the behavioral health and medical needs of its local LGBTQ+ community, SBELIH revised human resource and hospital wide policies, employee documents, terminology in medical records and facility signage.

“Providing gender affirming care is a cultural and organizational shift, and we have made that shift,” said Paul Connor, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. “To create an organization that is truly welcoming to LGBTQ+ patients, we engaged every department, from clinical care to medical records. Steps included ensuring we have inclusive terminology on medical records and forms, as well as boosting cultural sensitivity training for staff to increase awareness of the health needs of LGBTQ+ individuals.”