Stony Brook Medicine’s three hospitals, including two on the East End, have once again been named LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
For 15 years, the foundation has named health care providers to its Health Equality Index. This year, Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital each scored perfect 100s based on a survey that included patient services and support, non-discrimination policies, staff training, community engagement, and more.
Last year, according to a hospital press release, Stony Brook Medicine “realized there was scarce quantitative information available both nationally and regionally on the health care needs of LGBTQ+ persons,” so it took action. Through a collaboration with more than 30 organizations, Stony Brook reached out to gather information in the form of its own survey, receiving 1,150 replies.
“I am incredibly proud of the integral role Stony Brook University Hospital has played in supporting the LGBTQ+ community,” Carol A. Gomes, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “This recognition from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is a testament to the exemplary work we have been doing.”
At Stony Brook Southampton, the Edie Windsor Healthcare Center, which honors the late activist Edie Windsor, has a dedicated physician, Dr. Eric Lella, to care for L.G.B.T.Q.+ patients and those coping with H.I.V. The center “specializes in providing confidential medical services in an accessible and caring environment regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.”
Robert S. Chaloner, chief administrative officer of Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, said the center provides “world-class clinical care in a compassionate environment that is culturally sensitive to the specific needs of the individual.”
Stony Brook also has a 25-member Diversity Leadership Council, a committee of doctors, nurses, administrators, and other professionals dedicated to finding ways to establish inclusion, compassion, safety, and health literacy across the campuses.