Providence Swedish designated a High Performer on Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index 2024
"Being designated as a High Performer by the Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index validates that we are on the right path, walking towards our goal of replacing systems of oppression with systems of care.”
Each of Providence Swedish’s five campuses has received the designation of High Performer on Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). Our campuses are among 462 health care facilities across the U.S. named as High Performers on the HEI by the Human Rights Campaign.
“LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones are looking for healthcare providers to offer and champion fully inclusive services. The Healthcare Equality Index is helping people find facilities where welcoming policies and practices are the standard,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “No one should have to put their health on the backburner for fear of mistreatment in a healthcare facility or by their doctor.”
Providence Swedish is proud to offer care and support for our transgender and gender diverse patients, including gender-affirming care. Established in 2020 as an initiative, Swedish’s LGBTQIA+ Program uses a holistic approach to improve access to comprehensive health care that connects patients directly with experienced care teams and resources. The LGBTQIA+ Program is housed in our Office of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
“While providing inclusive and comprehensive medical care to our LGBTQIA+ community is a large component of achieving designation from the Human Rights Campaign, it’s important to recognize our work to have a comprehensive approach by the creation of inclusive patient- and caregiver-facing policies, collection of sexual orientation/gender identity data to support our population health efforts, engagement with our community to build bridges, provision of patient support with our transgender healthcare navigation program, and influencing system strategic plans through recommendations from our active LGBTQIA+ caregiver resource group,” says Kevin Wang, M.D., medical director for Providence Swedish LGBTQIA+ Program. “This framework provides us a foundation to identify growth opportunities and work towards creating a more inclusive environment for our LGBTQIA+ and historically marginalized communities.”
In addition to patient care, the Swedish LGBTQIA+ Program provides specialized clinical support to our care teams to ensure our caregivers are up to date on the latest advancements and can deliver optimal care for our LGBTQIA+ patients.
Vinny Fox, senior program coordinator at Providence Swedish says, “Obtaining the HEI High Perfomer recognition shows the hard work we have been doing here at Swedish to make a safe, welcoming, and affirming environment for both patients and caregivers. It also served as a reminder of the areas where we can do more, improve, and go beyond.”
Diana Krishna, program coordinator at Providence Swedish, adds, “Our business is centered on human care, guided by core values of compassion, justice, excellence, dignity, integrity and safety. Being designated as a High Performer by the Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index validates that we are on the right path, walking towards our goal of replacing systems of oppression with systems of care.”
About Providence Swedish
Providence Swedish has served the Puget Sound region since the first Providence hospital opened in Seattle in 1877 and the first Swedish hospital opened in 1910. The two organizations affiliated in 2012 and today comprise the largest health care delivery system in Western Washington, with 22,000 caregivers, eight hospitals and 244 clinics. A not-for-profit family of organizations, Providence Swedish provides more than $406 million in community benefit in the Puget Sound Region each year. The health system offers a comprehensive range of services and specialty and subspecialty care in a number of clinical areas, including cancer, cardiovascular health, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive health and women’s and children’s care.
