Addressing LGBTQ+ Health Disparities

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Health Equity Monthly Focus
By Anita Ramsetty, MD, Director of Health Equity

June 2024

During the month of June – recognized as “pride month” — organizations including Englewood Health hold events and engage in public education to celebrate identity and raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues including health and health care disparities. Recent research suggests that members of the LGTBQ+ community report poorer health status when compared to non-LGBTQ+ people.

At Englewood Health we continue to work tirelessly to ensure everyone has access to the highest level of health care and are able to attain their best level of personal health. In 2024, we received the Equality Builder designation from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2024 Healthcare Equality Index. This is the nation’s foremost benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and best practices in healthcare facilities. With our recent inclusion of intake questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, we will be better equipped to identify opportunities where we can expand and improve access to care to ensure we continue making progress toward closing this health equity gap for the LGBTQ+ community.