Advocate Aurora Health has once again received a perfect evaluation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey of healthcare facilities on policies and practices dedicated to the equitable treatment and inclusion of their LGBTQ+ patients, visitors and employees.

All 27 hospitals earned the prestigious LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader designation including the newly opened Aurora Medical Center – Mount Pleasant and both Advocate Children’s Hospital campuses. Fewer than 15% of the 1,700+ hospitals evaluated by HEI achieved such a designation, making Advocate Aurora one of the top health systems nationally in the LGBTQ+ space and the only top performer in Illinois or Wisconsin, according to the index.

“One of the ways we deliver on our purpose to help people live well is by offering access to services that address the unique health needs of the individuals we are proud to serve,” Advocate Aurora Health President and CEO Jim Skogsbergh said. “This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality care and a safe and inclusive environment so team members, patients and communities feel understood, empowered and celebrated for all of who they are."

The HEI evaluates and scores healthcare facilities on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:

  • Foundational policies and training in LGBTQ+ patient-centered care
  • LGBTQ+ patient services and support
  • Employee benefits and policies
  • Patient and community engagement

“Diversity, equity and inclusion is a strategic imperative, and we are honored to receive this designation as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader,” Advocate Aurora Chief External Affairs Officer Cristy Garcia-Thomas said. “Creating a space for patients to feel safe and supported and for clinicians to make more accurate and well-informed decisions drives better health outcomes and the equitable change we need.”

“LGBTQ+ people are often subject to discrimination in all spaces, including healthcare facilities, which leads to members of the community avoiding care and anticipating our voices will not be respected in an incredibly vulnerable environment,” said Tari Hanneman, Director of Health & Aging at The Human Rights Campaign. “The Healthcare Equality Index, at its core, strives to ensure LGBTQ+ people are protected and affirmed by their healthcare providers and feel safe seeking services. Our HEI active participants are truly pioneering the healthcare industry by implementing robust, comprehensive LGBTQ+ inclusive policies that hopefully, because of their work, will become standard practice.”

Learn more about Advocate Aurora’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community at AAH.org/LGBTQ.