All Stony Brook Medicine Hospitals Named National Leaders in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality
STONY BROOK, NY, March 28, 2022 – Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), which includes Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital (SBELIH) have been named “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders” for 2022 in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 15th anniversary edition of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). All hospitals received the top score of 100 on a survey encompassing 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.”
Each year SBUH seeks 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. As a result, 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. The survey aimed to provide Long Island’s LGBTQ+ community with an opportunity to express their healthcare needs so SBM and its partners can better support them and advocate on their behalf. By the end of September 2021, a total of 1,150 participants completed the survey.
Stony Brook Medicine continues to grow its dynamic LGBTQ+ Committee, amongst all of its hospitals, to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community, including patients, faculty, staff and trainees. The Stony Brook Medicine LGBTQ+ Committee is co-chaired by three SBUH-affiliated colleagues: Rose Cardin, MSN, RN, Director, Patient Education, Stony Brook University Hospital; Allison Eliscu, MD, FAAP, Chief, Adolescent Medicine, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital; and Adam Gonzalez, PhD, Director, Behavioral Health, Stony Brook Medicine. The multidisciplinary group is made up of medical and behavioral health providers and trainees, nurses, students, education specialists, and representatives from Human Resources, Information Technology and hospital administration. Its mission is to review, address and affirm the specific and unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as promote respectful and culturally sensitive care to the LGBTQ+ community.
“I am incredibly proud of the integral role Stony Brook University Hospital has played in supporting the LGBTQ+ community,” said Carol A. Gomes, chief executive officer for Stony Brook University Hospital. “This recognition from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is a testament to the exemplary work we have been doing, including landmark initiatives such as administering the first LGBTQ+ Community Health Needs Assessment Survey to meet the unique healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ individuals.”
In May 2021, SBSH’s Edie Windsor Healthcare Center, (formerly the David E. Rogers, MD 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 practice, which cares for LGBTQ+ patients and continues to treat HIV patients, has a dedicated, full-time physician, Dr. Eric Lella, and specializes in providing confidential medical services in an accessible and caring environment regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
“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.”
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. To foster a sense of inclusion and compassion for all, the hospital has provided training to staff through the Responding to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) program and the Greater New York Hospital Association’s Cultural Competency and Health Literacy education programs.
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. The changes enhanced SBELIH’s already strong focus on providing non-discriminatory and compassionate care. With a long history of serving the LGBTQ+ community, SBELIH continues to add clinicians and other staff members who specialize in LGBTQ+ care. John Batterman, Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor, has counseled LGBTQ+ patients in recovery throughout his 27-year tenure. The hospital’s history of service contributed to HEI naming SBELIH a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.
“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.”
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
To learn more about how Stony Brook Medicine addresses the needs of the LGBTQ+ community, including patients, faculty, staff and trainees, please watch this video.
Stony Brook Medicine offers a range of specialized LGBTQ+ health services including a Talking About Gender (TAG) support group for teens to explore gender identity and expression, and learn ways to deal with stress. For more information on Stony Brook Medicine’s LGBTQ+ care, visit: www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/LGBTQ.
About Stony Brook University Hospital:
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) is Long Island’s premier academic medical center. With 624 beds, SBUH serves as the region’s only tertiary care center and Regional Trauma Center, and is home to the Stony Brook University Heart Institute, Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Stony Brook University Neurosciences Institute. SBUH also encompasses Suffolk County’s only Level 4 Regional Perinatal Center, state-designated AIDS Center, state-designated Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, state-designated Burn Center, the Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence, and Kidney Transplant Center. It is home of the nation’s first Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sbuh.
About Stony Brook Southampton Hospital:
With 124 beds, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) is staffed by more than 280 physicians, dentists, and allied health professionals representing 48 medical specialties. A campus of Stony Brook University Hospital, SBSH offers a diverse array of clinical services, ranging from primary medical care to specialized surgical procedures, including cardiac catheterization, orthopedics and bariatrics. The sole provider of emergency care on Long Island’s South Fork, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is a provisional Level III adult Trauma Center. The hospital includes The Phillips Family Cancer Center, a Heart and Stroke Center, Breast Health Center, The Center for Advanced Wound Healing, Wellness Institute, and 32 satellite care centers throughout the South Fork of Long Island. The hospital is the largest employer on the South Fork with more than 1,200 employees. To learn more, visit www.southampton.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
About Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital:
With 70 beds, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital (SBELIH) is a full-service, community hospital committed to delivering excellence in patient care and meeting all the health needs of the North Fork and Shelter Island. A campus of Stony Brook University Hospital, SBELIH provides regional behavioral health programs serving the greater Suffolk County area. Centers of excellence include Medical-Surgical, Advanced Ambulatory Care, Behavioral Health, Emergency, Geriatric, Diagnostic Services, Physical Therapy and Gastrointestinal Services. To learn more, visit www.elih.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
Photo Caption 1 #656: Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), which includes Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital (SBSH) and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital (SBELIH) have been named “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leaders” for 2022 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Photo Caption 2 Pride: Staff celebrating Pride Month at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. (Photo taken Pre-COVID)
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Stony Brook Southampton Hospital
Photo Caption 3 SBELIH: Welcoming LGBTQ+ rainbow flags line the walkway to Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital during Pride Month.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island
Photo Caption 4: PRIDE messages line the sidewalks outside Stony Brook University Hospital.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Hospital