Pride at Pennsylvania Hospital

Pride Month commemorates the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, which was sparked by the Stonewall riots in 1969. Each June, Pride parades and marches across the country and the world honor this pivotal uprising, celebrate the invaluable contributions of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, “plus” other sexual orientations and gender identities) individuals, and bring awareness to the discrimination and inequities so many members of this community continue to face.

Pennsylvania Hospital is committed to cultivating an affirming, supportive environment for our LGBTQ+ staff and patients.

However, the statistics are still staggering: In health care settings, more than half of LGBTQ+ patients report experiencing discrimination and stigma, including 1 in 3 transgender individuals who experienced a negative reaction from a provider in the last year. These issues, as well as structural barriers and lack of access, can cause LGBTQ+ patients to delay or avoid care, exacerbating pervasive health disparities.

Penn Medicine is dedicated to providing accessible, equitable, and compassionate care for LGBTQ+ patients and their families across the health system. Indeed, the Penn Medicine Program for LGBTQ+ Health — which is one of the nation’s only programs dedicated to serving this community — has been designated as a “Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.

Equal Care

At the Penn Medicine Program for LGBTQ Health, we believe all patients have the right to high-quality, patient-centered health care that is equal and unbiased.  We connect you with compassionate and skilled providers across the health system who offer culturally competent care in a judgement-free setting.  Click here to download our Patient Services Handbook.

I am proud of our employees’ dedication to providing inclusive healthcare for our patients — but there are still opportunities for us all to make improvements and ensure that every member of our community knows that we respect and value their identities and needs. As I have said repeatedly over the past year, listening to the voices of our patients, colleagues, and community members and learning from their experiences are vital as we create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Pennsylvania Hospital.

To better serve our LGBTQ+ patients, we encourage all of our staff members to take advantage of an abundance of free, online, on-demand CME-accredited trainings.

The HRC Foundation and their partners have made more than 60 trainings available to us, covering topics like expanding LGBTQ+ cultural competency, caring for LGBTQ+ youth, and offering HIV and STI treatment and prevention.

The Center for Affiliated Learning (The CAL)

The CAL offers several interactive, self-paced eLearning series to meet Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) training requirements that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Use the facility code 55586 and the security keyword HRC.

The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center

The center offers over 50 on-demand webinars in a variety of LGBTQ+ health topics, online learning modules, and a monthly live webinar series. The webinars and modules are free and offer CME/CEU credit. Use the facility code 55586.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

The VHA offers trainings that have been pre-approved to count towards the ongoing LGBTQ+ education training requirement in the HEI for VHA facilities and employees. Use the facility code 55586.

If you’d like to set up an alternate training for your team, or if you have any questions about the Penn Medicine Program for LGBTQ+ Health, e-mail Rosemary Thomas at rhthomas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu