UI Health Care earns "Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality" designation

University of Iowa Health Care has been named a “LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader” by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization.

The designation was announced in Healthcare Equality Index 2018, the HRC Foundation’s annual evaluation of the efforts that U.S. health care facilities devote to ensuring the equity and inclusion of LGBTQ patients, visitors, and employees.

Out of more than 1,500 facilities assessed for the report, UI Health Care was one of just 418 to earn the “LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation.

“We are so honored that UI Health Care has again been named a national leader for delivering inclusive health care to all Iowans,” says Katie Imborek, MD.

Imborek and Nicole Nisly, MD, provide primary care at UI Health Care’s LGBTQ Clinic, which has seen nearly 1,000 patients from across the state of Iowa since opening in October 2011.

The LGBTQ Clinic provides full-service health care to adults and adolescents from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning communities. The clinic also provides expertise in the specialty medical care, legal, and social needs of LGBTQ patients.

Every member of the clinic’s staff has received LGBTQ-specific cultural humility training to ensure a welcoming and affirming health care environment for all patients.

“The success of this clinic is in large part due to its multidisciplinary engagement and institutional commitment to diversity,” Imborek says. “We proudly have partnerships in ob-gyn, urology, plastic surgery, child psychiatry, and pharmacy to provide patients with the care they need.”

Healthcare Equality Index 2018 evaluates health care providers’ policies and best practices in four areas of concern: foundational elements of LGBTQ patient-centered care, LGBTQ patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and LGBTQ patient and community engagement.

For more information about Healthcare Equality Index 2018 or to download the report, visit the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.