Given today’s landmark ruling on same-sex marriage in California, readers may interested in other ways that GLBT groups are calling for equal treatment.
The Human Rights Campaign recently partnered with the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association to produce a 2008 nationwide ranking of GLBT-friendly hospitals. Over half of the 88 hospitals that responded to the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) survey received a winning score. The five focus areas of the survey included the following:
- Patient non-discrimination
- Visitation
- Decision-making
- Cultural competency
- Employment
For example, over half of hospitals have (1) codified access for a patient’s same-sex partner, (2) a provision that allows patients to designate their same-sex partner as a medical decision maker, and (3) trainings for staff that address GLBT-specific issues. You can read the full report here.
Horror stories abound from same-sex couples unable to access their loved ones, including a Virginia man who had to fly back to his home state for legal documents before being allowed to visit his dying partner. The man’s partner died the next day from a cerebral hemorrhage.
More from CNN here.
