Photo Courtesy of Mountainside Medical Center Mountainside Medical Center’s cardiology and interventional catheterization teams and hospital leadership gather after the hospital’s first elective angioplasty procedure. Top row, from left, are Reine Zangue-Temgoua, Tim O’Brien, Stephanie Fabian, Dr. Ankitkumar Patel, Christopher Perry, Francis Rivera, Cathleen Castaldo, Leon Willis and Laura Jarufe; and bottom row, from left, are Alyssa Marchese, Mario Giron-Aguilar, Eric Polo and Jennifer Abitabilo.
GLEN RIDGE / MONTCLAIR, NJ — Mountainside Medical Center, a Hackensack Meridian Health facility in Glen Ridge and Montclair, received “leader” status with a perfect score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization. The designation demonstrates the hospital’s commitment to the equitable treatment of and public commitment to LGBTQ patients, visitors and team members.
“We are proud to be recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for our efforts to provide an inclusive and equitable environment for our patients, team members and visitors,” Mountainside CEO Tim O’Brien said. “We are committed to delivering respectful, compassionate care that meets the unique needs of our LGBTQ patients and their families.”
More than 2,000 health care facilities participated in the survey, with a record 747 facilities recognized for paving the way toward LGBTQ equality.
Mountainside has implemented the following policies and practices, among others:
- Establishment of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee that offers team members the opportunity to learn, share ideas, collaborate, provide a diverse perspective and strengthen relationships within the community.
- Diversity training and education, including cultural competency training, on LGBTQ patient care and other related topics, along with training on how to collect sexual and gender identity data for the hospital’s electronic health records.
- Policies pertaining to the management and treatment of transgender patients, nondiscrimination and anti-harassment, equal employment opportunity, and the American with Disabilities Act.
- Community partnerships and outreach programs with partners such as Garden State Equality.
- The creation of gender-neutral, single-stall restrooms throughout the facility.
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