PHILADELPHIA Six hospitals in the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) earned perfect scores as part of Penn Medicine once again being named a 2024 LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. The 16th annual Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) surveyed 1,065 participating institutions, with scoring based on how many LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and practices they have in place in four different criteria areas: the foundational elements of LGBTQ+ patient-centered care, patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and patient and community engagement.

Based on these criteria, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Princeton Health and Pennsylvania Hospital received the top score of 100 points

We are proud of our continued recognition, as it represents our ongoing commitment to providing high quality care for LGBTQ+ patients across the system, said Kevin Kline, MD, an assistant professor of Family Medicine and Community Health in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the inaugural medical director for LGBTQ+ Health.

The Healthcare Equality Index is a project of the Health & Aging Program at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The Health & Aging Program researches, develops, and advocates for LGBTQ+ health and aging initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels, and provides support to institutions seeking to enhance LGBTQ+ well-being via education, policy, research, and technical assistance.

Penn Medicineis one of the worlds leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of theUniversity of Pennsylvania Health System and PennsRaymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nations first medical school.

The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of firsts in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

The University of Pennsylvania Health Systems patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospitalthe nations first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.

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Penn Medicine named LGBTQ+ Health Care Leader by HRC - Penn Medicine