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LGBT Forum Chair
Stephan Davis, DNP, FACHE
ACHE LGBTQ Forum Chair
MHA Director and Assistant Professor
University of North Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health
Fort Worth, Texas
Dear Colleagues,
It is hard to believe 2020 is coming to a close. With a pandemic, significant displays of racial injustice and a presidential election, I am confident the beginning of this new decade will be indelible in our minds. I am also sure when I think back to this year, one of the best parts of 2020 will have been serving as the LGBTQ Forum Chair and representing our community on critical initiatives that have advanced despite the pandemic.
One of our important initiatives for the Forum has been expanding our reach. We have accomplished this through increasing our use of social media, leveraging video and virtual meeting platforms, and focusing on intersectionality and allyship. You have likely received notification that the LGBTQ Forum will transition to an online community and will be included with the cost of ACHE membership effective January 2021! We see this as a huge win for members of our community to be able to network and advance LGBTQ health equity without additional financial burden. As an educator, I am particularly excited to expand our reach to health administration students, who may have found the Forum’s membership dues to be cost prohibitive.
Our new online community will be a vibrant space to communicate and network with fellow LGBTQ healthcare executives and allies. Consistent with feedback provided on our recent member survey, we will also continue to share best practices related to fostering LGBTQ inclusion for patients and the workforce as we have traditionally accomplished through our newsletters. Additionally, we will continue to offer diversity-focused webinars, such as an upcoming educational session in early 2021 on allyship in partnership with the Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum and other ACHE Better Together collaborative partners.
Another area of focus will be advancement of members who come from historically underrepresented groups. We will begin targeted outreach to support LGBTQ online community members who meet the eligibility criteria to advance to Fellow. In keeping with this initiative, we are thrilled to congratulate all our Forum members who advanced to Fellow in 2019 and 2020. We are applauding you and celebrating your significant professional milestone.
I want to extend our sincere thanks to all our inaugural Forum members and those who have contributed dues since our formation in 2016. Your contributions not only made launching the Forum possible but also made it sustainable by demonstrating the size and strength of our community and allies. We are forever grateful to you for your leadership and service to current and aspiring LGBTQ healthcare executives.
Thank you for all you have done this year. For those of you celebrating holidays, I wish you a joyous, safe and healthy season. I look forward to all we will achieve in 2021!
Sincerely,
Stephan Davis, DNP, FACHE
ACHE LGBTQ Forum Executive Profile
Korrine A. Roth, FACHE
Quality Consultant
Danbury, Conn.
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in healthcare administration?
Providing healthcare to individuals is a deeply intimate experience. Healthcare professionals support individuals from birth to death, and a million other points along their personal health journeys. My nursing philosophy is one of safety. Individuals need a safe space to heal, and nurses are the leaders in designing and providing that safe space. Whether it’s a transgender youth trying to tell their parent of their gender identity or an older person wanting the love of their life to hold their hand for comfort, nurses and healthcare executives are the leaders who create these safe spaces.
2. What have been the hallmarks of your career in healthcare leadership?
Breaking rules and designing systems to support all individuals have been the hallmarks of my career in healthcare leadership. Early in my career, I challenged restrictive visitation policies. If an individual wanted a loved one by their bedside, I made it happen. Later in my career, I led a hospital to redesign systems to achieve the coveted designation as a leader in LGBTQ Health Care Equality from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
3. Do you believe that being a member of the LGBTQ community or an LGBTQ champion impacts career advancement for healthcare leaders?
Sadly, I do believe being a member of the LGBTQ community does impact career advancement for healthcare leaders and not necessarily in a positive way. While acknowledging improvements in bias, I still see and hear comments, uncomfortable silence, and/or awkward glances when sexual orientation is discussed. I believe LGBTQ representation in healthcare leadership positions is a key component in driving continued, improved change, and we must support those seeking advancement.
4. What would be your advice to LGBTQ individuals pursuing careers in healthcare management?
My advice to healthcare leaders is to stay true to self. This is especially difficult for the LGBTQ community, as bias is still faced. One small step I have taken is to add a preferred pronoun line in my professional signature. This simple gesture demonstrates awareness, support and a safe space. And it is quite a conversation starter for those who seek to understand, which enhances awareness.
5. Why did you decide to join ACHE LGBTQ Forum, and what do you feel is the value added by this group?
Honestly, I decided to join the LGBTQ Forum after a recent Congress on Healthcare Leadership, where I saw laughter and ridicule from some attendees who were mocking the rainbow badge ribbons. I was surprised and saddened to see laughing at an LGBTQ symbol was still “a thing.” Therefore, I felt joining the Forum as an ally would help to address the bias faced by this community and provide me with tools to increase awareness at my organization. By doing so, I am proud to say I have used my experience as a building block to fight for healthcare equality and was a champion for my hospital to become an HRC HEI Leader. In all, I truly believe the LGBTQ Forum provides a safe space for this community in healthcare, and I am proud to be a part of it..
LGBTQ Forum Organizational Profile
Seated from left: Vanessa Nazario, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, RWJUH; Paula Gutierrez, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, RWJUH Somerset; Trina Parks, Corporate Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer; Suzette Robinson, Assistant Vice President, Corporate Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Standing from left: Brenda Snipes, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Community Medical Center; Franck D. Nelson, Health Equity Manager, Corporate Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Leslie Wright-Brown, Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Saint Barnabas Medical Center.
D&I Directors not present: Pamela Weatherspoon, Jersey City Medical Center; Desyra Highsmith-Holcomb, Clara Maass Medical Center; Sylvia Jacobs, Monmouth Medical Center; and Atiya Jaha-Rashidi, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center & Children’s Hospital of NJ.
1. How has your organization created an inclusive environment for patients?
RWJBarnabas Health remains steadfast in its commitment to creating an inclusive environment for all on our journey toward health equity. Our goal is to provide culturally sensitive, compassionate and inclusive care while ensuring everyone is treated with respect and dignity. As such, we have committed to equitable treatment of all patients regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, ability status, and/or any other classification that highlights an individual’s unique experience. Within our organization, we continue to strive and ensure that individuals are treated the way they wish to be treated through our operations, patient care, policies and community engagement efforts. In addition, we leverage the collection and analysis of race, ethnicity and language data identifying gaps and areas of disparities, implementing new strategic interventions for equitable outcomes. Lastly, and extremely important, we collaborate with other departments to ensure optimal, inclusive and equitable patient experience is embedded in every aspect of our workflow and overall initiatives.
2. How has the organization engaged LGBTQ patients and/or the local LGBTQ community?
Through our system hospitals, our efforts have been inclusive with emphasis on ensuring equitable and compassionate care to our LGBTQ+ patients and communities. All diversity and inclusion directors have worked with community leaders and residents to discuss and identify the needs of the LGBTQ+ populations. An example has been an LGBTQ+ Family Support Group, which provides guidance to families of teenagers while also nurturing a supportive environment for parents and family members. Moreover, many educational sessions providing access, education and support to the community are continuously hosted while supporting Pride Month and many key initiatives. We have continuously engaged in supporting LGBTQ+ state groups and serve as members of the governor’s LGBTQ taskforce. We also continue to ensure that employees are aware of and benefit from an inclusive and equitable workforce. As a system, we have advocated in support of key legislation taking an affirming position regarding various state and federal bills that would provide equitable outcomes to the LGBTQ+ community.
3. How has the organization advanced inclusion for healthcare professionals and leaders?
Since the inception of the Corporate Office of Diversity and Inclusion, we have continued to harness a culture of inclusion and provide equitable and inclusive care to our patients and the communities we serve. As an organization, we have committed to increasing the diversity of our board and senior leaders while ensuring both our staff and leaders mirror the demographics of our communities. From such initiatives, we have led the mark on the recruitment and onboarding of eight directors overseeing and executing diversity and inclusion strategies at eight of our sites and operationally aligning our system and strategic priorities resulting in equity. One of the best-practice models adopted has been the implementation and oversight of our affinity groups known as Business Resource Groups. The groups engage employees on shared characteristics, vision and/or mission, which often involve advocacy and transformational outcomes. Our diversity and inclusion directors have also facilitated various open forums and listening sessions, creating safe spaces for employees to discuss matters such as race relations, systemic racism and implicit bias, as well as dialogues around inequities.
4. How has the organization worked to advance health and clinical outcomes for the LGBTQ population?
We are focusing our efforts on cultural humility, which is adopting a learning attitude to continuously gain greater insight into how we lead our strategic initiatives by understanding how to serve the LGBTQ+ population best. As such, we learned to ensure foundational protections for patients, visitors and staff through policies while providing LGBTQ+ sensitivity training to all employees initially, and subsequently, to all new hires. Additionally, we have implemented “Preferred Name” and “Sex at Birth” into our electronic medical records at the point of entry and expanded the option for one to designate their “Preferred Gender.” Further, “Sex” as an entry field has been removed from the wristbands as a patient identifier. To ensure advocacy from employees, we have seven PROUD Business Resource Groups throughout the system, advocating for the LGBTQ+ community’s needs, both patients and staff. Another important milestone was the launch of the PROUD Family Health Center at RWJ University Hospital Somerset, which, in coordination and alignment with our diversity and inclusion efforts, became the first hospital in New Jersey to open an LGBTQ+ Health Center, providing care and services to residents who traditionally were avoiding care due to lack of access in the state. Finally, while we continue to expand our efforts and nurture numerous operational models to remain designated as Healthcare Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign, two of our hospitals provide top and bottom gender-affirming surgeries.
Achieving Leader Status on the 2020 Healthcare Equality Index—How All Three Alabama Veterans Affairs Medical Centers Became Leaders in LGBTQ Healthcare Initiatives
Working in concert provides the encouragement, camaraderie and accountability that led to the three U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities located in Alabama to achieve recognition as 2020 Healthcare Equality Index Leaders by Human Rights Campaign Foundation standards. Facilities that participate in the annual HEI survey earn this recognition based on evaluation of policies and practices regarding LGBTQ patients, visitors and employees. In 2020, 495 healthcare facilities from across the healthcare spectrum were recognized as Leaders, each earning an overall individual score of 100. The Alabama VA facilities worked collaboratively to share best practices and support one another, while working with their local LGBTQ communities to demonstrate their individual commitment.
In January 2020, the collaboration became official when the Alabama Collaborative on LGBTQ+ Veterans was formed to bring together LGBT veteran care coordinators, VA senior leadership and other VA staff who are committed to ensuring that all who served receive the equitable and inclusive healthcare and supportive services deserving of our nation’s heroes. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has recently affected the ability to engage face-to-face, the Collaborative took advantage of virtual platforms to provide a variety of activities during Pride Month. The menu of activities included a virtual Pride event, photo scavenger hunt, an educational session and a showing of the documentary, The Camouflage Closet. The following profiles explain why, collectively and individually, these healthcare facilities systems are HEI Leaders.
Birmingham VA Healthcare System
Content provided by Jeffrey Hester, Public Affairs Officer
1. How has your organization created and managed an inclusive environment for patients and healthcare professionals and leaders?
The Birmingham VA Healthcare System strives to create a welcoming environment for all veterans and staff. The LGBTQ program implemented various cultural competency trainings to raise awareness among staff. An LGBTQ workgroup was created to implement ideas and identify programs and services to ensure our facility provided inclusive, comprehensive, patient-centered care to all veterans. The Office of Whole Health and Veteran Experience set up informational tables around the facility throughout the year to ensure our facility was sincere about having a culture that focused on LGBTQ needs. Brochures were created and displayed detailing programs and services that BVAHCS offered. Our facility observed various LGBTQ holidays, like LGBTQ Health Awareness Week, Pride Month, LGBTQ History Month, Transgender Day of Remembrance and World AIDS Day, by creating activities that raised awareness. Leadership provided an opportunity for LGBTQ members to be represented on the Veterans Advisory Board. Our facility continues to explore new ways to provide comprehensive and inclusive care to LGBTQ patients.
2. What changes have been made in the previous year to improve your patient and community engagement, which has ultimately led to your recent achievement as a 2020 HRC HEI Leader?
Our focus was to ensure our facility exhibited not only words but also actions in providing comprehensive and inclusive care to our LGBTQ veterans. We participated in community events like Pridefest and sought community partnerships with organizations like Birmingham Magic City Acceptance. We also implemented LGBTQ listening sessions to get feedback from our veterans on how to achieve our goals. All these actions and the support from our leadership contributed to BVAHCS becoming among the first facilities within VA to receive HEI certification by attaining an HEI score of 100 during the initial HEI accreditation in 2013. BVAHCS has recertified each year since 2013 with a perfect score of 100 in all but one year. In 2020, BVAHCS achieved HRC HEI Leader status.
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System
1. How has your organization created and managed an inclusive environment for patients and healthcare professionals and leaders?
We placed printed materials around the hospitals so LGBTQ veterans would feel welcome and could learn about the LGBTQ program coordinator, policies and treatment options or decisions. To encourage real-time learning, we held Pride Month events with panels of LGBTQ veterans. During the events, staff had an opportunity to ask the panels about their experiences (particularly at CAVHCS) and learn the veterans’ perspectives of what has been positive treatment and how we can improve their care. During new employee orientation, employees learn about the history of marginalization for the LGBTQ community within the military and they learn about providing equal treatment and culturally sensitive practices at CAVHCS. Moreover, they hear the importance of CAVHCS to our LGBTQ community—staff and veterans, which sends a clear message on Day 1 of employment at CAVHCS.
2. As a new 2020 HRC HEI Leader, what changes have been made in the previous year to your employee benefits, communication of LGBTQ-inclusive policies, and patient and community engagement?
Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center
1. How has your organization created and managed an inclusive environment for patients and healthcare professionals and leaders?
Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center continues the journey toward the best LGBTQ veteran care one step at a time. Early on, the psychology staff completed a full-day, in-person SafeZone training through a University of Alabama trainer. We then applied for and received continuous innovation network funding for the past three years to improve services for LGBTQ veterans (spark-seed-spread investments). This funding was used to begin a collaboration with Hampton VA Medical Center and Dr. Tiffany Lange-Altman to provide a structured 12-week LGBT Health Education Group. The initial response and data were promising and have since led to a peer-reviewed publication and presentations at national conferences to include GLMA in 2020. A new three-year Diffusion of Excellence grant to support expansion of an LGBT Health Education Group has followed. Further, we have also conducted many events to bring awareness, education and direct connection to LGBTQ veterans such as a Town Hall Panel featuring gay and transgender female veterans with a moderator. In January, TVAMC hosted a statewide LGBTQ alliance to enhance our facilities’ relationships to better coordinate LGBTQ veteran care efforts across the state.
2. What changes have been made in the previous year to improve your patient and community engagement, which has ultimately led to your recent achievement as a 2020 HRC HEI Leader?
LGBTQ Forum Members Newly Advanced to Fellow
We would like to recognize four LGBTQ Forum members who became Fellows in 2019 and 2020. Feel free to reach out and congratulate them! We look forward to seeing how they continue to make strides within healthcare management and advance diversity and inclusion in healthcare leadership.
LGBTQ Forum News
DiLeo, Rita; Borkowski, Nancy; O’Connor, Stephen J.; et al.
Journal of Healthcare Management. 65(5):366-377, September-October 2020.
Learn more about the relationship between the Human Rights Campaign’s HEI Leader designation and patient experience, as well as the organizational characteristics and market factors associated with hospitals obtaining HEI Leader designation.
2020-2021 Committee Members
Chair
Stephan Davis, DNP, FACHE
MHA Director and Assistant Professor
University of North Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health
Fort Worth, Texas
Timothy M. Carrigan, PhD, RN, FACHE
Chief Nursing Officer
Loyola Medicine
Maywood, Ill.
Amir Farooqi, FACHE
Associate Director (Chief Operations Officer)
Tuscaloosa (Ala.) VA Medical Center (VISN 7)
Kelly Brian Flannery, FACHE
VISN 21 Chief Planning Officer
VA Sierra Pacific Network (VISN 21)
Vallejo, Calif.
Daniel Gentry, PhD
(Immediate Past Chairman)
President/CEO
Association of University Programs in Health Administration
Washington, D.C.
LTC Charlotte L. Hildebrand, PhD, FACHE
U.S. Army
Johnathan W. Prins, RN, FACHE
Director of Clinical Operations
Cedars Sinai Medical Care Foundation
Los Angeles
Faith D. Solkoff, RN
Corporate Vice President, Quality & Accreditation Operations
Baptist Health South Florida
Coral Gables, Fla.
Amanda S. Tufano
CEO
Genevive
Minneapolis
Marie J. Webber, FACHE
Chief Administrative Officer
UC San Diego Health
San Diego
Chapter Liaisons
American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas
Jim Allard, DNP, RN
Vice President, Nursing/Chief Nursing Officer
Medical City Children’s Hospital & Medical City Women’s Hospital—Dallas
Dallas
Health Care Executives of Southern California
Shannon McDougall
Executive Director, Enterprise Occupational Safety and Health
City of Hope
Los Angeles
South Texas Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives
Jake Reyna-Casanova
Senior Development Associate
CommuniCare Health Centers
San Antonio
STAFF CONTACT
Cie Armstead
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
American College of Healthcare Executives
300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1900
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 424-9306
carmstead@ache.org
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Tell a Colleague About the LGBTQ Forum
As one of the nearly 200 members of ACHE’s LGBTQ Forum, you have helped to create a vibrant community of LGBTQ healthcare leaders and allies exchanging ideas to further your career and advance the forum’s mission. Now continue the growth of the forum and expand its diversity by encouraging your fellow ACHE colleagues to join the LGBTQ Forum. Invite them to join today at ache.org/LGBTQ.
Please note that any views or opinions presented in this online newsletter are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ACHE.