The Non-Discrimination and Staff Training criteria represents the foundational policies and practices in providing LGBTQ+ inclusive patient centered care. These questions assess whether a facility has LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and whether the facility shares these policies with the public and its patients and staff. In order to most effectively implement these policies, we also require training for staff in LGBTQ+ inclusive care. All questions in this section are scored and must be met in order to receive full credit: up to 40 points.

The questions in this criteria all relate to best practices in the provision of Patient Services & Support—this could include providing LGBTQ+ clinical services, hiring a patient advocate for transgender patients, collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data in health records or providing training on LGBTQ+ inclusive medical decision making options, and more.

This criterion is divided into two scored subsections. To receive full credit (20 points) for the first subsection, a facility must have implemented 9 or more of the recommended best practices. A facility may receive partial credit (10 points) for this criteria if it has implemented 5 to 8 of the best practices. To receive full credit (10 points) for the second subsection, a facility must have implemented 6 or more of the recommended best practices. A facility may receive partial credit (5 points) for this criteria if it has implemented 3 to 5 of the best practices.

The Employee Benefits and Policies criteria focuses on creating an LGBTQ+ inclusive workplace for healthcare facilities’ employees—these efforts include equal benefits for LGBTQ+ employees, transgender-inclusive health insurance benefits, employee resource groups, LGBTQ+ inclusive hiring efforts, employee transition support, and more. This criterion is divided into two scored subsections. In order to receive full credit (15 points) for the first subsection, a facility must have implemented 7 or more of the recommended best practices. A facility may receive partial credit (10 points) for this criteria if it has implemented 4 to 6 of the best practices. The second subsection is related to the provision of transgender healthcare benefits for employees and is worth 5 points.

The Patient & Community Engagement criteria focuses on community outreach and promotion to let the LGBTQ+ community know that healthcare facilities are a welcoming and affirming setting, working toward LGBTQ+ inclusion. Efforts to promote community inclusion may include, meeting with local LGBTQ+ groups, sponsoring a local pride event, developing LGBTQ+ focused marketing materials, and more.

To receive full credit (10 points) for this section, a facility must have implemented 6 or more of the recommended best practices. A facility may receive partial credit (5 points) for this criteria if it has implemented 3 to 5 of the best practices.

The Responsible Citizenship Criteria focuses on known activities that undermine LGBTQ equality or patient care. Healthcare organizations can have 5 points deducted from their score if they have certain policies in place that may lead to discriminatory treatment that is in conflict with their non-discrimination policy. Facilities may have 25 points deducted if they have a large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ blemish on their recent records. For a full description of this criteria and the difference between the 5 and 25 point deductions, see the Responsible Citizenship Criteria webpage.

If an organization has a point deduction for this criteria, please click on the “Important Transgender Services Information” link in the scorecard header for more information. If an organization received a 25-point deduction that link will take you to our webpage explaining the rationale for the deduction. If an organization has a 5-point deduction the link will take you to the organization’s webpage where they provide important information about the transgender services they provide.