AtlantiCare designated 'Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality' for ninth year
January 11, 2021
Contact:
Jennifer Tornetta, (O) 609-569-7010, (C) 609-335-3446, [email protected]
Elliott Kozuch, (O) 202-423-2873, (C) 486-3789, [email protected]
For Immediate Release: January 11, 2021
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was recently designated by the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) as Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality in its Healthcare Equality Index. This was the ninth year in a row the AtlantiCare earned the designation.
“The healthcare facilities participating in the HRC Foundation’s HEI are not only on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also making it clear that they stand on the side of fairness and are committed to providing inclusive care to their LGBTQ patients,” said Alphonso David, HRC president.
“AtlantiCare is dedicated to treating our patients, providers, staff, and community in an environment built on respect, dignity, and inclusion,” said Charisse Fizer, RN, MSN, FACHE, chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer, AtlantiCare. “We recognize, understand, and embrace differences. This designation is a testament to our team’s focus on creating and sustaining a culture that ensures everyone has a voice in giving and receiving quality healthcare.”
Fizer noted AtlantiCare’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council has long focused on this important work. The council includes physicians, staff and leadership from throughout AtlantiCare. The council is adding direction for the established employee resource groups (ERGs) to engage providers and staff in DEI initiatives throughout AtlantiCare. In addition to its LGBTQ ERG, these groups include African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Disabilities, Fitness and Well-being, Hispanic Americans, Interfaith, Military, Recovery and Women.
“These teams assist in eliminating barriers to recruiting and retaining diverse staff,” said Fizer. “They also focus on preventing and solving for disparities in healthcare. Key to their work is providing education and promoting awareness about cultural differences,” said Fizer. “The greater our understanding of others, the more effective we can be in making every individual feel valued, understood and included.”
For more information about AtlantiCare, visit www.atlanticare.org, find AtlantiCare on Facebook, or call 1-888-569-1000.
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The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the education arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
AtlantiCare is an integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 6,000 staff, providers and volunteers serve the community in more than 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Its vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time, through caring and trusting relationships. A Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was the 105th hospital in the nation to attain the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet™ designation in 2004 and earned redesignation in 2008, 2013, in 2018. Learn more at atlanticare.org or 1-888-569-1000.
