The Human Rights Campaign's annual Healthcare Equality Index highlights U.S. hospitals committed to providing equal care for LGBT patients and their families. This year's list includes a record-breaking 718 healthcare facilities around the country -- more than double the number included on last year's list.
The 2013 HEI also includes a stunning 121 Veterans Health Administration medical centers, included for the first time following the 2011 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military policy barring open service by gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans, and last year's directive from the Obama Administration directing all hospitals that recieve federal funds to recognize and grant equal access to LGBT patients and their families.
"The country's healthcare facilities are leading figures in our nation's movement toward full equality and inclusion for LGBT Americans," said HRC President Chad Griffin in a statement announcing the HEI's release Thursday. "The Department of Veterans Affairs' participation in the HEI is another example of President Obama's unwavering commitment to those who put their lives on the line for the country they love, regardless of who they love."
HRC used four criteria to track the care and treatment that LGBT patients received in a given hospital: patient nondiscrimination policies, equal visitation directives, employment nondiscrimination, and training in LGBT patient-centered care. Medical facilities who met these "core four" were deemed 2013 Leaders in LGBT healthcare equality.
With only four states -- Idaho, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and South Dakota -- not represented on the 2013 HEI, healthcare equality has made leaps and bounds from last year's total of 153 hospitals with perfect scores.
The following pages list all the medical centers that made the top-tier "leader" cut. Is your local hospital there? Click your state's name below to jump to the local list and find out.
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Washington, D.C. | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachussetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Alabama (3)
VA Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham
VA Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System, Montgomery
VA Tuscaloosa Medical Center, Tuscaloosa (pictured)
Alaska (1)VA Alaska Healthcare System, Anchorage
Arizona (3)Adelante Healthcare (
10 facilities), Phoenix (pictured)
VA Northern Arizona Health Care System, Prescott
VA Southern Arizona Health Care System, Tucson
ArkansasVA Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock
California (18)Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae
VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, Los Angeles
UCLA Health System (
4 facilities), Los Angeles
Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, Martinez
Kaiser Permanente (
36 facilities), Oakland
Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto
VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto
Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage
University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento
UC San Diego Health System, San Diego
Scripps Health (
27 facilities), San Diego
California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco (pictured)
Lyon-Martin Health Services, San Francisco
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, San Francisco
San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco
UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco
Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, Santa Cruz
Colorado (1)VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver
Connecticut (4)Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport
Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich
Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven (pictured)
VA Connecticut Health Care System, West Haven
Delaware (1)Christiana Care Health System (
3 facilities), Wilmington
District of Columbia (6)MedStar National Rehabilitation Network
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
MedStar Georgetown Medical Center (pictured)
Specialty Hospital of Washington - Hadley
VA Washington DC Medical Center
Whitman-Walker Health
Florida (9)VA Bay Pines Healthcare System, Bay Pines
Care Resource, Miami
VA Miami Healthcare System, Miami
Jackson Health System (
9 facilities), Miami
VA Orlando Medical Center, Orlando
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Inc., Tallahassee
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa
VA James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa
VA West Palm Beach Medical Center, West Palm Beach
Georgia (3)Feminist Women's Health Center, Atlanta
Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta (pictured)
Grady Health System (
12 facilities), Atlanta
Hawaii (1)VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu
Illinois (9)Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago (pictured)
The Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
VA Jesse Brown Medical Center, Chicago
Cook County Health and Hospitals System (
18 facilities), Chicago
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare (
2 facilities), Chicago
VA Illiana Health Care System, Danville
VA Edward Hines Jr. Hospital, Hines
VA Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, North Chicago
Indiana (3)Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus (pictured)
VA Richard L. Roudebush Medical Center (Indianapolis Medical Center), Indianapolis
Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital, Muncie
Iowa (2)VA Central Iowa Health Care System, Des Moines (pictured)
University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City
Kansas (2)VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, Topeka (pictured)
VA Robert J. Dole Medical Center, Wichita
Kentucky (1)Eastern State Hospital, Lexington
Louisiana (1)VA Overton Brooks Medical Center, Shreveport
Maine (3)VA Maine Healthcare System, Augusta
Penobscot Community Health Care, Bangor
Maine Medical Center, Portland (pictured)
Maryland (7)Chase Brexton Health Services, Baltimore
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore (pictured)
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Baltimore
VA Baltimore Medical Center - Maryland Health Care System, Balitmore
Bon Secours Health System Inc. (
14 facilities), Marriottsville
Northwest Hospital Center, Randallstown
Adventist HealthCare Inc. (
2 facilities), Rockville
Massachusetts (16)VA Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston
Boston Medical Center, Boston
Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, Boston
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Fenway Health, Boston
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (pictured)
VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston
Mount Auburn Hospital - Boston, Cambridge
Cambridge Health Alliance (
10 facilities), Cambridge
VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, Leeds
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Newton
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton Lower Falls
Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield
Baystate Health (
9 facilities), Springfield
Michigan (5)VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor (pictured)
VA John D. Dingell Medical Center, Detroit
Henry Ford Health System (
6 facilities), Detroit
VA Oscar G. Johnson Medical Center, Iron Mountain
VA Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center, Saginaw
Minnesota (7)Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis (pictured)
VA Minneapolis Health Care System, Minneapolis
VA St. Cloud Health Care System, St. Cloud
Regions Hospital, St. Paul
Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, St. Louis Park
Family Tree Clinic, St. Paul
HealthEast Care System (
18 facilities), St. Paul
Mississippi (2)VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi (pictured)
VA G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Medical Center, Jackson
Missouri (2)The Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics (
7 facilities), Kansas City (pictured)
VA St. Louis Health Care System, Saint Louis
Montana (2)Billings Clinic, Billings
VA Montana Health Care System, Fort Harrison
Nebraska (3)The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
UNMC Physicians, Omaha (pictured)
VA Omaha-Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha
Nevada (3)University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas (pictured)
The Valley Health System (
5 facilities), Las Vegas
VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Reno
New Jersey (5)AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Atlantic City
Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, Basking Ridge
VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange
Morristown Medical Center, Morristown (pictured)
Shore Medical Center, Somers Point
New Mexico (2)University of New Mexico Hospitals, Albuquerque (pictured)
VA New Mexico Health Care System, Albuquerque
New York (23)Albany Medical Center, Albany
VA Albany Medical Center: Samuel S. Stratton, Albany
VA Bath Medical Center, Bath
Southside Hospital, Bay Shore
VA James J. Peters VA Medical Center (Bronx, NY), Bronx
Evergreen Health Services, Buffalo
VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo
VA Canandaigua Medical Center, Canandaigua
Catskill Regional Medical Center, Harris
Mountainside Residential Care Center, Margaretville
VA Hudson Valley Health Care System, Montrose
Beth Israel Medical Center, New York (pictured)
Lenox Hill Hospital, New York
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York
NYU Langone Medical Center, New York
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York
VillageCare Health Center, New York
AIDS Care, Rochester
University of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester
Saratoga Hospital, Saratoga Springs
Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island
VA Syracuse Medical Center, Syracuse
North Carolina (5)VA Asheville Medical Center, Asheville
UNC Health Care, Chapel Hill
Duke University Hospital, Durham (pictured)
Duke Regional Hospital, Durham
VA Durham Medical Center, Durham
Ohio (8)VA Chillicothe Medical Center, Chillicothe
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati (pictured)
VA Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati
TriHealth (2 facilities), Cincinnati
VA Louis Stokes Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland
University Hospitals of Cleveland (
10 facilities), Cleveland
The Ohio State University (
2 facilities), Columbus
University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo
Oklahoma (1)VA Oklahoma City Medical Center, Oklahoma City
Oregon (3)Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
VA Portland Medical Center, Portland
Multnomah County Health Department (
8 facilities), Portland
Pennsylvania (8)VA Altoona - James E. Van Zandt Medical Center, Altoona
VA Butler Healthcare, Butler
VA Erie Medical Center, Erie
Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia (pictured)
VA Philadelphia Medical Center, Philadelphia
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh
VA Wilkes-Barre Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre
Rhode Island (1)VA Providence Medical Center, Providence
South Carolina (3)VA Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center, Charleston
VA Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn Medical Center, Columbia
Greenville Health System (
5 facilities), Greenville
Tennessee (4)CHOICES, Memphis
VA Mountain Home Medical Center/Johnson City, Mountain Home
VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville (pictured)
Texas (9)VA West Texas Health Care System, Big Spring
VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas
Parkland Health & Hospital System (
28 facilities), Dallas (pictured)
VA El Paso Health Care System, El Paso
VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System, Harlingen
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Reproductive Medicine Associates of Texas, San Antonio
VA South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio
VA Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple
Utah (1)VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City
Vermont (1)Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington
Virginia (3)VA Hampton Medical Center, Hampton
VA Hunter Holmes McGuire Medical Center, Richmond
VA Salem Medical Center, Salem (pictured)
Washington (5)Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle
VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle
Group Health (
26 facilities), Seattle
UW Medicine (
4 facilities), Seattle
VA Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Medical Center, Walla Walla
West Virginia (4)VA Beckley Medical Center, Beckley
VA Clarksburg - Louis A. Johnson Medical Center, Clarksburg
VA Huntington Medical Center, Huntington (pictured)
VA Martinsburg Medical Center, Martinsburg
Wisconsin (5)American Family Children's Hospital, Madison
University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, Madison (pictured)
VA William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison
AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
VA Tomah Medical Center, Tomah
Wyoming (3)VA Cheyenne Medical Center, Cheyenne
VA Sheridan Medical Center, Sheridan
