Brattleboro Memorial Hospital trains staff to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data
Brattleboro Reformer
In keeping with its mission to respect each and every patient that comes through its doors, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is training its staff to collect accurate information about each person's sexual orientation and gender identity along with their race, ethnicity, and language.
"It's our job to ask and not assume," said Dr. Kathleen McGraw, BMH's chief medical officer.
Earlier this month, BMH issued an internal newsletter, declaring as its strategic priority to consider justice, equity and inclusion in everything it does, which is also aligned with new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements that all hospitals collect the information.
"To help us implement this new aspect of patient care, BMH's Quality Department is developing some tools and guidance that will be available to clinical staff in the coming weeks," states the newsletter. "One of those tools will be a simple questionnaire that patients can fill out."