Last night I found myself at the hospital. Nothing too serious, but I noticed a graphic on the room’s computer’s idle slideshow.
This is a rather strange thing to boast about, isn’t it?
I am routinely told that the LGBT community is no different than the heterosexual community. When I note that sexually transmitted diseases plague the gay male community, I’m told it’s merely a coincidence and unrelated to living a gay sexual lifestyle. I am told the same thing when they are confronted with the extra cancer risks of those active in a same sex sexual lifestyle.
I still find this odd given that I and no one I know has been asked if they are LGBT when checked into a hospital.
What is so different about LGBT healthcare from heterosexual healthcare that the Human Rights Campaign feels it necessary to ‘notice’ Yale New Haven Hospital? What is so different about the LGBT community that they need different healthcare?
Sifting Reality 
Yes good question. I understand their advocacy of marriage equality but what type of healthcare discrimination occurs. Because the company that I work for allows coverage for partners. I hope they also don’t get offended by tests that doctors do. For example I am a child bearing aged woman even if I go seek medical help for a hang nail or cough they do a pregnancy test. And because of my race they will also look to rule out medical causes. There are definitely patterns associated with a person’s race, gender and lifestyle. I’d rather get checked out than offended.
So I found some stuff on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_equity#LGBT_minority_group_health_disparities and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_issues_in_medicine
Some snapshots from the latter link:
“Studies show that LGBT people experience health issues and barriers related to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression. Many avoid or delay care or receive inappropriate or inferior care because of perceived or real homophobia or transphobia, and discrimination by health care providers and institutions.,[2] in other words reason is negative personal experience, the assumption or expectation of negative experience based on knowing of history of such experience in other LGBT people, or both.”
“Heterosexism can be purposeful (decreased funding or support of research projects that focus on sexual orientation) or unconscious (demographic questions on intake forms that ask the respondent to rate herself or himself as married, divorced, or single). These forms of discrimination limit medical research and negatively impact the health care of LGB individuals. This disparity is particularly extreme for lesbian women (compared to homosexual men) because they have a double minority status, and experience oppression for being both female and homosexual.”
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I really did not know about this. And I’m trying to see how health providers have factored in my heterosexuality into my healthcare. I don’t see how the LGBT community can feel uncomfortable unless they are taking the things that I mentioned earlier personal.
The HEI (Health care equality index) is scored by this group: http://www.hrc.org/. According to their website (http://www.hrc.org/hei/the-core-four/) the core four criteria used to score the index are: 1) patient non-discrimination, 2) equal visitation, 3)employment non-discrimination 4) Training in LGBT Patient-Centered Care. I guess 2 and 4 are were it can get sticky. As a heterosexual that has visited the hospital with her boyfriend he was treated as a stranger since I wasn’t married. I don’t know what kind of sensitivity might be needed because doctors are very scientific to me. I don’t know.
Thats just it Zanspence. It has always been my contention that the LGBT community has been instructed by perceived leaders within that they are victims andshould be in constant fear of being victimized. That guy who didnt hold the door for you, he probably suspected youre gay…
Like children who are constantly told theyre not good enough and women who are constantly told theyre ugly, they begin to believe it. Same in the LGBT community. They look for “code” in people’s speech and behavior and before you know it, theyre a victim of hatred on a regular basis.