National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
HAP Partnership Impact
During Pride Month, VA offices focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion for LGBT-identified Veterans
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated in June, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for Veterans within the LGBTQ+ communities. VA is expanding and delivering services so that LGBTQ+ Veterans can live without shame, fear, or stigma.
Several VA and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) offices and programs are focused on diversity and inclusion-driven initiatives for all Veterans. The VHA National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships (HAP, formerly the Office of Community Engagement) exists at the intersection of several entities working to this end—VHA itself, the Office of Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks (DEAN), and the Veteran Community Partnerships initiative (VCP).
The VCP initiative is a joint project the VHA offices of Geriatrics and Extended Care, HAP, Rural Health, Mental Health, Center for Development and Civic Engagement (formerly VA Voluntary Services), and Caregiver Support. Individual VCPs are collaborations that bring together community leaders, some of whom are Veterans, and organizations with VA medical center programs to help Veterans supportive services at VA and beyond. Recently, VCP developed a diversity, equity, and inclusion training to “reduce prejudice and discrimination” and “create an understanding of individual differences.” It has a focus on helping people develop an understanding of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Since VCPs bring together so many people from different walks of life, the VCP training states: “It is essential that we work together in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will result in increased knowledge, awareness, and sustainment of our partnerships.”
Also within VHA, the offices within DEAN—HAP is one of these offices—are putting diversity and inclusion at the forefront of their work. The Office of Research and Development (ORD), which translates health research findings into practice and care for Veterans, launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group in July 2020 (see page 13 of ORD’s 2020 Annual Report). This group focuses on promoting equity in scientific activities so that those activities accurately reflect the communities ORD serves, including the LGBT+ community.
VHA’s Office of Health Equity (OHE) shares data, tools, and research to help eliminate disparities that Veterans experience. Just as HAP is focused on partnerships at the national, state, and community level, OHE partners with external entities, including those that support the LGBT+ community. OHE has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index, which evaluates health care facilities’ policies and practices related to the equity and inclusion of their LGBT+ patients, visitors, and employers.
“We value each individual Veteran, employee, volunteer, and community partner who enables us to meet Veterans where they are with services they need,” said HAP Nurse Executive Dr. Tracy L. Weistreich. “We know that authentic, patient-centered care demands intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion; embracing and celebrating our uniqueness and differences allows us to partner and offer supportive services to Veterans during Pride Month and all year long. We’re proud to serve all who have served.”
For more information on how VA supports LGBTQ+ Veterans, please visit patientcare.va.gov/lgbt/, and read the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion’s June 2021 newsletter here: https://www.va.gov/ORMDI/docs/v20i09.pdf.
For more information on HAP’s partnerships, please visit va.gov/healthpartnerships.
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Posted June 29, 2021
