Equality Arlington Applauds VHC Health’s Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Health Needs in 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment!

Equality Arlington, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization, applauds VHC Health for including the needs of LGBTQ+ residents in its 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment. For the first time since VHC Health began publishing Community Health Needs Assessments in 2014, they have acknowledged the gaps in healthcare services for LGBTQ+ residents and are committing to work to address them. The report references the “Increased Need for Inclusive and Culturally Competent Care (LGBTQ+, Seniors, Immigrants, Veterans)” and stated that “Arlington is not competitive with DC and Maryland health providers who do much more to better serve the LGBTQ+ community. This leads to LGTBQ+ residents in Arlington leaving the county and often Virginia to seek appropriate care.”

Equality Arlington has been working with VHC Health since 2022 to ensure that gaps in healthcare for LGBTQ+ residents were incorporated into the Community Health Needs Assessment and that the hospital center works to address those needs. “We have heard from Arlington residents who have had to teach their own primary care physicians about HIV prevention medication, from parents of trans students who have had to travel to Maryland to receive gender affirming care, and from many LGBTQ+ residents who don’t see the culturally competent sexual, mental, or physical health care they need provided in Arlington,” says Kellen MacBeth, President of Equality Arlington.

“We are grateful that VHC Health has been willing to engage with the LGBTQ+ community to learn about our specific health needs and identify opportunities to better serve those health needs,” says Kellen MacBeth. Equality Arlington looks forward to collaborating with VHC Health as they work to address their first priority health need: Health Equity & Culturally Competent Care.

———

Click here to view this statement as a PDF