Diversity and inclusion are central to our mission to serve everyone in our community. Dignity Health’s core values – dignity, collaboration, stewardship, justice, and excellence – champion a diverse, accepting, and welcoming healing environment. At Sequoia Hospital we embrace our diverse community and celebrate our differences. We respect human dignity in every interaction with each other and with the individuals and communities we serve.

It is the policy of Dignity Health and Sequoia Hospital not to:

• exclude, deny benefits to, or otherwise discriminate against, any participants, beneficiaries, applicants, and employees, including sensory-impaired persons;
• do so on the grounds of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity and expression; and
• do so in admission to, participation in, or in receipt of the services and benefits of any of its programs and activities or in employment therein.

We uphold this policy whether carried out by Dignity Health directly or through a contractor or any other entity with whom Dignity Health arranges to carry out its programs and activities.

Sequoia Hospital is a secular hospital affiliated with Dignity Health and follows a Statement of Common Values. With a history rooted in kindness, our mission is to deliver compassionate, high-quality, affordable health care to everyone in our community. 

• Read our Equal Employment Opportunity policy
• Read our non-discrimination policy

At Dignity Health, all patients should expect to be treated with courtesy and respect and receive the highest level of care. We support the health of all patients regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. 

We understand the unique health needs of the LGBTQ community, and we work hard to ensure that patients receive quality, inclusive, culturally competent care.

Find a Provider

• GLMA Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality – Resources for patients, providers, and transgender individuals, including finding a provider. www.glma.org
• The San Francisco AIDS Foundation provides many free and confidential services at sites throughout the city, including testing and treatment for HIV and STI’s  The San Francisco AIDS Foundation also facilitates support groups, including groups for long-term survivors of HIV, queer and trans people of color, latinx, and many more. https://www.sfaf.org/services/sexual-health-and-testing/
• The UCSF Women’s Health Clinic is staffed primarily with internal medicine physicians who are experienced with caring for the health of lesbians. https://www.ucsfhealth.org/clinics/womens-health-primary-care
• Lyon-Martin Healthcare Clinic is a local clinic focused on providing lesbians affordable, quality healthcare services. http://lyon-martin.org/
• The mission of the Alliance Health Project is to care for the mental health and wellness of the LGBTQ community. https://alliancehealthproject.ucsf.edu/

Sequoia Hospital is a patient and family-centered care facility that respects patients’ rights to visitation.
 

The hospital is committed to encouraging and supporting the presence and participation of family members and others who play a significant role in the physical care and emotional support of patients. Sequoia shall not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or disability. Visitors shall enjoy full and equal privileges which are consistent with patient preferences.
 

Patients (or representatives) are informed of their visitation rights upon admission or registration. Patients (or representatives) are informed of their right, subject to his or her consent, to receive the visitors whom he or she designates, including, but not limited to, a spouse, domestic partners, partners in civil union and both different-sex and same-sex significant others, a minor patient’s parents, regardless of the gender of either parent, another family member, or a friend, and his or her right to withdraw or deny such consent at any time.

• Read our Equal Visitation policy

The Human Rights Campaign:  

• Some tips about Coming Out to your healthcare provider: https://www.hrc.org/resources/coming-out-to-your-doctor
• Also, an overview of visitation and rights to make healthcare decisions: https://www.hrc.org/resources/protecting-your-visitation-decision-making-rights

WPATH – The World Professional Association of Transgender Health provides education on advancements in care for transgender patients. www.wpath.org 

Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Gender Institute: Learn more about the Gender Institute, with links to resources: Dignity Health Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Gender Institute

HIV Resources: Learn more about HIV through the Centers for Disease Control: HIV

Sequoia Hospital is pleased to announce that it has earned a “LGBTQ Health Care Quality Leader” designation from the Human Right Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 13th edition of the HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).