Northwell Health has partnered with NYC Pride to serve as a principal sponsor of events tied to WorldPride 2019 and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. New York State’s largest health system will host, participate in and sponsor a number of events throughout June in honor of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, culminating in the NYC Pride March and PrideFest in Manhattan on June 30.
Northwell’s platinum sponsorship with the nonprofit Heritage of Pride, Inc., the organization that produces New York City’s official LGBTQIA+ Pride events, includes signage at all major events as well as a physical presence at Opening and Closing ceremonies, the March, PrideFest and Family Movie Night. While Northwell Health employees have participated in the NYC Pride March for each of the last seven years, this is the first time the health system has served as a sponsor.
“Northwell Health is very proud to be a sponsor of Pride activities throughout the month of June,” said Jennifer Mieres, MD, chief diversity and inclusion officer and senior vice president of the health system’s Center for Equity of Care. “As the largest private employer in the state dedicated to cultural and social diversity, our goal is to provide each and every one of our employees a safe work environment that affords them dignity, respect and tolerance. As we prepare to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, which serves as the unofficial beginning of the gay rights movement, we invite all of NYC to come out on June 30th and share our pride.”
The sponsorship agreement allows Northwell to have signage, posters, graphics and banners displayed prominently throughout the venues. Northwell will also offer LGBTQIA+ and other health and wellness services.
Northwell’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community centers around respect and inclusion such as asking for proper pronoun identification as part of the health care record and offering a host of services highlighted by the Gerald J. Friedman Transgender Health and Wellness Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, the Northwell Health Center for Transgender Care and employment and career development services at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, Queens.
“Access to quality health care is a basic right that is too often denied to LGBTQIA+ people. As a physician, I have a moral and ethical duty to deliver the highest quality care that transgender and gender nonconforming communities need; as a gay man, I am proud to work in an organization that is a leader in this movement,” said Leonid Poretsky, MD, Chief of Endocrinology and founder and Director of the Gerald J. Friedman Transgender Health and Wellness Program at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Poretsky recently published, along with co-editor Dr. Wylie Hembree, the textbook “Transgender Medicine: A Multidisciplinary Approach.” “We also strive to improve medical education and to develop new knowledge about best approaches to transgender patients.”
The health system also offers all employees the opportunity to participate in its EXPRESSIONS Business Employee Resource Group. Through its commitment to humanistic care for diverse communities, Northwell has been designated a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index.
“We are proud to have Northwell Health as a strong supporter of WorldPride | Stonewall 50,” said Chris Frederick, executive director of NYC Pride and Heritage of Pride, Inc. “We could not create the over 25 events that inspire over four million without their generous support. We look forward to working with Northwell Health on making this year a success and welcoming the world for this historic occasion.”
Heritage of Pride’s mission is a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law. We do this by producing LGBTQIA+ Pride events that inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our diverse community.
