Inova, a former Episcopal hospital, denies LGBTQ couples equal rights

In the midst of our coverage of General Convention 81 and the Kennesaw Debacle, Anglican Watch wants to take a brief break and shift our focus to a former Episcopal hospital, Inova, located in Northern Virginia, and the hospital’s deceptive track record on LGBTQ rights. Specifically, we are following multiple situations in which the hospital, one of the area’s largest employers, is denying equal rights to LGBTQ+ individuals,

To be clear, federal law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Hospital policy does the same.

But in practice, Inova is far less inclusive.

For example, by federal law, hospital patients may have anyone they wish as visitors as long as they comply with other hospital rules, like number of patients in the room at one time, masking requirements, etc.

Yet in one situation, a critically ill patient has been denied the right to have his same-sex husband staying with him overnight. There has been no discussion of the reasons, no effort to troubleshoot any issues. Yet the Patient Relations staff, which has several openly gay team members, is being told by the clinical staff they do not want the patient’s husband staying overnight.

For the record, we get that hospital staff isn’t always keen on family visits. But all the evidence shows that family support is a vital aspect of recovery, and the patient in question has, in several cases, been in great risk of death. Indeed, he was previously admitted with a medical condition with almost a one in two incidence of mortality.

And frankly, if nursing staff cannot deal with family members, overnight or otherwise, they need to find a new career path. A patient who is at risk of death inherently fears being alone at night, and any healthcare provider who ignores these psychological needs is, at best, uncaring.

Inova started as an Episcopal entity, but became independent in recent years as it became increasingly clear that the denomination was unable to run a modern-day health care system. That said, Inova continues to maintain ties behind the scenes with the Episcopal Church.

In recent years, Inova also has had other LGBTQ+-related problems, including:

1. Issues with maintaining the privacy of health care information belonging to LGBTQ+ persons.
2. One known assault of an openly gay patient by a staff member.
3. Retaliation against LGBTQ+ persons who have complained of discrimination.
4. Refusing to honor powers of attorney involving gay patients.
5. Substandard nursing care for LGBTQ+ patients.

Ostensibly, the hospital welcomes LGBTQ+ persons and is currently celebrating Pride with special wallpapers on hospital computer terminals, Pride flags on the properties, and more. Additionally, the hospital operates a Pride clinic in Falls Church, which provides primary care to persons 12+, with an emphasis on serving LGBTQ+ populations.

Numerous Inova medical and support staff are openly LGBTQ+.

Current and former Inova patients who have experienced discrimination are encouraged to contact Anglican Watch via our contact form with details. We are evaluating further additional steps to ensure that Inova acts with integrity in all areas of its patient care and operations.