{"id":5147,"date":"2022-08-18T21:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T01:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/?p=5147"},"modified":"2023-08-03T16:02:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T20:02:30","slug":"he-she-they-york-region-hospitals-to-ask-for-preferred-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/he-she-they-york-region-hospitals-to-ask-for-preferred-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"He? She? They? York Region hospitals to ask for preferred pronouns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted: August 18th, 2022. By: Kim Zarzour, yorkregion.com, Original Article.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Southlake, Oak Valley and Stevenson Memorial say ‘words matter’ when it comes to helping LGBTQ2S+ community<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Three York Region hospitals will be adding pronouns into their electronic health records in an effort to improve care for LGBTQ2S+ people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Southlake Regional Health Care, Oak Valley Health (formerly Markham Stouffville Hospital) and Stevenson Memorial have announced starting Aug. 10, patients will be asked, \u201cwould you like to share your pronouns?\u201d at patient registration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWords are powerful. Pronouns matter,<\/a>\u201d the hospitals said in a joint statement released Aug. 11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tristan Coolman, president of Pflag York Region, calls it an \u201cincredibly important\u201d move, one that could provide assurance to marginalized groups they will be treated as with dignity, as individuals, rather than assumptions based on appearance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cA lot of people in the queer community avoid engaging with the health-care system for fear of being treated poorly or based on past experiences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All three hospital presidents called it a step in the right direction and a sign of respect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cUnderstanding and recognizing gender identities is important to delivering inclusive, patient-centred health care,\u201d the media release said. \u201cFront-line staff, clinicians and administrators all play a crucial role in offering an inclusive, affirming experience for all people, including those with nonbinary gender identities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Preferred pronouns will be collected at the beginning of patients\u2019 experience at the hospital and once patient consent is obtained, that pronoun will be entered into the shared platform, used by the care team through every encounter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe have already heard positive feedback from our staff and patients, about how meaningful this small action will be for our community,\u201d said Oak Valley\u2019s president and CEO Jo-anne Marr. \u201cAsking a person\u2019s pronouns serves as a statement about the value our organization places on individual identity, and supporting both our health-care workers and our patients in being their authentic selves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cUnderstanding and recognizing gender identities, and using correct pronouns is important in creating an environment where the best experiences happen for both staff and patients,\u201d said Arden Krystal, president and CEO at Southlake.<\/p>\n

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Jody Levac, Stevenson Memorial\u2019s president and CEO, said pronoun identification is a crucial element of good clinical care, an important sign of respect, and can increase communication and trust with patients.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Michael Braithwaite, CEO at\u00a0Blue Door,<\/a>\u00a0praised the initiative. Blue Door launched INNclusion last year, the\u00a0first supportive housing for LGBTQ2 youth<\/a>\u00a0in York Region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hospitals asking about pronouns can also help with accessibility, Braithwaite said. \u201cSometimes, people not being able to be themselves puts them in a situation of great anxiety,\u201d he said. \u201cIt scares them away. If we want to create real accessibility, let\u2019s allow people to identify as they see fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Coolman said he has some concerns about how the hospitals will train staff to deal with incidents \u2014 when the wrong pronoun is used, for example, and how they\u2019ll honour patients\u2019 privacy and ensure a consistent experience \u2014 especially during a time of funding constraints and staff shortages in hospitals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Southlake spokesperson Lindsey Furlanic said educational support is being provided including staff access to accredited diversity, equity and inclusion online training. Southlake has also recently worked with The 519 centre to host a facilitated learning session on gender identity, expression and barriers facing the LGBTQ2S+ community, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mackenzie Health, with hospitals in Richmond Hill and Vaughan, is also committed to an inclusive environment \u2014 including recognizing and understanding gender identities, said spokesperson Christina Cindric. \u201cOur electronic medical record system is equipped to include the use of pronouns, and work is underway to develop a training plan for clinical staff and physicians as part of our implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jen Gilbert, a professor with York University\u2019s faculty of education, says pronouns can be powerful and can play a role in fostering a\u00a0more gender-tolerant world<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMaybe it\u2019s just words, maybe it\u2019s one small thing, but it\u2019s acknowledgement that the world is a lot different from what we imagined it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Posted: August 18th, 2022. By: Kim Zarzour, yorkregion.com, Original Article.\u00a0 Southlake, Oak Valley and Stevenson Memorial say ‘words matter’ when it comes to helping LGBTQ2S+ community Three York Region hospitals will be adding pronouns into their electronic health records in an effort to improve care for LGBTQ2S+ people. Southlake Regional Health Care, Oak Valley Health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t