President Obama makes remarks at an event to observe LGBT Pride Month at the White House.

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HRC Report: Record Number of Facilities Working Toward LGBT Healthcare Equality

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A Patient's Healthcare Story

A Case for HEI Participation

HRC Report: Record Number of Facilities Working Toward
LGBT Healthcare Equality

Work Remains to Achieve Healthcare Equality for LGBT Patients

WASHINGTON – A report released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation found an increasing number of U.S. healthcare facilities are working toward a more welcoming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients, however work remains to be done to end discrimination against LGBT people in America’s healthcare system.

The report details the results of the most recent Healthcare Equality Index, an annual survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. This year’s survey found that nearly 90 percent of respondents include sexual orientation in their Patient’s Bill of Rights and/or Non-Discrimination Policy, but only 60 percent include gender identity in these policies. Additionally, only 49 percent of respondents have an explicitly inclusive visitation policy granting equal access for same-sex couples and 52 percent have such a policy inclusive of same-sex parents. In response to a memorandum from President Obama, the Department of Health and Human Services issued rules in January of this year requiring all hospitals that receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding – nearly every hospital in America – to protect the visitation rights of LGBT people. Additionally The Joint Commission, which accredits U.S. hospitals, has new standards that encourage LGBT-inclusive policies.

“Over the past year landmark rules and regulations regarding LGBT healthcare equality have been introduced, but there is work left to be done for healthcare facilities to fulfill the spirit of these policies,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Studies have shown in sad and stunning clarity the health disparities faced by the LGBT community and discrimination is all too present in the nation’s hospitals. This is a healthcare emergency that must be addressed in order to save lives.”

In March, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report highlighting health disparities and detailing the need for more federal research and data collection on the health of LGBT people. The authors of the report recommended collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity in federal health surveys and just yesterday HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the department will integrate questions on sexual orientation into national data collection efforts by 2013 and begin a process to collect information on gender identity.

"The new Joint Commission requirements and the IOM report underscore the need to provide equitable, knowledgeable care to LGBT patients and their families – and the HEI is a great guide for any facility pursuing this important goal. As a top performer from the HEI's inception, UCSF is delighted to see more facilities use its guidance to ensure that they're providing the best possible care to all," said Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center and the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. "I encourage my colleagues across the country to make these policies part of their culture. Equal care is the essence of health care."

The HEI 2011 reports on the voluntary participation of a record 87 survey respondents, representing 375 facilities nationwide. As facilities transition to more LGBT-friendly policies and procedures, the HEI can serve as an organizational assessment tool by assisting hospitals in modifying their policies, and can help hospitals comply with Joint Commission standards addressing non-discrimination, and new HHS regulations on visitation.

“Quality healthcare saves lives, but too many LGBT Americans are denied that care or are too afraid to seek it because of discrimination and intimidation,” added Solmonese. “We are making progress, but we have a lot of work left to do. The HEI is a great starting point for healthcare facilities and professionals that desire to provide quality healthcare to all Americans. We thank the HEI 2011 participants for their hard work and dedication to ensuring healthcare equality for all patients.”

The HEI helps LGBT patients find quality healthcare free of prejudice and discrimination and empowers patients to encourage healthcare professionals to embrace LGBT healthcare equality. As a companion to the Index, HRC produced two videos in order to show the difficulties LGBT patients may face and to help healthcare administrators understand why creating an environment welcoming of LGBT patients and their families is the right thing to do. Both videos can be viewed at www.hrc.org/hei.

In conjunction with the HEI report, the HRC Foundation has released a companion piece. A resource for those interested in Healthcare Equality Index participation, this document serves as a "Call to Action" for healthcare administrators, outlining the business incentives for participating.

View the HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index 2011 and this companion resource at www.hrc.org/hei.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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Something's Coming presented by the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus

The Columbus Gay Men's Chorus opens their final concert of the 2010-11 season, Broadway Bound, with the energetic and anticipatory song, Something's Coming.

The Concert was performed at the Lincoln Theater in Columbus, OH.

Artistic Director, Conductor, Orchestrations: Dr. Timothy Sarsany
Choreography, Staging: Andy Haines
Lighting: Rick Bloom
Cameras: Bruce Reedy, Jason Roberson, Tito Ramirez III, Remy Montero
Post-Production Editing: Jason Bockis

Cooper Park Development Moves Forward In Columbus

COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL

MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release: June 27, 2011

For More Information:

John Ivanic

Cooper Park Development Moves Forward

(Columbus)--The Columbus City Council unanimously voted to rezone 1215 West Mound Street, the Cooper Stadium site, from Rural to Commercial Planned Development, but not before making significant amendments to the legislation that will give increased powers to the City’s code enforcement effort. Among the changes to the application, the City Council clearly outlines enforceable language in the zoning application to strengthen the design, material and construction standards for the proposed sound wall, require a periodic inspection of a sound wall, and create a compliance review to occur one year after the beginning of operations at the site. The legislation also empowers the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to limit the dates and times of all spectator events, not just motorsport events at the site.

“This has been one of the most carefully researched and considered decisions this City Council has ever made,” said A. Troy Miller, chair of the Zoning Committee. “We have received hundreds of e-mails, dozens of phone calls, held public hearings and realize that this is still an issue that divides many in the community.”

The vote is the latest step, not the last, in the process that may lead to the creation of Cooper Park, a creative reuse of a current brown field. Cooper Park will turn the site into mixed use educational and entertainment development with a proposed investment of $40-million that would revitalize the property, creating an estimated 300 jobs, an automotive research and development facility, restaurants and convention space that would serve as a regional attraction and provide and economic boost to the west side of Columbus. The BZA now will be asked to approve a special permit for any spectator events at Cooper Park.

“We believe that the amendments offered this evening will strengthen the zoning application, giving the BZA the ability to better to monitor and regulate events at the site, ensuring the development will be a good neighbor, not just in word, but in action,” said Miller.

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Columbus Dispatch: ComFest volunteers fill the three days reducing 'footprint' for a clean park

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It's not easy being green

ComFest volunteers fill the three days reducing 'footprint' for a clean park

Sunday, June 26, 2011 03:11 AM

By Alan Johnson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

In nearly four decades, the Community Festival has always been concerned with the "footprint" it leaves on the environment - even a bare foot in the mud.

Put simply, ComFest says: "No Planet, No Party."

The festival that began in 1972 near Ohio State University was powered by the youthful idealism of the civil-rights movement, opposition to the Vietnam War, and "Earth Day" concerns for the environment.

That emphasis continues today as organizers struggle to cope with the giant footprint ComFest leaves - an estimated 21tons of cans, bottles, glass, plastic, cardboard and food waste.

Early yesterday, before the music started on six stages, the beer spigots began pouring and the staple "fish boats" sandwiches were cooking, volunteers clad in green T-shirts combed the 40-acre park to collect trash and recyclables.

"We are very aware of the impact a festival like this has on the landscape," said Connie Everett, an organizer of the all-volunteer event. "Recycling and cleanup are very important to us."

But it's not easy being green. That's where Brandi Kegley comes in.

As head of the cleanup committee, Kegley will work more than 30hours in three days, directing the efforts of 350 volunteers.

"Volunteering makes the festival happen," she said. "You have to be willing to do the dirty work.."

Kegley, 28, has a lot on her plate in addition to ComFest. She works at an Olive Garden restaurant, is a yoga therapist and has a rescue dog, Optimus. After eight years as a ComFest volunteer, she will soon leave Columbus to start a holistic wellness center in Colorado.

She said keeping the 160-year old park clean is only part of the job. Recycling is the other task; ComFest attacks it with passion.

Patrons are encouraged to help by separating cans, plastic and nonrecyclable trash. Bins are also available for organic food waste - about one ton of it.

Mike Minnix, who bills himself as president and chief Dumpster-diver for Eartha Limited, a Columbus recycling company, said his company will take the food waste to a composting facility, where it will be mixed with yard waste, wood chips and other material, and made into soil mulch.

Thousands of wine bottles will be collected by Eartha, destined for a group called Candles with a Cause, Minnix said. The tops of the bottles will be cut off and the bottoms made into candles to be sold to area restaurants.

Kegley said ComFest uses beer cups made of corn-based material for easier recycling and fills water bottles on site, free, to avoid overuse of plastic.

And those footprints in the mud? They're covered with mulch.

It's an exhausting three days for all ComFest volunteers, especially the cleanup crews.

"It's a great way to work with people in my community," Kegley said. "The reward for me is knowing I am a part of something that brings everyone together."

ajohnson@dispatch.com

Columbus: One of the 10 best cities to buy rental property

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10 best cities to buy rental property

Would-be homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines now, and many are spending their time in rentals despite the housing bargains out there. It could be a great time to buy a house to rent.

By Jason Notte, TheStreet

The American dream of homeownership has dissolved into the daydream of a decent rental, and some cities are making it very easy on their month-to-month newcomers. Vacancies among the nation's rental properties dropped from 6.6% last year to 6.2% last quarter as 44,000 more units found renters during that period than during the same period a year earlier, according to Reis. That's the largest increase during that normally slow winter period since 2000 and the lowest vacancy rate since 2008.

Slight improvements in job growth and employment figures are driving demand for housing again, but even the 4.5% rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage quoted by Fannie Mae in June -- the lowest since December -- hasn't kept year-to-date existing-home sales from plummeting to 13% of what they were just before the first-time homebuyer credit expired during the same period last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The foreclosure rate is leveling off, according to RealtyTrac, but the U.S. Census Bureau found that U.S. homeownership dropped from 69% in 2004 to 66.5% at the end of last year.

The $163,700 median existing-home price is 5% lower than it was a year ago, but potential homebuyers facing 9.1% national unemployment and tight credit requiring a 20% down payment on home purchases are content to wait it out in a rental.

Potential landlords love to hear that. Average asking prices ($1,047) and actual paid rent ($991) are up roughly 2% as 79 cities reported rent increases and shrinking rental stock. Reis noted that landlords who were offering incentive packages a year ago that gave tenants three to four months free on 12- to 15-month leases have cut those concessions to a month or less.

Here are the best 10 places (recommended by Reis) to buy a rental property and cash in on rising rents and dwindling supplies.

Columbus Ohio

• Vacancy rate: 8.6%
• Average rent: $690

Ample vacancies, low rents and continued rent growth are great, but you know what makes them even better? Throwing them into the middle of a college town.

Whether you're a renter or a potential rental property buyer, Columbus, Ohio., has a lot to offer. As with many state capitals that also happen to be home to state universities, Columbus is insulated from economic upheaval by government jobs and a stable employer at Ohio State University. Unemployment is 7.3%, well below the national average.

Unfortunately, it's not immune to economic pressure on the real-estate market and has seen average home prices fall from $140,000 in 2008 to $114,000 today. That includes a 9.1% collapse in the past year alone. Though Columbus' 8.6% vacancy rate is still high, it's actually shrunk since last year and has spurred a 1.2% increase in the city's average rent within the past year.

Ohio State Rep. Nickie Antonio Named the Gertrude W. Donahey Award Winner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2011
Contact: Press Office

State Rep. Nickie Antonio Named the Gertrude W. Donahey Award Winner
Award Presented at 2011 Ohio Democratic Party State Dinner

COLUMBUS – On Saturday, June 25, State Representative Nickie Antonio was presented the Gertrude W. Donahey Award at the Ohio Democratic Party’s 2011 State Dinner. The award was presented to Antonio by Congresswoman Betty Sutton.

As the first woman ever elected to statewide office in Ohio, Gertrude Walton Donahey opened the door to greater opportunity for all women. Her decades of leadership, activism, courage and dedication to the people of Ohio earned her three terms as Ohio Treasurer, and an honored place in Ohio history. The leadership she exhibited as a member of a wide range of professional and political organizations has made her name forever synonymous with the highest ideals of public service. The Gertrude W. Donahey Award recognizes Ohio women who serve our state and the Democratic Party with unparalleled spirit and dedication.

“This award winner has a proven track record as an effective, cooperative and transparent legislator who is a champion for Ohio's children and families,” said Sutton as she presented the award. “Since making history in 2010 as the first openly gay or lesbian legislator elected to serve in the Ohio General Assembly, she has tackled one of the most pressing issues affecting children today—bullying in our schools. As a trailblazer for women and the LGBT community, she has made a name for herself by fighting back forcefully against Republican attacks on women's rights. Her spirit and dedication to her state, her constituents and her Party have exemplified her as a trusted and passionate leader.”