HEALTH-CARE EQUALITY

Illume Fertility recently announced its “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). The designation was awarded in the 16th iteration of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) in which a record 1,065 health-care facilities actively participated in the HEI 2024 survey and scoring process. Of those participants, only 384 received the top score of 100, earning the LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader designation.
“We are proud to be a nationwide leader in equitable LGBTQ+ reproductive health care,” said Suha Buckey, managing director at Illume Fertility. “As the only free-standing fertility center in the New England region to hold the HEI designation, patients across the LGBTQ+ spectrum flock to Illume to receive exceptional fertility and family-building care in an inclusive, welcoming environment.”
“As anti-LGBTQ+ extremists look to strip away health-care access at every turn, LGBTQ+ people and their loved ones are looking for health-care providers to offer and champion fully inclusive services. The Healthcare Equality Index is helping people find facilities where welcoming policies and practices are the standard,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “We know that LGBTQ+ people – especially our trans family – continue to face discrimination in the doctor’s office. No one should have to put their health on the backburner for fear of mistreatment in a health-care facility or by their doctor.”
This year’s HEI comes as LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely as non-LGBTQ+ adults to be “treated unfairly or with disrespect by a doctor or health-care provider” in the last three years, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The impact of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation combined with a history of discrimination in health-care settings has the potential to cause even more LGBTQ+ people to delay or avoid seeking health care, which makes the HEI even more salient for those looking to find LGBTQ+-inclusive care.
With the announcement of Illume Fertility’s seventh year holding HEI leader status, the practice continues to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care to LGBTQ+ patients looking to preserve their fertility prior to transitioning, build a family through fertility treatment, or access world-class reproductive health care.
Illume Fertility, formerly RMA of Connecticut, is a leading modern fertility practice providing an exceptional patient experience, innovative care and expertise to help patients achieve their fertility and family-building goals. Led by an award-winning team of nine highly credentialed, board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, Illume Fertility specializes in a range of assisted reproductive technologies. For the last seven years, Illume Fertility has been recognized as a Leader in Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign. It is one of the largest fertility clinics and egg donation centers in the region, offering a variety of services, patient support and nutrition counseling, acupuncture and yoga.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people. Through its programs, the HRC Foundation seeks to make transformational change in the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ people, shedding light on inequity and deepening the public’s understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, with a clear focus on advancing transgender and racial justice.