ACCESS to timely and quality healthcare is a right every human being deserves, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, political affiliation, sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression.
The LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender people have long been subjected to history of pervasive discrimination in healthcare, housing, workplace and other important aspects in life. U.S. data and CNMI Youth Risk Behavior Surve data show that there is a prevalence of health disparities that affect the LGBTQ+ community in the CNMI, especially in our youth population.
In the CNMI, we have no room for this kind of behavior and mentality. Our people reflect a culture of respect and love for one another. It is our responsibility as stewards of the land to preserve that culture of love and respect.
I would like to thank the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation for taking its first step to preserving that culture by initiating a corporation-wide LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency and Diversity in Healthcare Training on all three main islands — Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
CHCC has always been an ally to our community, and we are very grateful to everyone, especially to our Chief Executive Officer Dr. Esther Lizama Muna for her unwavering love, support and encouragement.
“Inclusion is a crucial aspect of our culture here in the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and healthcare is essential to the well-being of a community,” CEO Muna said.
“In order to build a more resilient community, we aim to provide sustainable solutions to empower all people of the CNMI to achieve exceptional health,” she added.
“These trainings are only the first steps toward the type of health justice all people in the CNMI and in the world deserves,” she said.
The training started in April on Saipan as part of a mandatory training session for all employees and on Tinian in May 2-3, 2022 and Rota in May 4-6, 2022. The training included use of respectful language, data capture, group discussion, self-reflection, hormone replacement therapy, gender and colonialism, sexual orientation and gender identity in pacific cultures and learning modules from Fenway Institute’s LGBTQ+ Online Learning Center. The training was facilitated by the writer, Plumeria Joy Aldan-Castro, Jayson Camacho and Jordan Roiland. This training is part of a process of acquiring accreditation from Human Rights Campaign’s Health Equality Index Program as an inclusive healthcare facility which CHCC hopes to achieve soon.
TYRA LYN SABLAN
President, T-Project
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation is initiating a corporation-wide LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency and Diversity in Healthcare training program.
