Gonzalo Paz-Soldán, M.D., CPE is BCBSRIs senior medical director for clinical transformation. Dr. Paz-Soldán joined us in 20 de junio22 and is helping to lead our clinical efforts to enhance our members’ experience and advance the quality of care they receive through the growth and expansion of our value-based programs and initiatives. In addition, he is also focused on addressing health disparities, advancing health equity and improving the well-being of all Rhode Islanders. Dr. Paz-Soldan is a general pediatrician and his diverse background includes extensive experience in care transformation and innovation, quality improvement, and advancing patient and provider satisfaction. Dr. Paz-Soldán was medical director for partner transformation in value-based programs with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, and was also regional executive medical director for pediatrics at Reliant Medical Group in Worcester. Additionally, he has served as medical director and a pediatrician at centers and hospitals in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Last year, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) made a small but very meaningful change to our company’s vision: To improve health and well-being by leading access to high quality, affordable, and equitable care. Equitable was the key addition to our vision, and it reaffirms our commitment that ALL of our members deserve peace of mind and the ability to get safe, affirming, and inclusive healthcare.
That’s the premise of our LGBTQ Safe Zone program, which we created in 2016 to promote safe, affirming, and inclusive healthcare environments for members of the local LGBTQ community. Since its inception, we’ve certified 80 local providers and practices as LGBTQ Safe Zones, with many joining in the last couple of years. Twice annually – in February and August – we solicit applications from our participating providers to join that growing list. So, the next deadline is coming up soon, and as we celebrate Pride Month throughout June, now is a great time to consider applying.
New Safe Zones explain their decision
Why take this step? For starters, you’d be helping provide a welcoming space committed to being inclusive, protecting against discrimination and differential treatment, ensuring your commitment to equality for LGBTQ patients, and helping to advance health equity across our provider network – as well as throughout our state. But we thought it would be best to hear from some existing Safe Zones – we asked representatives from two of our newest why they did it and what it means to their facility/practice.
Christina Wilson is a senior physical therapist at Hasbro Children’s Hospital Rehabilitation Services, one of our newer Safe Zones. She notes that based on the many types of therapy they provide, her practice sees patients of many ages, and LGBTQ+ inclusion is such an important part of the experience they provide to patients in order to provide the best possible care. “We’re lucky in that we have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with patients, more than a typical healthcare setting. One of our goals for this year was to figure out what we can do to provide the best possible care for our patients," Christina noted. “We’re thankful to BCBSRI for creating a platform that allowed us to review our existing policies on providing inclusive care, to ensure consistency across our staff, and to compile our resources so they can be easily accessed by anyone in our practice. Achieving Safe Zone certification has helped us make that goal more tangible, and we’re extremely excited to be part of this distinguished group of healthcare providers!"
Another recently certified Safe Zone provider is JStone Therapy, which provides individual, couples, and group psychotherapy, specializing in trauma as well as general mental health and lifestyle management. Owner Jules Stone, LICSW, notes, “Going through the Safe Zone certification process forced us to pay close attention to some of the little things that might often be overlooked – such as our forms, and to make sure our data platform was supportive of making sure our patients could identify themselves as they want to be, as well as ensuring that we had gender-inclusive bathrooms. This process has been essential in helping us take a look at all aspects of our practice and to ensure that we are providing the type of inclusive, affirming care we want to provide."
Take the first step – apply today
Besides primary care practices, our list of Safe Zones now includes behavioral health, oral health, palliative care, older adult care, pediatric care, physical rehabilitation, child and family services, organizations serving individuals who have experienced sexual assault, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and others. Participating Safe Zone sites identify themselves as welcoming places for the LGBTQ community and proudly display a BCBSRI Safe Zone logo to reaffirm that status for all who enter their facility.
You can review the program requirements for Safe Zone practices and the certification process, as well as complete an application, at bcbsri.com/providers.safezone-program. Those requirements include guidelines for handling patient identity, training requirements, your physical office space, and procedures Safe Zones are expected to follow. That page also includes many helpful resources to keep you updated on best practices for LGBTQ care.
¡Gracias!
We want you to know that besides being here for our community, we’re here for you – and we welcome any questions or thoughts you have about our Safe Zone program. You can direct those questions to bcbsrisafezone@bcbsri.org. And as always, thank you for all you do to keep our members and all Rhode Islanders safe and healthy.