What Pride Means to Us
June 1 marks the beginning of Pride Month, which means it's the time of year we inevitably see rainbows, edited logos, taglines, slogans, and short messages of support from organizations across the country. Unfortunately, many of these messages end up being nothing more than performative gestures as large companies and organizations continue to enforce policies and support other organizations that are harmful to the LGBTQ+ community.
Sadly, the healthcare world is no exception to this reality, as it's still difficult for LGBTQ+ people to find healthcare providers and organizations that offer equitable care and are supportive of LGBTQ+ communities in a meaningful way.
AcuBalance is a small clinic, and when I say small I mean SMALL; we're but 2 acupuncture clinicians and 1 massage therapist. But that shouldn't stop us from trying to make a difference...to do more than change our logo for a few weeks...to do more than tell Google that we're an "LGBTQ+ friendly" clinic. To do more than share memes and posts on social media.
For starters, I want to dig into what we mean when we say we're LGBTQ+ friendly and what it means to be an affirmative, respectful, and inclusive clinic.
Acceptance: First and foremost, we welcome ANY and all members of the LGBTQ+ community into our clinic with our arms and hearts open. We want you to feel confidant in our commitment to providing you with the same compassionate, dedicated, and individualized care we give to all our patients.
Confidentiality: Everybody deserves to have a safe and private space to heal. We will only ask for medical/health information that is relevant to your care and we will protect your identity and health information.
Love is Love: We understand that sexuality is a fluid and evolving part of life and society. We accept and celebrate love and sexuality in all its forms.
Gender Affirmative: YOU are in charge of your gender identity and pronouns here and can rely on us to affirm and support you, even if/when those pronouns are fluid and/or change.
Safety: We will do our utmost to make you feel safe and secure while in our clinic. This means feeling safe while working with us, but also feeling safe with other patients in our clinic. We have a zero tolerance policy on discrimination, hate, and prejudice. Any persons within our walls that violate this policy will be removed from the clinic and released from care.
At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to help you feel accepted and uplifted for you you are!
In One Love & One Community,
Andrea, Colby, & Arielle xx