Reproductive Medicine Associates and Family Equality Council Announce Partnership to Support LGBTQ Family Building
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and PHILADELPHIA, March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Reproductive Medicine Associates, a national network of industry-leading infertility clinics, and Family Equality Council, the nation's premier advocacy organization for LGBTQ family building, have joined forces to expand opportunities for family building and to enhance patient experience for hopeful parents.
Two of RMA's legacy clinics, Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ) and Reproductive Medicine Associates of Philadelphia, both have well-established programs for the LGBTQ community, with specialized departments and staff. Over the last year, the RMA network has expanded into additional markets, including Orlando, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Allentown, Pa.
As a National Corporate Sponsor, Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA) will leverage Family Equality Council's training platform, Open Door, to enhance LGBTQ competency for patient-facing staff across its network of U.S. clinics, elevating the already high standard of care members of the LGBTQ community can expect from all RMA providers.
"Since our inception in 1999, RMA has been guided by a singular and noble mission: to help patients complete their families," said Dan Kaser, MD, FACOG, an RMANJ physician who oversees the organization's LGBTQ programs. "Most members of the LGBTQ community are not contending with an infertility diagnosis, but nevertheless need some assistance in fulfilling their dreams to become parents and we are proud to help them on their path."
"Over the last 25 years I have had the privilege of helping members of Philadelphia's and the Delaware Valley's LGBTQ community build their families. Medically and scientifically, much has changed over this time, but the fundamental premise remains the same: provide everyone with the highest quality care and the utmost compassion," said Jackie Gutmann, MD, FACOG, a physician with RMA of Philadelphia who leads the clinic's LGBTQ programs.
"As the only national LGBTQ organization focused specifically on supporting LGBTQ families and those who seek to form them, Family Equality Council is uniquely positioned to assist RMA in its care of LGBTQ patients," said The Rev. Stan J. Sloan, CEO of Family Equality Council. "We are grateful for RMA's vision, commitment to and support of LGBTQ patients present and future, and thrilled to be working with a team so dedicated to inclusion and compassionate care."
Over the next few months, patient-facing staff in RMA clinics across the country will begin the Family Equality Council's competency coursework training, enhancing RMA employees' ability to deliver an inclusive patient experience that is sensitive to LGBTQ patients. These courses include LGBTQ 101, Trans Fertility Considerations, and Building an Inclusive Practice.
In addition, RMA staff and patients will have access to Family Equality Council's wide array of family formation educational tools, including workbooks, fact sheets and toolkits. Topics include Paths to Pregnancy, Family Building for Transgender Men and Women, and Parenting Options for the LGBTQ Community.
Family Equality Council's groundbreaking LGBTQ Family Building Survey reveals significant growth in the number of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer who are interested in becoming parents. It is imperative that the medical community, and in particular fertility physicians, be fully prepared to meet the unique needs of this community with the same compassion and sensitivity afforded members of the heterosexual community. RMA is proud to partner with Family Equality Council as it pursues this agenda.
About Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA)
Reproductive Medicine Associates (RMA) is the U.S.-based network of infertility clinics that are part of IVI-RMA Global. Founded in 2017 when the Valencian Infertility Institute (IVI) merged with Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ), IVI-RMA Global comprises the largest group dedicated to assisted reproduction in the world.
IVI-RMA Global currently has more than 70 centers in 11 countries with clinics in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Italy, United Kingdom, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the UAE.
Self-funded research, a fundamental pillar of the organization, supports the group's high success rates around the world. To learn more about the research being conducted at IVI-RMA Global, visit www.ivi-rmainnovation.com.
Media Contact:
Melissa Drake
U.S. Marketing & Communications Director
RMA
973-871-1266
[email protected]
SOURCE Reproductive Medicine Associates
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