PRIDE Month: HCA Healthcare colleagues work to advance equity

PRIDE Month, celebrated annually in June, is an annual reminder of how LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies continue to show up, be visible and unite in pursuit for equality. In recognition of PRIDE Month, we celebrate our LGBTQ+ patients, colleagues and neighbors; and we acknowledge colleagues who go above and beyond to drive meaningful change for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Below, meet three inspirational colleagues who are making a difference at HCA Healthcare and working to advance equity for the LGBTQ+ community.   

Nadia Marie Roumanos, Business Intelligence Analyst

HealthTrust (Nashville, Tennessee)

Nadia Marie Roumanos, business intelligence analyst at HCA Healthcare affiliate HealthTrust, is an active volunteer with Nashville PRIDE, an organization that hosts the annual PRIDE Festival in Nashville – the largest LGBTQ+ event in Tennessee. Nashville PRIDE’s mission is to educate and maintain a sense of pride, community, and awareness of, about, and for LGBTQ+ individuals and culture in Middle Tennessee.

“I am inspired to volunteer with Nashville PRIDE because they really are dedicated to serving all of the needs of the Middle Tennessee population,” said Nadia. “Nashville is the embodiment of a melting pot of cultures, ages, and traditions. It is important not to assume a one-size fits all solution to problems. Nashville PRIDE considers the different dilemmas that its community may encounter and really seeks to resolve medical and social issues by offering different options.”

Although the 2020 Nashville PRIDE Festival was canceled due to the pandemic, Nadia did not let this deter her from serving the organization in a different way. She eagerly volunteered for Nashville PRIDE’s LGBTQ+ Health Task Force, which brought together experienced healthcare professionals throughout Middle Tennessee to specifically understand the needs of the community at large.

Nadia is looking forward to the return of the Nashville PRIDE Festival in September of this 2021 and invites others wanting to support the LGBTQ+ community to join her.

Ray Holloman, Senior Business Continuity Administrator

HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology Group (ITG) (Nashville, Tennessee)

Ray Holloman, senior business continuity administrator for HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology Group in Nashville, Tennessee, is bringing visibility to the LGBTQ+ community through his work as chair of the Tennessee Transgender Task Force. The Tennessee Transgender Task Force takes transgender identified volunteers from across the state and works to educate providers and transgender people about healthcare, with a focus on HIV prevention.

“I feel fortunate to be involved in developing the task force’s guide to help trans people more easily navigate the healthcare system, which includes trans-affirming health care providers and other trans-affirming services, such as housing, fitness and social services,” said Ray.

Ray believes ensuring our transgender community feels welcome in health care facilities and in the work environment is critical to improving health equity for the LGBTQ+ community.

To be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Ray encourages others to self-educate on the various aspects of the community, listen to their stories, and most importantly, elevate their voices.

Leah Weisgal, Radiology Unit Coordinator

Rose Medical Center (Denver, Colorado)

Through the HCA Healthcare LGBTQ+ Colleague Network, Leah Weisgal, a radiology unit coordinator at HCA Healthcare’s Rose Medical Center, learned of a high need for LGBTQ+ adult volunteers for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). CASA, a nationwide organization, pairs youth in foster care with adults in the community who serve as mentors in day-to-day life and advocates for the child’s best interest in legal proceedings. Leah was familiar with the fact that LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented in the foster care system and knew serving as a CASA advocate would be a great way to make a powerful impact.

“Spending time in residential facilities in my own adolescence, I am acutely aware of the positive impact of having mentors,” said Leah. “As a queer adult, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take the self-advocacy skills that I learned and be able to share them with another young person.”

Leah noted being a CASA volunteer is simply being a consistent presence in a child’s life, which more often than not, means picking up the phone when they call.

“I work hard to be a link to the queer community, sharing LGBTQ+ books and finding community resources I can help connect them to, like a virtual LGBTQ+ youth meetup,” said Leah. “I attend all of their court hearings and professional meetings with their other team members, advocating for their medical, emotional, physical and psychological needs. I’m the one to help them set up their room and make it homier when they move to a new placement. And in times of crisis, I am even the one to go meet them at the emergency room.”

Leah is impacting the LGBTQ+ community by serving with CASA, but suggests that there are easy ways colleagues can support the community, including using preferred pronouns when introducing yourself and in your email signature, and speaking up against words or actions that are disrespectful or disparaging.

Thank you for reading along as we celebrate PRIDE Month and those who make an impact!