FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2008

Press contacts:

Dan Ashbrook
Lavender Seniors of the East Bay
(510) 667-9655 Ext. 3

Ann Harrison
New Leaf: Services For Our Community
(415) 626-7000 Ext. 401

Seth Kilbourn
openhouse
(415) 577 3538

Paula Pilecki
Spectrum
(415) 457-1115 Ext. 209

GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL TO PROTECT LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER (LGBT) SENIORS

New Law Will Create Safe and Visible Environments for LGBT Seniors
Isolated in Senior Care Facilities

SAN FRANCISCO — Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 1729, authored by Senator Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, which requires all registered nurses, certified nurse assistants, licensed vocational nurses, and physicians in skilled nursing facilities or group living health facilities to receive training approved by the Department of Public Health that focuses on preventing and eliminating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The new law goes into effect on January 1, 2009.

For many LGBT seniors in nursing homes, coming out can create a fear of mistreatment by staff, and in fact, mistreatment itself. This fear and possible mistreatment can be exacerbated by policies that that do not support basic rights of LGBT people such as visitation rights or the right to live in a nursing home with a partner.

Bay Area organizations including Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, New Leaf: Services for our Community, openhouse and Spectrum have been effective in working with senior care facilities and other providers to increase access to culturally sensitive services for LGBT seniors. Together they have a long history of working with mainstream agencies to increase their capacity to serve LGBT seniors.

Current law requires the California Department of Aging (CDA) and the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to ensure that adult day, meal, and respite care programs account for the needs of LGBT Californians. However, current law does not require training for staff that interacts with seniors in 24 hour care facilities.

“Although many health and human service agencies are trained on cultural diversity and working with persons with disabilities, the needs of LGBT seniors are often overlooked,” said Dan Ashbrook, Director of Lavender Seniors of the East Bay. “Homophobic staff can threaten to out their patients exposing them to hatred among residences, they can isolate them from others, or neglect them all together.”

“This progressive legislation builds on a long history of advocacy for LGBT seniors by our LGBT community-based organizations in collaboration with Senator Migden and others,” said Ann Harrison, executive director of New Leaf. “We at New Leaf are grateful for this tangible recognition of the care our LGBT seniors deserve.”

“The enactment of Senator Migden’s bill will significantly enhance and improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors,” said openhouse executive director Seth Kilbourn. “Since 2004, openhouse has trained over 1,000 providers from over 150 agencies on the unique needs of LGBT seniors. We look forward to working with the California Department of Public Health to ensure that nursing home staff get the training they need to better serve the large and growing population of LGBT seniors.”

“Passage of SB 1729 is a golden opportunity for Bay Area LGBT organizations to work collaboratively and leverage the possibilities created by this new law,” said Paula Pilecki, Executive Director of Spectrum.