Ball Memorial Hospital, Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance and Indiana Equality announced all BMH employees will undergo mandatory LGBT awareness training starting in September.
According to a Muncie Star Press article the training is now being offered after Erin Vaught, a transgender woman, expressed her outrage after allegedly being called "it" and "he-she" by an employee when she visited the BMH Emergency Department on July 18 because she was coughing up blood.
Representatives from BMH, INTRAA and IE met earlier this month with Vaught to discuss training options, Will Henderson, director of BMH Public Relations and Marketing, said.
"We sat down with the patient and representatives [from INTRAA and IE] and we talked about how we could do better with the curriculum," he said.
The training will improve sexual orientation and identity awareness with a curriculum that will reflect sensitivity and awareness to members of the LGBT community, according to a press release.
Henderson said all employees, including Ball State students affiliated with the hospital, will have to go through the new training.
"If you go through our employee orientation, you'll have to go through our training annually," he said.
Spectrum President Jenika Garetson said she has mixed feelings about the situation.
"I think it's a good thing that this mandatory training has been implemented," she said. "I think it's sad there's a need for it."
Garetson said she's happy people have become aware of the incident, but it's just the beginning.
"Just because this one incident was on the news, doesn't mean it's the only incident," she said. "People should understand this type of stuff happens all the time, even on campus."
Ball State has a larger transgender population than people realize, Garetson said. Transgender students and those who don't identify with just one gender often have issues including their problems with their peers and not knowing whether to use the men's or women's restrooms in the residence halls.
Spectrum's main focus since January has been on transgender issues on campus, Garetson said.
"It's definitely a complicated life, and I'd feel better if Ball State took more steps to help transgender students," she said. "We're definitely trying to build up a better understanding here."
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