Clara Maass Hospital Raises Rainbow Flag For Pride Month

BELELVILLE, NJ — In celebration of National Pride Month, Clara Maass Medical Center raised a rainbow-colored flag at the top of the hospital on Friday.

The flag will be flown for the entire month of June to honor LGBTQ Pride Month, which starts Saturday, hospital administrators said.

The ceremony was held in concert with the hospital’s partners, the Bloomfield Pride Committee and North Jersey Community Research Initiative.

The flag-raising event included remarks from Mary Ellen Clyne, president and CEO of Clara Maass Medical Center, and Desyra Highsmith Holcomb, director of diversity and inclusion, who highlighted the hospital’s efforts to “create a respectful, caring and compassionate environment” that meets the health care needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

In 2018, the hospital earned a national designation in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Wilfredo Yap Jr., director of the emergency department and observation units shared reflections on the Stonewall Inn Uprising, the catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States, which occurred 50 years ago in New York City.

Following the flag raising, a reception with rainbow-themed cookies and lemonade was held around the fountain.

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