Skip to content

LGBT employee groups help increase inclusivity

Penn State Health has established an LBGT Business and Employee Resource Group (BERG) in all four regions, focused on creating inclusive and equitable environments in the workplace and patient-care settings. Each group is looking for new members, including LGBT employees and allies.

The groups meet virtually once a month for approximately one hour. The next meetings are on Monday, Jan. 17. The Berks, Lancaster and West Shore BERGs will meet from noon to 1 p.m., and the Dauphin will meet from 2:15 to 3 p.m. To join, contact Hector Ortiz, program manager for diversity and inclusion.

In our community

In 2020, Gallup conducted a survey that found 5.6% of U.S. adults identified as members of the LGBT communities, compared to 4.5% three years prior. There is a generational aspect related to sexual orientation and gender identity, with younger populations having a higher percentage of individuals who identify as LGBT compared to older generations: 15.9% of Generation Z (1997-2002) and 9.1% of Millennials/Generation Y (1981-1996), compared to 2% of Baby Boomers (1946-1964).

The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, said that 416,000 LGBT adults and 74,000 LGBT youth lived in Pennsylvania in 2021. To help create an inclusive workplace and provide culturally sensitive care to patients, Penn State Health established its first LGBT employee group in 2010.

Dauphin Region

Dauphin Region’s LGBT BERG is chaired by Brad Mikitko, MRI technologist, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Dr. Katie Dalke, psychiatrist at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute and director of the Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education at Penn State College of Medicine. “We are composed of staff members from all areas of the institution that are dynamic and represent diverse backgrounds in the LGBT community,” Mikitko said. The group focuses on promoting LGBT inclusiveness and respect and responding to issues facing the community.

Berks Region

Kim Swartz, an orthopaedics physical therapist at Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center, leads the Berks Region LGBT BERG. The group is committed to creating inclusivity for LGBT employees and a sense of community through workplace equity, and supporting high-quality, culturally sensitive care for patients.

West Shore Region

Emily Taylor, manager of Penn State Health Dermatology in Camp Hill, leads the West Shore Region LGBT BERG in conjunction with Dr. Donny Peter-Fritt, Penn State Health Medical Group – Colonial Park. Peter-Fritt said the group is committed to creating and maintaining a safe, inclusive and unbiased environment for LGBT physicians and staff, residents and fellows, and patients and their families.

Lancaster Region

Penn State Health’s newest group, the LGBT BERG in the Lancaster Region formed in December 2021 and is led by Eliezer Gomez, a medical assistant at Lime Spring Outpatient Center.


Interested employees can join a group any time throughout the year by contacting Hector Ortiz.

If you're having trouble accessing this content, or would like it in another format, please email the Penn State College of Medicine web department.