Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO), a program of Sherbourne Health, was formed in April, 2008. Securing the support for a Ministry-funded program to address LGBT2SQ health disparities in Ontario was made possible through support from over 40 different health and AIDS service organizations across Canada and, of course, the persistent efforts of Sherbourne Health.

In 2017 RHO conducted a program evaluation to maximize its opportunities for impact and innovation. The evaluation recommendations included a better-defined focus for RHO on healthcare system and practice change, and with that a fresh purpose statement was launched:

“Rainbow Health Ontario creates opportunities for the healthcare system to better serve LGBT2SQ communities.”

This coincided with an update to RHO’s branding to align with Sherbourne’s own brand refresh.

Today RHO remains the only government-funded program in Canada dedicated to improving LGBT2SQ health outcomes. RHO offers training for healthcare providers across the province to feel more clinically and culturally competent in caring for their LGBT2SQ service users. RHO also supports system change by producing evidence-based print and web resources, contributing an LGBT2SQ health perspective to public policy processes, acting as a research catalyst and hosting Canada’s largest LGBT2SQ health conference.

RHO is primarily funded under the Indigenous, French Language & Priority Populations Branch, Strategic Policy, Planning & French Language Services Division of Ontario’s Ministry of Health. RHO also receives community and donor support.