Blog posts -- Healthcare

Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents about ACEs using a questionnaire, and to use this information to counsel parents and identify resources for the family. Different practices have been using different questionnaires: Some ask parents for their ACE scores...

More than three years ago, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Director Erik Riera came to Santa Cruz County aiming to address the vast mental health needs of the community. Trauma informed care Using a grant to begin training all staff in trauma informed care, Riera started a year ago on a goal of training every employee in the health service agency with this model. Integrated Behavioral Health Program When the Affordable Care Act expanded Medi-Cal for the community, Riera was able...

I found this document by Futures Without Violence to be a useful resource. From the forward: The health care system plays an important role both in identifying children who may be exposed to extreme adversity and violence, currently and in the past, and in providing the evidence-based interventions that can help children heal from trauma and prevent health conditions and other poor outcomes associated with trauma and ACEs. The health care system is also central in supporting the greatest...

If you are a pediatrician serving Medicaid managed care patients in California, then you are required to use the Staying Healthy Assessment or an alternative IHEBA (Individual Health Education Behavioral Assessment) at all well-child visits. The bad news is that getting approval to use an alternative IHEBA is a tedious process. The good news is that as of October 27, 2016 the Whole Child Assessment (WCA) is available for use in English and Spanish. Most importantly, the WCA has been...

For Kelly Kjelstrom, plugging the gaps in mental health care can mean something as simple as a late-night taco and a friendly chat with a patient. Kjelstrom, 45, is a community paramedic in Modesto, California. Part of his job is to help psychiatric patients avoid the emergency room, where they can get “boarded” for days, until they are released or a bed opens up at an inpatient facility. When a 911 call involves a potential mental health crisis, specially trained paramedics like Kjelstrom...

The Shasta County Department of Public Health is looking at a new way to address healthiness, and it starts by looking back at childhood experiences. Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs, are childhood experiences that are unhappy, unhealthy and hurtful before age 18. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looking at ACEs suggests that these "experiences are major risk factors for the leading causes of illness and death as well as poor quality of life in...

Since her nomination for the Visionary of the Year award in 2015, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris has remained steadfast in her goal to broaden the conversation about the link between childhood trauma and health. In a world where many still believe mental and behavioral health is disconnected from physical health, Burke-Harris’ continues to make a compelling case for how the two are synchronous.  “The definition of trauma is changing. Trauma used to be mental and behavioral...

A new program in Tuolumne County aims to help youth who are having a mental health crisis. The program, presented by the YES Partnership, is called Youth Mental Health First Aid, and the first training course was held last week in Sonora.  Another training session is planned for February and is free thanks to a grant from the Sonora Area Foundation and Mental Health Services Act funding through Tuolumne County Behavioral Health Department.  Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed...

Trainings have been completed and the Nevada County Public Health Department has begun the Moving Beyond Depression program, working in partnership with local home visitation programs. This evidence-based program is a proven...

When students show up for an appointment at the Elsie Allen Health Center, which is located on the Elsie Allen High School campus in Santa Rosa, CA, one of the first things they do is take an ACE survey. Instead of answering the 10-question survey developed for the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study), they respond to 16 questions. That’s because the questionnaire was designed by the clinic staff to address the kinds of experiences – such as...