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In recognition of Mental Health Awareness month, our May newsletter shares information about how organizations are adopting trauma-informed care practices to reduce health care worker burnout and promote staff wellness.
In 2022, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published an advisory entitled, “Addressing Health Worker Burnout: Building a Thriving Health Workforce”. The advisory rang the alarm bell that health worker burnout was an urgent public health threat, caused primarily by workplace systems that include “excessive workloads, administrative burdens, limited say in scheduling, and lack of organizational support”.
A key recommendation of the advisory is to strengthen health care organizations by implementing “evidence-based policies, programs, and solutions that identify, address, and help prevent adverse health outcomes and burnout for health workers” so that workplace environments are “safer, more generous, and more just for all health workers”.
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Many organizations in the ACEs Aware community are implementing these types of changes, guided by the same trauma-informed care principles used for Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening and response. These types of workplace environments prioritize staff wellness to build a resilient workforce by maintaining the physical and emotional health and well-being of staff – one that is calm, safe, and empowering for patients and health care teams.
As described in an ACEs Aware Storytelling video, Dr. Eric Ball of Children’s Health Orange County, during the Covid-19 pandemic, took steps to mitigate his staff’s stress and promote worker wellness, employing evidence-informed “Stress Buster” techniques, such as group meditation sessions and walks during lunch breaks. (Learn more about Stress Busters.)
As shared in an ACEs Aware webinar, Dr. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, the Medical Director of a pediatric practice in Santa Rosa, worked to “cultivate a work environment that's very trusting, where people feel safe to talk about things.” Staff know that they can take a short break if they get overwhelmed, they know that they are supported by the organization, and they are encouraged to give feedback about the workplace,” she said.
When the team at Eisner Health, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Southern California, began implementing trauma-informed care, they “prioritized looking inward first, with a specific focus on supporting staff resilience as the foundation for improving the patient experience.” They found that approaching trauma-informed care “as an organizational initiative rooted in culture” resulted in “meaningful improvements inside and out, from the work environment to patient care.” (Read more in their ACEs Aware grantee practice paper)
These organizations bring to life the idea that trauma-informed care is not just good for patients; it’s great for providers and health care teams as well.
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ACEs Aware "Implementation with Intention" Webinar #5: Prepare Your Team and Clinic Operations | | |
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Thursday, May 25, 2023
12-1 p.m.
Registration is now open for Webinar #5: Prepare Your Team and Clinic Operations. Participants will learn how to prepare their teams and operations, and discuss promising practices and lessons for ACE screening implementation from clinics in the field engaged in this work.
The webinar has been approved for:
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, ASWB, ABP-MOC, ABIM-MOC II credit.
Registration is required. You will receive a Zoom link after submitting your registration form.
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Did you miss the previous “Implementation with Intention” webinar sessions? Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to access the trainings on demand and to receive continuing education credits.
The ACEs Aware “Implementation with Intention” webinar series is designed to help California clinics implement ACE screening and response. Through live webinar sessions, experts provide practical, step-by-step guidance, as well as resources and tools, to help clinics advance in their journey to implement ACE screening.
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Newly Added! ACEs Aware "Implementation with Intention" Webinar #6: Marin Community Clinics Case Study
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Thursday, June 22, 2023
12-1 p.m.
In this webinar, members of the Marin Community Clinics (MCC) team will share their experience implementing ACE screening and response in a FQHC in the Bay Area. MCC, a pioneer in California since starting this work back in 2017, is featured as a case study in the ACEs Aware Implementation How-to Guide and highlighted in previous “Implementation with Intention” webinars. Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from MCC team members about their ACE screening implementation journey and to engage in a live question and answer discussion.
Registration Coming Soon!
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ACEs Aware Community Spotlight | | |
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Deirdre Bernard-Pearl, MD
Santa Rosa Community Clinics
Dr. Deirdre Bernard-Pearl has been practicing Primary Care Pediatrics since 1997 and is the Pediatric Faculty member of the UCSF-Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency and Santa Rosa Community Health. She shared her experiences incorporating trauma-informed principles to promote worker wellness at her health center in a past ACEs Aware webinar.
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Putting Implementation Into Action | |
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Need Support to Implement ACE Screening and Response?
Did you know that the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN), which implements the ACEs Aware initiative on behalf of the California Department of Health Care Services, offers expert technical assistance to clinics at any stage of their implementation journey?
UCAAN offers virtual support to California health care teams on such topics as billing and reimbursement, screening tools, clinical response, training, and more.
For technical assistance, submit your request via the ACEs Aware Contact Us form at:
www.acesaware.org/ContactUs.
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Resources, Events, and Research | | |
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ACEs Aware Implementation with Intention Webinar #5: Prepare Your Team and Clinic Operations
Thursday, May 25, 2023 | 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. PST | UCAAN
Register Now →
ACEs Aware Implementation with Intention Webinar #6: Marin Community Clinic Case Study
Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. PST | UCAAN
Registration Coming Soon
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Type and Dose-Response Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Predicting Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
May 2023 | Child Abuse and Neglect
Read →
Considerations for Trauma Informed Child Care and Early Education Systems
OPRE Report March 2023 | Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Read →
Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Depression, Anxiety, and Distress: An Overview of Systematic Reviews
February 2023 | British Journal of Sports Medicine
Read →
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A More Personal Level of Care: Becoming ACEs Aware
Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and addressing the impacts of toxic stress promote healing by acknowledging the patient's unique experiences and resilience in their care plan.
Learn how to Screen, Treat, and Heal with evidence-based, patient-centered care.
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Already completed the training?
Providers with National Provider Identifiers should attest on the DHCS website
so they can become eligible for Medi-Cal reimbursement for screening.
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“We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time.”
– Brené Brown
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Follow ACEs Aware on Social Media | |
Don't forget to add questions@acesaware.org to your safe sender list. | | | | |
