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02.10.21

Hospital Systems And Alive And Well Communities Join In Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Care Pilot

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Dave Dillon Crop LR

Dave Dillon

Vice President of Public and Media Relations

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News Releases

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  • COVID-19
  • Disease Management
  • Health Equity
  • Population Health

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COVID-19 disease management news release population health
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JEFFERSON CITY, SPRINGFIELD and ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Recognizing the impact of personal, community, systemic and historical trauma in the delivery of health care services, BJC Healthcare and Mercy in the St. Louis area and CoxHealth in Springfield, Mo., will work together to advance their organizations’ responses to these layers of trauma as part of their commitment to advance health equity. The year-long program will be supported by Alive and Well Communities and the Missouri Hospital Association.

“Unfortunately, trauma is pervasive in all of our communities and impacts all of us regardless of community composition, yet Black, Latinx, LGBTQ and low-income communities are more likely to experience higher rates of trauma due to historical and systemic barriers that continue to create high rates of health disparities,” Jennifer Brinkmann, President of Alive and Well Communities, said. “By understanding these layers of trauma, including the trauma of racism and other forms of discrimination, health care providers can develop new responses to foster healing, well-being and equity.”

According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “Individual trauma results from an event, series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being.”

Although health care providers are aware of the influence of trauma on equity and care, the trigger provided by health care services often is overlooked.

Although health care providers are aware of the influence of trauma on equity and care, the trigger provided by health care services often is overlooked. Moreover, the influence of trauma on health care providers — who experience trauma personally and vicariously during their work — is under-recognized.

Contacts:

Alive and Well Communities – Jennifer Brinkmann
jbrinkmann@awcommunities.org
314-898-4049, ext. 700

 

BJC HealthCare – Jackie Ferman
Jacqueline.Ferman-Grothe@bjc.org
314-265-9321

 

CoxHealth – Kaitlyn McConnell
Kaitlyn.McConnell@coxhealth.com
417-269-4113 

 

Mercy – Bethany Pope
Bethany.Pope@Mercy.Net
314-251-4472

 

MHA – Dave Dillon
ddillon@mhanet.com
573-893-3700, ext. 1311

“The pilot program will deliver tools to participating hospitals to expand the understanding of trauma in the health care setting, and embed equitable care and trauma-informed practices into their culture,” said Herb B. Kuhn, MHA President and CEO. “MHA will partner with Alive and Well Communities to offer structure and coaching throughout the pilot.”

Trauma is well documented in Missouri. Whether through adverse childhood experiences, overall health status or recent evidence on the inequitable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color, the impacts on individuals, families and communities are profound. The goal of this pilot program is to better recognize, understand and respond to trauma to improve overall wellness and patient outcomes.

“Mercy is committed to practices that promote an organizational culture of safety, compassion, empowerment and healing,” said Dr. Sarah Cole, Mercy Clinic Family Medicine and Director of Mercy’s Family Medicine Residency. “We are honored to participate in the pilot program and feel it’s a crucial step toward recognizing the core principles of a trauma-informed approach to care that can transform the health care experience in our community.”

Through the program, each hospital’s “Transformation Team” will receive in-depth training about the science of trauma, toxic stress and resiliency. In concert with Alive and Well Communities, hospitals will create a customized plan, including program progress measurement and assessment, and meet with coaches twice a month to monitor progress. Quarterly, all Transformation Teams statewide will meet to share and build knowledge.

“We are excited to be part of this pilot project, as it will improve our ability to provide culturally competent, equitable care to our most vulnerable patients and their families,” said Peggy Gordin, Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the pediatric hospital of BJC HealthCare. “Recognizing trauma as a fundamental barrier to health is the necessary first step in overcoming its detrimental impact.”

The Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Care pilot builds on earlier work, including the Missouri Model, which includes the following elements: Safety, Trustworthiness, Choice, Collaboration and Empowerment. These elements, when realized in combination, lead to equity — a state in which outcomes no longer are predictable by race or other demographic factors.

“While we wish that the need for this program didn’t exist, we are looking forward to seeing the benefit we believe it will offer our patients, as well as our employees,” says Dr. Curtis Mattson, Psychologist and Director of Clinics at CoxHealth. “Developments around trauma-informed care have the potential to make an incredible difference in serving patients by meeting them where they are. We believe it will also ultimately improve quality of life when patients are comfortable receiving the health care they need.”

Recognizing the influence of trauma on care is essential to patient safety and improved health outcomes. Improving care requires that patients feel safe in the hands of their health care providers. That feeling of safety is facilitated by equity-based policies, understanding and trust in the patient-provider relationship, and promoting self-care and self-efficacy. Likewise, staff who have experienced trauma need a trauma-informed organization to support them. Worker burnout and turnover can result from persistent chronic stress.

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