May 2021

By Evelyne Kane, Danielle Hodges, et al., The National Center for Complex Health & Social Needs, May 2021 Since 2016 the National Center has engaged grassroots leaders from across the country in our National Consumer Scholars program. Consumer Scholars are individuals with lived experience of complex health and social needs, or caregivers of people who identify as such. Consumer Scholars also have experience working as consumer advisors and advocates alongside complex care organizations...

From Carbon Tracker, April 23, 2021 Solar and wind potential is far higher than that of fossil fuels and can meet global energy demand many times over, unlocking huge benefits for society. With current technology and in a subset of available locations we can capture at least 6,700 PWh p.a. from solar and wind, which is more than 100 times global energy demand. Opportunities unlocked The collapse in renewable costs in the last three years means that half of this solar and wind technical...

By Christopher Perrone, California Health Care Foundation, April 30, 2021 Because of the barriers to care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other health care providers in California were granted unprecedented flexibility by federal and state policymakers to use telehealth to care for their patients. These changes have been instrumental in maintaining access to care over the past year and contributed to a steep reduction in patient no-show rates...

Dr. Dana Philossaint, CEO of MindCare - Childhood Trauma Therapy. She is an author, speaker, and founder of Mental Health University, an online training course devoted to helping people accomplish mental health.

Earlier this week, the LA County Department of Mental Health informed us that our program Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience had been approved as a Prevention and Early Intervention Model for community outreach services. Some ACEs Aware grantees are interesting in using it in their community networks of care. Mind Matters’ lessons teach people aged 12 and up to heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and other negative experiences with innovative methods based...

Amanda Winn, 5/5/21, positiveexperience.org/blog A growing wave of individuals are joining the HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) movement, uplifting the important role positive childhood experiences play in healthy development. Now, the HOPE National Resource Center is excited to announce new resources in English and Spanish ! These materials supplement HOPE trainings and technical assistance, geared toward parents, medical providers, educators, home visitors, and more. [...

Transforming Trauma Episode 041: The Brain and Body Budget with Neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett In this episode of Transforming Trauma, our host Sarah is joined by neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett. Initially working as a clinical psychologist, Lisa went on to study emotions and how our brains work, asking questions about the neuro-biological basis for mental and physical health. Lisa has written two books: The Secret Life of the Brain, about how emotions are made, and her...

“The minds who spend hours worshiping God in prayer and meditation are different yet more blessed than others.” – Barbara Bradley Hagerty The power of prayer and meditation cannot be overlooked. In today’s busy life, the importance of meditation and prayer has increased multifold. Not only do they bring much-needed peace to the increasingly materialistic mind, but they also enhance character traits that are essential for success in life. Prayer and meditation are the ways to know the meaning...

Good morning, PACEs Connection. On Monday 10th May, there will be a full-day symposium (9am to 3pm) on "Early Life Stress and Mental Health" by the Picower Institute at MIT. Speakers include Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris and the amazing, Bryan Stevenson, founder of Equal Justice Initiative. Here's an extract from the promo: "In what ways are health and other outcomes affected by early life difficulty? What can individuals and institutions do to enhance opportunity? The Picower Institute for...

Dear Friends: Hope you all have been doing well! I’m writing to share a two-minute video we’ve created to highlight the work of Heal SF, Healing City Baltimore, and St. Louis ReCAST. These groups are doing incredible work: transforming systems to support frontline workers, building community connections, and funding projects that matter to the community. Amidst the pandemic, adverse climate events, and ongoing racial injustices that have strained our mental wellbeing, community-led efforts...

On April 29, 2021, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Family Experiences During COVID-19 Pandemic Data.” The purpose of this webinar was to share findings from wave 1 of the Family Experiences During COVID-19 Pandemic Questionnaire that was administered in November 2020. Drs. Robert Sege from the HOPE Project at Tufts Medical Center and Lori Turk-Bicakci from the KidsData program at PRB provided an overview of the questionnaire, summarized...

We face both a generational opportunity and a challenging conversation, as the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative moves forward with the important step of DHCS seeking federal approval of the 1115 demonstration amendment and 1915(b) waiver . The welcome improvements realized by the CalAIM process appear to have been eroded in DHCS’ current 1915(b) waiver proposal by a set of contradictory requirements, new screening obligations, lack of clarity, and a...