July 2019

So pleased that KevinMD published this patient narrative. I was encouraged to share it here as well! https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2...romotes-healing.html By MEGAN R. GERBER, MD | CONDITIONS | JULY 26, 2019 As physicians, we face the formidable task of working with patients who appear angry, never content with care or “made better” by anything we do. They may be known as “difficult,” unpleasant, or demanding. These patients are the most challenging and often the least rewarding to care for.

Remember when we used to describe a person who was quiet and didn't show much emotion as the strong, silent type? What does that even mean? Is't it an oxymoron to be a strong, silent person especially when it comes to your mental health? I had this random thought this morning while driving into work and this is what I concluded.

Meet the Doctor! ACE Study explained so clearly that you will likely understand 1 important fact of life much better: How your parents upbringing impacted them and the ways they parented you. Listen to Dr. Vincent Felitti the Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) with Dr. Brian Alman on TV. They are discussing how it all began and how it is relevant to you: https://vimeo.com/349164603/b152fa1e61 For resources, training programs, groups and referrals -- in...

By Kelley Czajka, Pacific Standard, July 23, 2019 Amid ongoing criticism over his record on race and crime, former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a wide-reaching criminal justice reform plan on Tuesday with goals to reduce prison populations, create a more just society, and increase community safety. The Biden Plan for Strengthening America's Commitment to Justice calls attention to mass incarceration and the racial, gender, and income-based...

By Kelly Field, Pacific Standard, July 24, 2019 This story was produced in collaboration with the Hechinger Report. On a recent Thursday morning, when most of their peers were busy prepping for the day, a dozen teachers and staff at Delaware's Sussex Technical High School sat down to talk about race. The group was discussing Chapter 2 of scholar Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism . Lynne Banning, an administrative assistant to the...

Benchmarks' PFE 4th Annual Conference will be held on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 (9:00am-5:00pm) and Thursday, September 12, 2019 (8:30am-3:00pm) at the Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence (PFE) redesigns the local child welfare/behavioral health system, changing the way DSS, LME/MCOs, local providers and the wider community understand the need for accessible, appropriate health services for children, youth and families who...

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adverse-childhood-experiences-trauma-informed-care-training-tickets-62223330657 Studies have shown that adverse childhood experiences and traumatic events can have a lasting, negative impact on a person’s health and well-being. This training is designed to help you develop the unique skills needed to support individuals who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and traumatic events. Objectives: Increase awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)...

By Emily Moon, Pacific Standard, July 23 2019. For decades, a key provision of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has extended benefits to households that do not quite meet the program's poverty threshold, but are still food insecure. On Tuesday, the Trump administration proposed slashing this provision, potentially worsening hunger for more than three million people. The proposed rule, now open for comment, eliminates a longstanding policy that allows states to simplify...

By Kirby L. Wycoff and Meredith Matone, Journal of Adolescent Health, August 2019 In a global political climate that is characterized by increased use of both polarizing rhetoric and policy proposals across the political spectrum, there has been escalating concern about a deprioritization of women's health care and reproductive rights. Current social and political events have elevated the need for focused attention on the well-being of vulnerable adolescents. Recent policies that restrict...

By Elissa S. Lee, Center for Health Journalism, July 19, 2019. Joy Dewing had a healthy pregnancy. But during labor, complications abruptly arose. Machines started going off as nurses rushed into the room, moving her body through multiple positions. One nurse held an oxygen mask to her face. “She was saying, ‘Breathe, honey, breathe for the baby,’” Dewing recalled. “And I was like, what is going on?” Then Dewing saw the doula staring at the fetal heart rate monitor with a look of horror. The...

By Derrick Bryson Taylor, The New York Times, July 24, 2019, Depression and anxiety. The state of the country. Climate change. Mass shootings. Today’s students are grappling with a variety of issues beyond the classroom. To that end, lawmakers in two states have recently recognized the importance of the mental health of their students by allowing them to take sick days just for that. The measures “empower” children to take care of their mental health, one expert said. On July 1, a law in...

By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...