Tagged With "Behavioral Health Task Force"
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4 years after integrating ACEs science, Pueblo, CO clinic improves services for families; cuts ER costs, doctor stress
Four years ago, Dr. Leslie Dempsey would never have talked about ACEs — adverse childhood experiences — with her patients. Now ACEs is a common topic. “Just as I don’t feel awkward asking someone if they smoke or do intravenous drugs, I don’t really feel awkward talking about their childhood traumas in a way that it relates to their health. It’s just integrated into obtaining background and social history,” she says. Dr. Leslie Dempsey Dempsey is a physician in obstetrics who oversees a team...
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Can Denver Public Schools Help Kids Experiencing Trauma? [5280.com]
By Dwyer Gunn, 5280, September 1, 2019 On a frigid morning this past March, Jo Carrigan, principal of Denver Public Schools’ Doull Elementary School in Harvey Park, stood on a blacktop playground as students streamed into the red brick building. As evidenced by the elaborate hairstyles, shimmery party dresses, and clip-on ties, it was school picture day. Carrigan complimented students on their outfits as she guided them around an icy spot on the pavement. Inside the building, up a flight of...
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Colorado 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for Colorado. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input, we’ll...
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Colorado county named healthiest US community [The Nation's Health]
Report scores 3,000 communities on health-related issues Earlier this year, Douglas County, Colorado, was tapped as the healthiest community in the country, moving up from its previous spot at No. 2. “We give all the credit to our citizens for their healthy choices,” Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas told The Nation’s Health. In March, U.S. News & World Report and the Aetna Foundation released their second annual Healthiest Communities report, evaluating nearly 3,000 U.S.
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Colorado Has New Momentum to Improve Behavioral Health. The Question Is How.
There’s usually not much good news to be found when you look at Colorado’s record on mental health and substance abuse. By nearly every metric — suicide rate , the prevalence of mental health issues , death from drug overdoses — the state is one of the worst in the nation. But a team of behavioral health professionals and advocates hopes to bring good news soon. On July 1, the new Behavioral Health Task Force kicked off a year-long effort to find a way to “revolutionize” Colorado’s...
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Colorado’s Trauma Informed System of Care (COACT)
Colorado’s Trauma Informed System of Care (COACT) What is COACT? Colorado’s Trauma Informed System of Care, or COACT Colorado, is supported by a cooperative agreement between the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), administered by the Office of Behavioral Health in partnership with the Office of Children, Youth, and Families, and other local partners. The system of care in Colorado builds on existing infrastructure...
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Colorado Steps up Quality Assurance Requirements for Serving Youth with Complex Needs (cmhnetwork.org)
Thanks to our colleagues at the National Wraparound Initiative for bringing this to our attention. This new bill in Colorado requires screening to identify youth with complex needs, establishes wraparound to serve them, and blends funding across agencies to make it happen! A model for other states to emulate! Child And Youth Behavioral Health System Enhancements Concerning enhancements to behavioral health services and policy coordination for children and youth, and, in connection therewith,...
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Creating connections: Solutions to youth suicide in La Plata County (Durango Herald)
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the country for people between 15 and 24. In La Plata County, the youth suicide rate has risen dramatically in the last five years. In our county, numerous suicide prevention efforts are promoting connection at school, in clubs and with behavioral health providers. These solutions stories explore youth suicide prevention programs and initiatives that have been successful outside the area and that have started in La Plata County. This series has...
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GAO report on challenges that states face in addressing child trauma
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on May 22 on the challenges that states face in their efforts to support children affected by trauma. The findings were based in part on interviewing state and local officials in six states (Colorado, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin) along with questionnaires to 16 states. The request for the report was made by two Illinois members of Congress, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Danny Davis, and...
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Graduations, non-linear paths, & the importance of getting started
With graduation season upon us, I have been thinking a lot about one of my favorite graduation speeches. It’s the speech that Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy, gave in 2014 at Dartmouth College. She references the typical expected advice from a graduation speech: “Follow your dreams. Listen to your spirit. Change the world. Make your mark. Find your inner voice and make it sing. Embrace failure. Dream. Dream and dream big..." And then she says, “I think that’s crap.”
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Hard Childhood Linked To Adult Crime, Poor Health in Colo. Study [patch.com]
GOLDEN, CO -- A new study of Colorado adults shows a correlation between a difficult childhood and adult health problems, lack of productivity and criminal involvement. The study, by the Council for a Strong America shows that adults who report four or more " Adverse Childhood Experiences," or ACEs have a three-times higher risk of an arrest by age 18 and were three times more likely to have a felony charge by age 25. Kids with a higher number of bad childhood experiences also report more...
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New Research Maps Where Housing and Health Crises Collide in Colorado [denverite.com]
By Donna Bryson, Denverite, January 6, 2020 Researchers who have mapped neighborhoods across Colorado where housing and health crises overlap hope an online tool they developed will help policy makers and advocates decide how best to use limited resources to support struggling communities. “The purpose of this study is really to be a conversation starter,” said Elysia Clemens, deputy director of the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the University of Denver, which funded the study.
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Personal stories from witnesses, U.S. representatives provided an emotional wallop to House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on childhood trauma
Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...
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Registration Deadline for Virtual Screening of Cracked Up is Friday, June 7th
The exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP is fast approaching. The registration deadline is Friday, June 7th at 5pm PST / 8pm EST To register , please complete this form . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and...
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Students learn to protect their minds from toxic stress [The Durango Herald]
By Mary Shinn Health & topics reporter Thursday, May 23, 2019 5:03 AM Updated: Friday, May 24, 2019 2:19 PM Big Picture High School sophomore Ava Aragon taught her peers how to focus on the flame of a candle this spring to help them calm down. The lesson was part of a class focused on understanding trauma and stress – and learning to manage and overcome it. Focusing on a flame helps Aragon with her own anxiety, she said. “It gives you an opportunity just to focus on the now,” she said.
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Support, Connect and Nurture: Addressing the impact of ACEs in the pediatric medical home
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have a profound impact on children’s development, increasing risk for chronic disease and mental illness. The Support, Connect, and Nurture (SCAN) project was developed to address the impact of ACEs on the health and well-being of children and families in Pueblo, Colorado. Located at Southern Colorado Family Medicine Residency Clinic (SCFM) and in partnership with Catholic Charities Diocese of Pueblo, the SCAN intervention included the following...
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Virtual Screening of Cracked Up for ACEs Connection Members: June 9-10 - Register Now!
We are excited to offer an exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and misdiagnosis. The film’s director, Michelle Esrick, and other special guests will join us after the screening window...
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Webinar: Building Resilient Communities with Elaine Miller-Karas
This webinar will explore integrating a biological based model to reduce the impacts of toxic stress for children and adults. It is a model both for prevention and to use in the aftermath of adverse event.
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Whole People Series & Study Guide (www.pbs.org)
There's a fantastic five-part series, Whole People , done by PBS, " spotlighting the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) through personal and community stories. It explores the long-term costs to personal well-being and our society. While much work needs to be done, there are many innovative developments to prevent and treat ACES. We all play a role in becoming a whole people." It's amazing. The five topics covered are as follows: Childhood Trauma Healing Communities A New...
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LAUNCH Together Supports Social Emotional Well-Being in Southwest Denver
As the COVID-19 pandemic blurred from days into months, the leadership team of LAUNCH Together Southwest Denver began hearing about the sense of anguish and confusion felt by directors of early-childhood learning centers: Should I re-open? Is that financially feasible? Is it ethical? And how do I decide, in a sea of fast-changing information about a virus scientists are still struggling to understand? LAUNCH Together SW Denver, a collaborative formed in 2016 to boost community capacity to...
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CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY: Parental ACEs and Pediatrics: Transforming Well Care [avahealth.org]
CALIFORNIA ACES ACADEMY (CAA) , funded by ACEs Aware, is providing free online training to Medi-Cal providers and others featuring: Practical strategies for integrating trauma-informed health care into your team’s practice that improves patients’ well being and the productivity of your practice. Meet colleagues with experience and success providing trauma-informed health care in their practices. Learn from national and local experts. Talk to other professionals from your region in small...
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A Better Normal Community Discussion - Reimagining Health Care
In a conversational style, join physician Drew Factor who will speak with Dr. Tracy Gaudet, Liza Guroff and An é Watts in a discussion entitled "Reimagining Health Care". Dr. Gaudet will speak about her experience engaging in transformational change at the Veterans Administration and how this has shaped the development of her own Functional Medicine Institute , while Ms. Guroff and Ms. Watts will speak about their knowledge of a Trauma-Informed Approach both at a systems (National Council...
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The Intersection of Systematic Racism, the Pandemic, and SDoMH: Reality Mandates Change
Systematic racism is at the core of mental health disparities and social determinants of mental health (SDoMH).Upstream factors obstruct patient access to needed and appropriate assessment, timely intervention, with treatment for these populations often reflecting poorer quality, and ending prior to completion of treatment. COVID-19 and the recent pandemic have only amplified meso and micro-level gaps in care. considered, provided, and reimbursed.
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Tools to Mitigate Work Stress and Prevent Burnout: For Health Care Providers during COVID and Beyond
Whether you work in a hospital, a safety net clinic, or in another health care setting, no health care provider working during the COVID-19 pandemic needs to read the flurry of news stories that highlight the extreme stress experienced by people in this line of work – you already know it firsthand. This webinar will introduce health care providers to the Community Resiliency Model ( CRM ), an evidence-based method of managing traumatic stress, preventing burnout and building resiliency. This...
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Kurt Rivera
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Dianna Frick
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Nancy Wolff
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karen jensen
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Cherri Pruitt
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Supporting Mental Well-Being through Child Care Settings - 9/30, 1:30-3:00 ET
A webinar offered by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) Thursday, September 30, 1:30 - 3:00 pm EDT Register today . Addressing the mental health needs of child care providers and children in care is vital in the face of the pandemic, a population-level traumatic event. CTIPP is offering a "plug and play" framework to ease the process of developing a continuum of training, reflective coaching, and consultation to build the capacity for supporting relational health...
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Archana Gupta
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Ari Stillman
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Free therapy for students: How Colorado is responding to the youth mental health crisis (kqed.org)
Image: (dragana991/istock) To read more of Ann Schimke's article, please click here. Roxana Alvarado Martinéz, a high school sophomore, had told only close friends she was seeing a therapist to help her with anxiety and insomnia. Roxana is part of a generation that has grappled with unprecedented mental health struggles over the last few years amid a pandemic that stoked stress, fear, and isolation for people young and old. She’s also one of thousands of Colorado youth taking advantage of a...
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