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ACEs in Pediatrics community manager's note: Although this post by Daren Casagrande is geared toward mental health providers, I thought it had material that could be useful to a wider swath of health care providers. Please comment below if you have any questions or suggestions. --- Laurie Udesky Many of us in the mental health field are being thrust into unfamiliar territory as clinicians in the midst of the COVID-19 response. We either risk personal health (and the health of our clients) by...

How can health care providers take care of themselves, their colleagues and their patients during this COVID-19 pandemic? First and foremost is recognizing how the pandemic can stir up trauma from the past, said Dr. Alicia Lieberman, a psychologist specializing in trauma. “COVID19 is reawakening traumatic reminders in many of us and in the families we work with. And that often makes it difficult for parents to protect themselves and their children,” she noted. Lieberman, the director of the...

Editor's note: We will be providing ACEs in Pediatric members with resources to help navigate the challenges of COVID-19. Please see these resources below, including registration for a webinar to help prevent burnout in health care providers. It was complied by the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative. Healthcare Workers and the Workplace Healthcare providers, human service workers, journalists, and the service industry are all facing enormous difficulties in the face of coronavirus.

How can we reduce ACEs and toxic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many of us are concerned that increased stress might increase the risk for ACEs. For example, most child abuse happens when adults reach their breaking point. However, we are not powerless in the face of these challenges. Using HOPE ( Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences ) as a guide, here are 10 suggestions to reduce ACEs now: Think about social connection and physical distance , not social distance. Continuing to...

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers everywhere are changing how they care for their patients. I asked a few members of the ACEs in Pediatrics community what they’re doing differently. Dr. R.J Gillespie, pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic in Portland, OR. Dr. R.J. Gillespie Gillespie says that, as much as possible, they’re switching to virtual visits, which allows them “to comfort and reassure our patients face-to-face as much as possible without risking their...

Join ACEs Aware Webinar for a webinar on: Wednesday, March 25, 2020 Noon – 1 p.m. Register for the webinar Speakers: Edward Machtinger, MD Alicia Lieberman, PhD Brigid McCaw, MD, MPH, MS, FACP The webinar will cover how trauma-informed principles and practices can help providers and their teams sustain high quality care of patients, and take good care of themselves in the face of acute stress resulting from COVID-19. This includes ways to help patients increase buffering and protective...

Many of us in the mental health field are being thrust into unfamiliar territory as clinicians in the midst of the COVID-19 response. We either risk personal health (and the health of our clients) by seeing people in person, or needing to utilize technologies that we may be unfamiliar with. Further, those technologies have fluid legal/ethical standards (and is even more fluid at present to accommodate the pandemic), and which require different skill sets that in-person therapy. I am...

I am continuously inspired by the generosity of spirit that is being shared during this complicated and unprecedented time. There are artists, musicians, storytellers, and teachers creating opportunities for families to bring some structure to our very unstructured day. You can find a variety of classes, concerts, and virtual gatherings through social media. One shining example that I wanted to share is the story of 'Kids Yoga with Nurse G'. I am continuously inspired by the generosity of...

For those of you unable to join the 'COVID-19 Response: Using Telehealth for Maternal & Infant Healthcare' webinar today (Friday, March 20, 2020), here is a link to the webinar recording. Hosted by Mahmee , a maternal-infant health care coordination platform committed to equity, discussed how to make adjustments to clinical workflows and triage prenatal and postpartum concerns. Best practices were offered for identifying patients who should continue receiving in-clinic and in-home...

Dear colleague, Coronavirus is forcing providers and allied professionals serving mothers and babies to make unprecedented decisions. Should pregnant women needing care go through our hospital quarantine entrance? Should moms deliver without partners, family or doulas present? Be sent home early before key screenings or jaundice treatment are completed? To make matters worse, our systems aren't ready for basic remote care of mothers and infants now "socially distanced". Prenatal, post-partum...

In January, California took a historic leap forward to promote universal ACEs screening of the state’s 13 million adults and children in the Medi-Cal program. The eventual goal is to promote ACEs screening for all patients, but this is a first step in dealing with a major issue that ACEs science has identified: that many children will develop serious health problems later in life because the healthcare system is not currently set up to detect the roots of those problems. The term ACEs, which...

[Ed. note: Cissy posted this in the Practicing Resilience community, and it's cross-posted here to make sure everyone sees it. We don't want anyone to miss out on these resources!] Are you looking for new ways to get connected, supported, or to manage stress while managing post-traumatic stress during this pandemic? I am. No matter what our past or present life circumstances, it's safe to say a whole bunch of us are feeling more stressed and if we live with chronic post-traumatic stress to...