The Kyer Group Corporation, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, and American Academy of Pediatrics – CA Chapter 3
Three ACEs Aware grantees met last month with Dr. Burke Harris to share their successes promoting ACE screenings, trauma-informed systems, and self-care and resilience through their grant activities. Read the highlights below, or watch the full presentation here.
“We are changing practices, culture, ourselves, institutions, and our communities. This is all so powerful. Keep up the amazing work.”
American Academy of Pediatrics – CA Chapter 3 (San Diego and Imperial Counties)
Grant Activities: Communications, Provider Engagement – Peer-to-Peer Learning, and Provider Training – Supplemental
The American Academy of Pediatrics – CA Chapter 3 (AAP-CA3) provides their 500 members with training, education, and ongoing technical support so they can provide their patients and families with high-quality care and link them to critical social services. The ACEs Aware Peer-to-Peer grant has allowed AAP-CA3 to develop learning communities amongst their pediatric medical and behavioral health providers through bi-monthly ACEs committee meetings and quarterly developmental and behavioral pediatrics meetings. Discussions have been held on best practices, lessons learned, scripts, workflow, discussions around screening results, and how pediatricians can partner with mental health providers to best serve families, including addressing parental ACE history.
Their communications work was designed to address pediatricians who are new to ACEs and seeking guidance with messaging and screening, which led to their development of the “ACEs at a Glance” newsletter. AAP-CA3 also meets with fellow ACEs Aware communications grantees in San Diego County to align messaging while establishing each target audience so that work is not duplicative, but synergistic.
Finally, AAP-CA3 has developed a supplemental training by identifying a physician champion to spearhead the project, inspire staff to be on board, and serve as a familiar face presenting the information. The trainings are for both front and back office staff and are held during the office lunch hour.
Promising practices identified by AAP-CA3 include:
- Identify local physician champions and incorporate them in your work to present, facilitate, and engage other physicians and clinical staff.
- Engage with both front and back office staff by tailoring trainings and engagement activities to the audience and asking what they want to learn.
- Have participants use their own devices to engage in learning (for example, providers had issues when they were sharing one screen).
- Host office hours for providers to receive one-on-one support. Record and share these office hours with other providers who can benefit from other peers who have overcome challenges.
Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties)
Grant Activities: Provider Engagement – Peer-to-Peer and Provider Engagement Activities
Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, Inc. (CHCCC) is a network of community health centers serving the residents of California’s Central Coast. To support the ACE screening process, CHCCC is using grant funds to provide the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training to providers and clinical staff. CRM is an evidence-based resiliency training model that is instrumental in supporting providers and staff, engaging them in the ACEs Aware initiative, and enabling them to utilize and share these resiliency skills with patients. By providing clinical staff with a trauma-responsive and resiliency-informed lens, the model has prepared CHCCC staff to fully launch ACE Aware screening protocols.
When asked by Dr. Burke Harris how the CHCCC team was feeling, they responded, “Resilient. Empowered. So inspired and motivated that we are on the frontlines, and that we have programs like ACEs Aware that support us in 2021, when every family and child will need us the most.”
The Kyer Group Corporation (Bay Area/National Organization)
Grant Activities: Provider Engagement – Network of Care
The Kyer Group’s mission is to help human service providers and family caregivers employ self-care recovery and neuro-physiological regulation strategies. As a Provider Engagement – Network of Care grant recipient, The Kyer Group is focusing on escalated compassion fatigue (secondary and vicarious trauma), burnout, frustration, empathetic strain, and emotional exhaustion due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
They are providing education on “Surviving Compassion Fatigue Through an ACEs Aware Lens,” as well as offering online mindfulness breaks and support circles for both staff and providers. Each of these online sessions includes guided decompression activities intended to mitigate toxic stress and help build emotional and mental resilience so providers can attend to their own well-being and continue providing critical services.
The Kyer Group is also providing a valuable resource that uses scuba diving as a metaphor for practicing and building resiliency. Find it here.
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