Community Spotlight: Dr. Shannon Thyne
Dr. Shannon Thyne is a Co-Principal Investigator of the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN). She is a Vice-Chair in the Department of Pediatrics, Chief of Pediatrics at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and Director of Pediatrics for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
She is also a board-certified pediatrician with leadership experience in clinical operations, medical education, and clinical care for children and youth in the safety net. Her clinical and academic areas of focus include asthma, foster care, childhood adversity/resilience, and behavioral health.
Dr. Thyne earned a B.A. in Psychology from Yale College and an M.D. from Brown University. She completed her residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and served as a Pediatric Chief Resident at San Francisco General Hospital.
How did you get involved with ACEs Aware? What makes you passionate about this work?
I have been providing care to foster children and youth through my entire career, and screening and responding to trauma before I ever learned the term ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ (ACEs). As evidence emerged about the health impacts of ACEs, the ACEs Aware initiative offered providers like me a framework to support standardization of screening and response to childhood trauma. Former California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris and I connected through our clinical work in San Francisco, and we partnered in the care of children and youth impacted by trauma. After I relocated to Los Angeles, Dr. Burke Harris’ advocacy for provider reimbursement for ACE screening was a catalyst for engaging Los Angeles County in ACE screening and response.
My passion for supporting children who have experienced trauma stems from my lived experience with a foster (and later adopted) brother who joined my family after a rocky first two years. My mom was so focused on maximizing his potential that I have almost forgotten those challenges. While he had experienced perinatal substance exposure, neglect, delayed motor skills, and poor attachment, he was able to thrive in our household. His way of showing gratitude was to join the Peace Corps. My way has been to help maximize the potential of other kids involved in the child welfare system.
Tell us about the ACEs-Los Angeles (LA) initiative. What kind of work has ACEs Aware grant funding supported?
ACEs-LA started in March 2020 – shortly after reimbursement for ACE screening became available to Medi-Cal providers and clinics – with the goal of screening children in Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services clinics. We started small and have expanded to nearly 20,000 screenings across our system of care.
In addition, we have partnered with community organizations to enhance services to those who screen positive for ACEs and/or are high risk for ACE-Associated Health Conditions. In particular, our Network of Care grant has supported building infrastructure to support screening response, encourage service providers and community organizations to work collaboratively, and use technology platforms (we use One Degree) to promote the cross-sector collaboration that is needed to address ACEs and toxic stress.
Do you have any hobbies or fun facts about yourself that you can share?
When I check out from work (which I need to do more), I become a full-time soccer mom to my two teenage sons. I also make delicious homemade yogurt and the best-ever oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (in my humble opinion).