Building Resiliency: Incorporating Trauma Informed Care into Medical Practices

Umpqua Health Alliance cares about the overall health and well-being of our members. We are looking not just at the care of UHA members today, but at what we can do to support continued health. While UHA focuses on physical, dental and behavioral health, we know that there are many other factors that impact a person’s well-being. Of these many factors, one of the greatest indicators of lifelong health are the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences a person endures.

According to 2015 BRFSS data, more than 64 percent of all Oregonians have lived through at least one Adverse Childhood Experience before the age of 18. Not only are Medicaid members reporting a 14 percent higher ACEs score, but according to the Oregon Health Authority, 40 percent of Umpqua Health Alliance members report four or more adverse childhood experiences, the highest percentage out of any Coordinated Care Organization.

In order to truly provide whole services, a provider must understand and address their patients’ needs. This is especially true in regards to trauma: studies show that ACEs determine the likelihood of the 10 most common causes of death in the country, and people with six or more ACEs died nearly 20 years earlier on average than those without ACEs.

While the medical community is aware of ACEs, what hasn’t been talked about as much is how to incorporate trauma informed care into the medical practice setting. That’s why UHA has teamed up with several local agencies to present the 2018 Resilience Summit. The summit will review ACEs and Trauma Informed Care, as well as explore how to incorporate these methods into daily work.

UHA has partnered with Advantage Dental, AllCare Health, the Battered Persons’ Advocacy, CHI Mercy Health, The Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Ford Family Foundation to bring the Resilience Summit to Douglas County. The event is set for April 25 at Seven Feathers Convention Center in Canyonville. Click here to register and to learn more about the free event.