La Rabida Children’s Hospital Launches Trauma Informed Care Community Training Program as part of Health Equity Action Day
The program is focused on helping organizations advance health equity
(Chicago, IL) As part of Health Equity Action Day, La Rabida Children’s Hospital is launching a new Trauma Informed Care (TIC) Community Training Program to help health care providers, mental health organizations and community focused non-profits advance health equity on the south side of Chicago. By adopting TIC practices that are focused on childhood and family trauma, organizations acknowledge the need to see the full picture of a patient’s life history, and promote an environment of safety, empowerment and healing. The program will be offered at no charge to eligible organizations.
Health Equity Action Day, organized by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, recognizes the work done by hospitals and health systems to eliminate health disparities and improve health outcomes for all Illinois residents. Held on Friday, June 18th, the virtual event coincides with Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
The TIC Community Training Program will help clinicians and community service providers learn to use a new lens of awareness when thinking about trauma and work to ensure all providers realize the widespread impact of trauma, recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma and respond in a manner that prevents re-traumatization. The program also recognizes that trauma affects children and adults in very different ways and will adapt the seven elements of trauma-informed care - safety (physical and psychological), relationships and trust, empowerment, and historical trauma and structural inequity – to meet the audience served by each organization receiving training.
“Generations of systemic racism, economic disadvantages, segregation and implicit biases are some of the things that have contributed to worse health outcomes and shorter lifespans among Black, Latinx, and other people of color in Chicago,” according to Theresa Valach, Clinical Director of the La Rabida Children’s Hospital Child Trauma Center. “By creating a program that directly trains community support organizations to approach conversations from a place of acceptance, safety, and positivity, we can reduce the chances for re-traumatization and create a path for healing and growth across our community.”
The TIC Community Training Program focuses on addressing the history of systemic bias and racism in Chicago, how that has - and continues to - impact communities of color, especially when seeking medical care. The training acknowledges that all behavior has meaning and explains how adverse childhood experiences can impact social and emotional development into adulthood and how to create a collaborative environment that builds trust and share strategies for long term healing.
If you are an organization interested in learning more about integrating Trauma Informed Care practices, please contact Theresa Valach at Tvalach@larabida.org