Primary Care Providers Crucial to Addressing Emotional Trauma

Kaiser Permanente and National Council for Behavioral Health team up to provide training to community health centers

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Apr 01, 2015, 05:35 ET

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half of all U.S. residents have experienced a traumatic event, like domestic abuse, sexual assault, neglect or a disaster. The ideal place to identify and show universal precautions is within primary care settings.

With support from Kaiser Permanente, the National Council for Behavioral Health is pioneering an educational program for community health centers to become trauma-informed practices and models for replication.

It has been shown that trauma impacts an individual's health in a myriad ways, contributing to chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, obesity, musculoskeletal pain, hypertension, depression and addiction.

"Most people will see a primary care doctor before they will see a mental health or addiction professional," said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. "They are our frontline to mitigating trauma's affect on all of us. Kaiser Permanente's investment in this space will expedite primary care settings' adoption of trauma-informed practices, which we know is the foundation of healing and recovery."

The grant from the Kaiser Permanente National Community Benefit Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation will provide an opportunity for 14 safety-net organizations across the United States to join a yearlong learning opportunity that includes raising awareness of medical conditions caused by trauma and getting effective support and resources for patients who have experienced trauma.

"This partnership is a unique and critical opportunity to connect medical care with mental health care," said Raymond J. Baxter, PhD, senior vice president, Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit, Health Policy and Research. "Doing so effectively is key to improving an individual's total health. Furthermore, these clinics often reach diverse and underserved populations who need these services but don't often have access to them."

To learn more about the program, visit www.thenationalcouncil.org/trauma-informed-primary-care-initiative-learning-community.

About the National Council for Behavioral Health
The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America's community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with 2,200 member organizations, it serves more than eight million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. The organization is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. The National Council, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health pioneered Mental Health First Aid in the U.S. and has trained nearly 350,000 individuals to connect youth and adults in need to mental health and addictions care in their communities. To learn more about the National Council, visit www.TheNationalCouncil.org.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve approximately 9.6 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

For more information, contact:

Kyra Nead, [email protected], 510-267-2884

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SOURCE Kaiser Permanente