Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Dr. Nadine Burke Harris to the show to discuss how the newly launched ACEs Aware program seeks to provide a framework for early primary care screening and intervention to mitigate the long term effects of adverse childhood experiences.

Article from Kaiser Health News about the ACEs Aware Initiative.

Pediatricians across California will start screening children for toxic stress during routine checkups this year. Learn how routine screenings for kids can help prevent health issues later in life.

Research suggests ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences,’ or ACEs, can influence biomechanical changes in children and increase their risk for developing heart disease, depression, and other serious illness.

This article from the Santa Fe New Mexican highlights the work that Dr. Nadine Burke Harris has done with the ACEs Aware initiative and the importance of addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

California’s first Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris discusses the causes and long-term impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), their connection to the State’s health and racial equity priorities, and her goals for addressing childhood trauma for the state’s Health in All Policies Program. The speaker series was created as part of the Capitol Cohort racial equity initiative to increase government employees’ knowledge and understanding of strategies that promote racial equity, create a cross-sector learning forum, and provide networking opportunities.

Social work professor Sunny Shin has long focused his research on childhood traumatic experiences and addiction. This article for the Good Men Project explains why he believes that programs like California’s ACEs Aware initiative should be implemented nationwide.

“California is leading the way to address trauma as a public health crisis, and the first step is universal screening.” Read how the ACEs Aware initiative is transforming the practice of medicine across California.

Dr. Burke Harris has broken new ground by recognizing the fundamental impact of trauma on children’s health and mental health. Let’s all take action to ensure that alongside screening, we also take steps to improve the communities where children play and learn.

“If our goal as pediatricians is to advocate for children and to improve wellness, then we need to do whatever we can to reduce their exposure to trauma, and that starts with screening.”