Comprised of 16 Chicagoland hospitals, the Trauma-Informed Hospital Collaborative has worked to implement trauma-informed policies throughout member organizations. This collaborative includes regular meetings where members can share ideas and resources, educational webinars, and educational materials and trainings. The Trauma-Informed Hospitals Collaborative is facilitated by the Illinois ACEs Response Collaborative and Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, and is part of the Alliance for Health Equity, a collaborative of hospitals, health departments and community partners in Cook County.
Throughout the summer of 2018, members of the Trauma-Informed Hospitals Collaborative have been creating and modifying a hospital staff assessment to determine employees’ familiarity with trauma-informed care, as well as gage perceptions about how well hospitals are addressing employee needs related to issues such as safety, secondary trauma, and burnout. This assessment is not only for clinical staff, such as physicians, nurses, or social workers, but also for support staff like clerks or environmental services. The collaborative recognizes that in order for trauma-informed practices to become fully integrated within an organization, there must be buy-in across sectors, and commitment from all levels.
The Collaborative was also fortunate to host architect Paul Alt and psychologist Jim Munroe, who presented a webinar in August 2018 on their work the Department of Veterans Affairs on the Department’s Healing Environment Design Guideline, which provides instruction for creating trauma-informed physical spaces within hospitals and clinics. Although Mr. Alt and Dr. Munroe’s previous work has been with veterans, they provided a thorough explanation of how civilian hospitals and clinics can implement trauma-informed physical spaces- whether they be small like a meditation room or garden, or the entire building itself- into their policies and design.
The TI Hospital Collaborative has also begun trainings with hospital staff on ACEs and trauma-informed care, with Swedish Covenant Hospital hosting the first of these trainings in October. Dr. Pat Rush also presented to SCH physicians at grand rounds in early September. We plan to expand these trainings as more hospitals determine their trauma-informed needs, whether it be staff moral or patient care or something else entirely. Members have also identified community-based partners who can also receive training in ACEs, in order to encourage more knowledge throughout all levels of healthcare.
The next meeting of the Trauma-Informed Hospital Collaborative will be held at Lurie Children’s Hospital on Thursday, October 11th at 3 PM. If you would like more information, please email Madison Hammett at mhammett@hmprg.org