MAHEC hosts Adverse Childhood Experiences Southeastern Summit Oct. 20-21

From MAHEC:

Adverse Childhood Experiences Southeastern Summit 2017: The Art of Healing ACEs

Asheville, NC – October 17, 2017 — MAHEC is hosting the 2017 ACEs Southeastern Summit, The Art of Healing ACEs, at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel on October 20-21 to build trauma-informed communities. Attendees will hear from Keynote Speaker Vincent Felitti, MD, co-investigator of the landmark ACE Study and founder of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in San Diego, California. Dr. Felitti will present Friday morning on “ACE Study Retrospective – What’s Working, What Needs Improving.”

ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) looks at the relationship of adverse life experiences in childhood to the future physical and mental health and the social and economic impact it has on the community. This year’s summit will focus on next steps and practical strategies that can be implemented in schools, organizations, agencies and communities.

“ACEs affect us all in one way or another, whether we work with the children and families experiencing ACEs or we, as a community, handle the financial and societal impact of it later,” says Dina Gillespie, continuing education planner at MAHEC. “This is the second southeastern summit, and the goal is to build collaboration between health, education, law and mental health to come up with strategies our local communities can do to work together to help clients stop the intergenerational transmission of ACEs.”

In addition to Dr. Felitti and other guest speakers, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, will present “The North Carolina Response to ACEs” Friday afternoon. Among Secretary Cohen’s top priorities in her current role are combatting the opioid crisis, building a strong, efficient Medicaid program and improving early childhood education. She has experience leading complex health organizations and was previously Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The conference is geared towards professionals involved in the assessment, treatment, education, support, and advocacy for children and families who experience ACEs, including: primary care providers, physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, childhood educators, K-12 educators, public health professionals, child and family advocates, law enforcement, juvenile justice experts, court system professionals, community organizers, parents and caregivers.

“The ACEs Summit is a must for anyone who wants the world to be a healthier, happier place,” says Meg Hanshaw, PhD, previous ACEs Summit attendee and founder and executive director of i.b.mee. “Understanding ACE research and being able to apply its findings is critical to this happening. The ACE Summit was a place for me to learn these things as well as gave me ways to implement resiliency concepts such as positive reference building, coaching and mindfulness activities so that I could more easily take part in helping breakdown the negative effects that ACEs have in the school system. The Summit supported me in having even more confidence that where we are headed in shifting education into a more healthy and empowering system is right on track! I can’t wait until the next Summit!”

Visit the website for more information and registration: www.mahec.net/ACES2017.

MAHEC was established in 1974 and is a leader in healthcare, education and innovation. Located in Asheville, MAHEC serves a 16-county region in Western North Carolina. It is the largest Area Health Education Center in North Carolina, which evolved to address national and state concerns with the supply, retention and quality of health professionals. MAHEC’s mission is to train the next generation of healthcare professionals for Western North Carolina through quality healthcare, innovative education, and best practice models that can be replicated nationally. For more information on MAHEC, visit www.mahec.net.