University Health earns Trauma-Informed Care certification
Today University Health received its formal certification as a Trauma-Informed organization, the first major health system to earn this designation.
The designation shows that University Health has undergone an organization-wide transformation in the way we approach care. It marks more than five years of work to meet local trauma-informed care (TIC) standards internally.
“From the beginning of our Trauma-Informed Care journey more than five years ago, University Health has been committed to both becoming a trauma-informed organization, and to serving the community through education and training,” said University Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bryan Alsip. “Our Institute for Trauma-Informed Care has educated groups and individuals locally and across the country, and today we celebrate University Health’s internal Trauma-Informed Care certification, which further validates our TIC approaches that benefit patients and staff.”
From recharge rooms to partnering physicians and counselors: it takes many steps to achieve Trauma-Informed designation
It takes an enormous amount of work for such a large organization to truly earn this designation. To earn the Trauma-Informed Care designation requires looking at every aspect of the care we deliver and the way we interact with patients and one another. This ranges from providing “recharge rooms” for exhausted nursing staff to take a break in a private space – a welcome introduction during the pandemic – to including a counselor when a doctor has to deliver difficult news to a rehab patient and their family.
“The big difference for me is that when the physicians have the hard conversations with our patients, I’m in the room with them now,” said Katie Palmer, a licensed professional counselor. Having that extra emotional support makes all the difference for a person navigating a tough situation, Palmer said. “Or, sometimes a family member has reacted with a lot of emotion, and I’ve been able to pull them out of the room and have a conversation with them.”
Achieving certification also meant reviewing and updating language in policies and procedures, and documenting everything.
“The certification process involved submission of documentation supporting more than 100 requirements, as well as site visits showcasing how we apply Trauma-Informed Care in settings ranging from clinics to business offices,” said Sarah Sebton, University Health’s director of Trauma-Informed Care. “This certification represents a commitment to taking better care of our patients and team members by acknowledging what they’ve been through and helping them heal.”
Helping other organizations become trauma-informed
Most people have experienced trauma in life. To be trauma-informed means we approach care – and each other – with sensitivity and the understanding that we don’t know what others may have experienced.
Five years ago the South Texas Trauma-Informed Care Consortium, including University Health, began collaborating on a plan to create a unique, community-wide training and certification process. No other program in the country that we’ve been able to find offers this community-wide approach. It’s available to any organization that wants to take the steps toward certification, no matter what type of service they provide.
Our part was to establish the training arm – our Institute for Trauma-Informed Care.
Brenda Garcia-Rattenbury, the institute’s director, said, “What we’re trying to teach is compassion at the very beginning. It shouldn’t be ‘What’s wrong with you,’ it should be ‘What happened to you?’”
The training helps people understand that “it’s not trauma that you can see on the outside,” Garcia-Rattenbury said. “In the end we’re going to learn that there’s a story behind everyone that makes them who they are.”
University Health set out to earn the certification simultaneously, setting a high bar for ourselves, providing training and supportive programming to thousands of employees and looking at every aspect of our organization, right down to the language in our policies.
“Congratulations to University Health on achieving their Level 1 Trauma-Informed Care Certification," said Mary Beth Fisk, president and CEO of The Ecumenical Center, which serves as the certifying body for TIC Certifications in Bexar County. "This important milestone underscores their commitment to treating every individual they serve with dignity and a thoughtful, compassionate approach.”
Trauma-informed care can be applied by anybody, in any setting. This community approach is unique to Bexar County, and provides an opportunity to change the culture by adding this simple awareness to the way we view each other. And we at University Health, the first major health system to earn this designation, take it especially to heart, because it’s long been our mission to provide compassionate care to everyone. Being trauma-informed gives us another way to better carry out our mission.
