Becker's Hospital Review

90 90 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Kaiser hopes to improve childhood mental health across 25,000 US schools: SVP Dr. Bechara Choucair explains new partnership By Kelly Gooch O akland, Calif.-based Kaiser Perma- nente is seeking to address trauma and stress in schools through a new part- nership with the Alliance for a Healthier Gener- ation and Discovery Education. Together, the three entities aim to tackle those issues and promote social emotional wellness as part of a Resilience in School En- vironments, or RISE, initiative. ey said the initiative will provide resources for school staff, teachers and districts to support student mental health and to better address their own social and emotional wellness needs. eir goal is to eventually reach 25,000 U.S. schools. Here, Bechara Choucair, MD, senior vice president and chief community health officer for Kaiser, discusses the reasons for the part- nership and its goals. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity. Question: What prompted the part- nership? Dr. Bechara Choucair: To help us scale this vi- sion for RISE, we need the right partners to help bring this initiative to as many schools as we can more quickly. Kaiser Permanente specifically sought out leaders in the field who could help us create the best quality materials and inter- vention and reach the most schools nationally. rough the consultation and backing of Kai- ser Permanente and the educational resourc- es, training and tools of Healthier Generation and other key partners, RISE is positioned to build resilience in the school communities it serves, leading to reduced educator burnout and foster the development of confident, hap- py kids who excel socially, emotionally and academically. RISE is unique in its focus on teachers and school staff to address their spe- cific social and emotional wellness needs. e Alliance for a Healthier Generation has extensive experience developing and imple- menting child health-focused best practice frameworks and processes in school settings. And Discovery Education is a global leader in standards-based digital content with the largest professional learning community of its kind. Together with our partners, we believe that RISE can help make a school a healthier, more resilient environment for everyone on a national scale. Q: What will the partnership look like? What will Kaiser's role be? BC: RISE was developed as part of Kaiser Per- manente's riving Schools initiative, our all-in engagement to improve health for students, staff and teachers. As the lead partner for RISE, Kai- ser Permanente provides resources and consulta- tion for the initiative. Together with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, we developed the RISE Index, an online school and district assess- ment tool with detailed questions encompassing five broad areas, to plan and support social and emotional health policies and practices. e RISE Index leverages an online Healthier Gener- ation Action Center and learning platform with content tailored for teachers such as understand- ing, identifying and addressing ACEs [adverse childhood experiences] and self-care. We will partner with Discovery Education to build and broadcast learning modules and re- sources for schoolteachers and staff professional development into their existing digital educa- tional offering that will be available at no cost to all schools nationwide. e virtual learning platform will include development modules to help educators become more trauma informed, inspire them to engage in wellness, and build a community of advocates. e learning modules are in development currently with expert input from Kaiser Permanente and other national leaders in trauma informed schools and are ex- pected to launch later next year. e Alliance for a Healthier Generation deliv- ers both on-site and virtual programming for RISE. All these schools, regardless of support model, engage with and access RISE through e Action Center by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the one-stop-shop for all things RISE — including the RISE Index assessment tool, resources, virtual learning curricula and more. Q: What specific resources will schools receive? BC: Districts or individual schools begin with the RISE Index — an assessment tool that pro- vides a measurable, actionable framework and removes the guesswork out of social and emo- tional planning. It also looks at the environ- ment from a whole-school perspective, so that action plans are more effective and sustainable. e action plan is custom-made for a district's or school's unique needs. Support can come in the form of on-site partners, or virtual resourc- es that help implement and deliver results. Both on-site and virtual support can be ac- cessed via the Healthier Generation Ac- tion Center, which includes the RISE Index, customized tools and e-learning resources. Healthier Generation's team of virtual and on- site program and content managers support and guide schools through these processes. And via Discovery Education's digital plat- form, teachers and staff can access learning and video modules to help improve their wellbeing as part of a professional develop- ment curriculum. Q: When and where will the initiative start? BC: e RISE Index is currently being used by 600 schools across 37 states in the first few weeks of availability. RISE is targeting more than 200 on-site schools across our seven regions in the initial launch this year and will be reaching hundreds more virtually. is expansion is possible due to our partnerships with Discovery Education and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Q: What is the overall goal with the initiative? BC: RISE helps create healthier schools. We believe that schools are a building block for our communities and that there is a strong connection between health and education. Our overall goal with RISE is to support stu- dents and school employees so they feel good when they're at school, they know how to access the help and resources they need, and the right policies and practices are in place for everyone to succeed. is is not about just adding mental health resources, it is about changing the school environment itself. We hope to bring RISE to as many students as possible long term. As with any evidence-in- formed initiative, we will aim to gather data as RISE is implemented in schools and dis- tricts nationwide and reassess our goals and strategies accordingly. n

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