October 2014

Due to technical difficulties during the presentation, we do not have an original recording. However, Dr. DeMont has graciously re-recorded the presentation. Click link to view: DeMont – Trauma’s Toll on Health.

When Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Indiana looked deeply into the results of their Community Health Needs Assessment they witnessed a powerful connection between adverse childhood experiences and longer-term health problems. In the data, it was apparent that the more people experienced trauma when they were young, the more likely they were to face long-term health effects. That correlation provided the impetus for an innovative approach to offering a chance at better long-term health to thousands of underserved residents.

Margo DeMont, PhD, shared Memorial Hospitals’ efforts, originally pioneered by Drs. Vincent Felliti and Rob Anda of Kaiser Permanente and Drs. Bruce Perry and Jeffrey Brenner, to build a trauma-informed community through several innovative programs, including the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acute Trauma Incident Processing (ATIP) and Memorial BrainWorks. These efforts have helped expand the reach of services to underserved populations and identify the barriers at every age to wellbeing.

Dr. DeMont is the Executive Director of the Community Health Enhancement division of Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana where she is deeply engaged in serving the most at-risk, vulnerable populations. Prior to joining Memorial Hospital, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in geropsychology at the University of Notre Dame. She is a National Board Certified Counselor, Certified Gerontological Counselor, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Distinguished Education Alumni Award recipient of Indiana University South Bend, and has completed a Healthy Communities Fellowship with the Health Forum/American Hospital Association dedicated to older adults’ development and growth, “From Aging to Sage-ing.”

View a list of related materials here. 

View a recent interview Dr. DeMont did with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation here.

Click here for a PBS NewsHour special on how one program in Kansas City, MO is helping address the effects of childhood trauma.

Read a recent post on the program here.