Adopting trauma-informed care, an evidence-based, person-centered approach to care, can help avoid re-traumatization, increase patient engagement, and reduce unnecessary health care utilization for people with trauma histories. Rural locations, however, pose unique barriers to effectively implementing trauma-informed care, which requires system-wide program and policy changes at the organizational and clinical levels.

In rural Pennsylvania, a multi-county collaboration recognized these challenges and formed a trauma-informed care initiative in 2014 to better serve Medicaid members in 24 counties. Nearly 10 years later, this ongoing initiative reflects a successful partnership between Behavioral Health Alliance of Rural Pennsylvania (BHARP), a group of county-based behavioral health and human service administrators, and UPMC’s Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (Community Care), a nonprofit behavioral health Medicaid managed care organization. Their nearly decade-long collaboration offers many lessons for providers, plans, and policymakers seeking to create broader access to trauma-informed care.

This Better Care Playbook webinar, made possible through the Seven Foundation Collaborative, featured presenters from the BHARP-Community Care partnership with experience implementing trauma-informed care across a network of behavioral health and human service providers in rural Pennsylvania.