Strong BRAIN Insitute In the News

Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University announced Friday a new partnership that will establish a first-of-its-kind institute to promote the awareness and empirical study of adverse childhood experiences, otherwise known as ACEs.  ACEs are considered traumatic experiences, such as abuse, neglect and family dysfunction that can disrupt the safe, stable and nurturing environments that children need to succeed and thrive. ACEs can have lasting effects on children as they mature into adults, leading to adulthood disease, disability and social impediments. Studies have found the more adverse events a person experiences as a child, the higher the risk of that person having health, social and economic problems. 

The Strong BRAIN (Building Resilience through ACEs-Informed Networking) Institute will facilitate the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices that prevent, reduce or mitigate the negative effects of ACEs on health and health disparities. The institute will also work to inform the citizenry and workforce in the Appalachian Highlands on the importance of being trauma informed. 
“Some groundbreaking work on the study of ACEs is already being done right here in the Appalachian Highlands, and we hope the creation of this institute will make our region the national hub for future study of the effects of adverse childhood experiences,” Ballad Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine said. 

“From the beginning, Ballad Health leadership has recognized the importance of studying how ACEs shape our children as they grow into adulthood, and one of our primary goals with the Strong BRAIN Institute is to develop effective interventions and techniques to better the health, happiness and wellbeing of our children.” 

Established through a five-year gift from Ballad Health to ETSU, the Strong BRAIN Institute will be guided by an advisory board comprised of ETSU experts, Ballad Health experts and community members. “We cannot thank Ballad Health enough for once again stepping up to offer this gift that will not only bring additional national recognition to ETSU, but this institute will truly benefit the people of this region, both directly and indirectly,” ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland said. “When Ballad Health and ETSU came together to form the Strong BRAIN Institute, one of our main strategic objectives was to ensure this research center serves as a resource regionally, nationally and even internationally on the study of adverse childhood experiences and the social determinants it can have on health.” 

The institute will be guided by an advisory board of community members and experts from ETSU and Ballad Health. Ballad Health has already committed $15 million to support the ETSU Center for Rural Health Research over a 10-year period. In addition, Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine said Ballad has set aside about $2 million to $3 million for the Strong BRAIN Institute over a five-year period.  Levine said a child’s brain is developing during the first three years of its life, and when basic developmental building blocks like parents, good nutrition, and family support aren’t present, a child’s brain is being hardwired to defend itself.  “Those are really good instincts for a child to protect themselves, but they carry that into adulthood,” Levine said. “And if that isn’t addressed and it isn’t minimized, you’ve created another generation of somebody who is going to lose hope. And if you want to close the gap in terms of health disparities, racial disparities, this is how you do it.” 

During the news conference, Noland announced that Dr. Wally Dixon, who currently serves as chair of the ETSU Department of Psychology, will serve as the founding director of the Strong BRAIN Institute. The Strong BRAIN Institute’s objectives include: 
1) Developing a certificate program and other educational programs to promote trauma awareness and resilience.
2) Developing a plan for transforming ETSU policies, procedures, and philosophies to better align with promoting resilience and ACEs mitigation 
3) Consulting with other community agencies for transforming their policies, procedures, and philosophies to better align with promoting resilience and 4) ACEs mitigation
5) Promoting, coordinating, conducting, and spotlighting ACEs-related research and service collaborations
6) Promoting, coordinating, and spotlighting ACEs-related collaborations with multiple community sectors, such as those focused on healthcare delivery, education, business innovation, and faith-based initiatives 
7) Providing infrastructural support for ACEs-related grant applications and grants management
8) Providing consultation on ACEs-related topics throughout the community and beyond.