Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, may lead to poor outcomes later in life. When a child is shot or beaten, for instance, it increases the likelihood that he or she might develop substance-use or eating disorders in adulthood.

With that in mind, leaders in the Kansas City area have banded together to launch an initiative called Resilient KC, which has brought community members together to help battle childhood trauma and prevent those long-term health issues that can arise from such ACEs.

We recently spoke with Herb Kuhn, president and CEO of the Missouri Hospital Association, who along with his Kansas counterpart produced a report on possible ways that hospitals can intervene to help address ACEs. Kuhn talks about how he first became interested in ACEs and why he finds these data so alarming. He also offers advice for other hospital CEOs on how to begin implementing interventions in their service areas.

[For more on this story by Marty Stempniak, go to https://www.hhnmag.com/article...s-in-missouri-kansas]