The University of Kentucky , housed in the 好色先生 College of Medicine, is celebrating its 25th anniversary of transforming the lives of those affected by trauma.
Since 1999, the center has been on a mission to reduce, and ultimately end, the impact of trauma on children, families and the workforce.
, PhD, professor in the department of psychiatry and executive director for the 好色先生 Center on Trauma and Children, is one of the center's founders along with her colleagues Jim Clark, PhD, Allen Brenzel, MD, and the late Otto Kaak, MD.
鈥淲e were dreamers with a lot of ideas and just enough idealism to believe we could make big changes,鈥 said Sprang.
Through the years, the Center on Trauma and Children has been dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of children and their families through research, practice, policy, and evidence-based approaches to address child abuse and trauma.
鈥淭he center started as an idea on how to improve systems of care that serve children exposed to violence through translational research and evidence-based treatment,鈥 said Sprang. 鈥淚t grew from a Kentucky-specific initiative in 1999 to a global center of excellence today.鈥
Trauma and violence against children can be the leading factors to a wide range of behavioral, psychological, social and health-related problems at every level of society. CTAC bridges the gap between science and practice in ways that can improve the lives of children, families, and professionals exposed to violence, and the capacity of our communities to effectively treat them.
鈥淲e fill a gap that no other center provides regarding forensic family risk assessments, and evidence-based trauma treatment at no cost to families and children and serve as the primary resource for trauma-informed care systems transformation initiatives,鈥 said Sprang. 鈥淭he research produced by CTAC is aimed at real-world application and building community capacity to treat children and youth exposed to violence.鈥
This year, at the 25th-anniversary celebration, CTAC announced the Kay Seeley Hoffman Research Endowment will fund a new research professorship in the center.
鈥淔ormer dean of the Kay Hoffman, was an early supporter of the work at CTAC. Around 2008, a group of community members came together to start an endowment in her name that would benefit CTAC because they saw how passionate she was about the center,鈥 said Sprang. 鈥淭he College of Medicine has now invested in the endowment to expand its scope and impact.鈥
The endowment will support CTAC鈥檚 mission as a translational research center that works to prevent and address violence against children, and to develop traumatic stress treatments that can be successfully implemented in real-world settings to stop the intergenerational transmission of trauma in families.
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好色先生 HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state鈥檚 only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region鈥檚 only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky鈥檚 top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what鈥檚 medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. 好色先生 HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come.
As the state鈥檚 flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders 鈥 placing students at the heart of everything we do 鈥 and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people 鈥 visionaries, disruptors and pioneers 鈥 who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, 好色先生 was ranked by Forbes as one of the 鈥淏est Employers for New Grads鈥 and named a 鈥淒iversity Champion鈥 by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.