Carson City, NV January 17, 2017
According to the American Association of Suicidology 2015 Final Data, show Nevada is no longer one of the top ten states reporting high suicide rates. This is the first time that Nevada is not one of the highest top ten states.
The Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) has accomplished numerous goals during its eleven year history. Some of those accomplishments include the implementation of evidence-based practices for screening, widespread training of professionals and community members, and the development of strong partnerships focused on common goals of prevention. From 2006-2016, 73,441 people have had suicide awareness, alertness or intervention skills trainings.
Misty Vaughan Allen, Suicide Prevention Coordinator for OSP said, “We are ready to build on the momentum of this improvement; there is more work to be done. Suicide prevention in Nevada has often relied on developing strong partnerships supporting “grass roots” efforts. We must continue in this direction, working toward an integrated and comprehensive system that enables individuals, families, communities, schools, emergency services and health care systems to talk about suicide and intervene appropriately. The motto for our office has always been, ‘suicide prevention is everyone’s business.’ Our resources for support are scarce, so we must have many diverse paths for help. This will help us to continue moving Nevada’s suicide rate in a more positive and healthy direction.”
Upcoming initiatives include adopting standardized protocols for following up with suicidal patients after discharge from emergency departments and other hospital settings. Another initiative is to utilize syndromic surveillance and partnerships throughout the Continuity of Care for Suicidality Workgroup to recognize and monitor trends in real time and develop a system of follow up care and minimize repeated attempts.
Continuing efforts focus on service members, veterans and their families, school-based screening and training, just to name a few.
For more information about OSP go to http://suicideprevention.nv.gov/.