Skip to content

Zero Suicide Initiative

learn the signs & save lives

WORKING TOWARDS ZERO SUICIDE IN HEALTH AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS

zero suicide initiative

Safe Communities coordinates a Zero Suicide partnership that includes all area health care systems as well as community organizations with a role to play in suicide prevention. 

The initiative is modeled after Henry Ford Health Care System’s program, which demonstrated an 80% reduction in suicide among health care plan members.   

Zero Suicide is a key concept of the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a priority of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance), a project of Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), and supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Safe Communities is not a counseling or crisis center and does not provide direct services. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

OUR APPROACH
START HERE
THE WORK WE'VE DONE
START HERE

the ZS approach

OUR CORE CONCEPTS

  • Suicide deaths for people under care are preventable.
  • Treatment of depression alone will not effectively prevent suicidality.
  • The bold goal of zero suicides among persons receiving care is one that health systems should embrace.
  • The goal requires a system-wide approach involving the broader community.
  • The approach is based on the realization that suicidal individuals often fall through multiple cracks in fragmented healthcare systems.
  • Key areas of focus are means reduction, including eliminating suicide locations within communities.

HOW WE'RE DIFFERENT

  • A Collaborative Safety Plan (formulated by the patient and provider) is completed with every patient experiencing suicidality.
  • This Safety Plan discussion must include “means reduction” (how to eliminate access to guns and other methods of suicide).
  • A “warm hand-off” is conducted, which means a follow-up appointment with an outpatient provider is made while the patient is still in the hospital or clinic.
  • A follow-up phone call is made within 72 hours to patients discharged from the Emergency Room, an inpatient unit or a clinic visit with a Collaborative Safety Plan.

WOULD YOU RECOGNIZE SUICIDE RISK IF YOU SAW IT?

the work we've done

a Community wide Zero Suicide Team

Behavioral health leaders from UW Health, SSM Health, UnityPoint Health, Journey Mental Health, Group Health Cooperative, Stoughton Hospital and the William S. Middleton VA Hospital meet every 6 weeks – 2 months to collaborate on implementation of Zero Suicide.  In addition, each system launched an internal work team to advance Zero Suicide within their organizations.

Exploring Overlap between Suicide and the Drug Overdose Epidemic

September 14, 2017 Safe Communities hosted a Zero Suicide Conference featuring a panel discussion to explore the overlap between addiction and suicide. Recent data suggests that people with substance use disorders are about six times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. One panel member shared her experience with childhood trauma, heroin addiction, suicide attempts and how she came to find recovery.

testimonials

"High level, then dug into the 'how'. This made it very valuable, doesn’t often happen at conferences."
"Excited to implement changes in my private practice."
"I feel energized and am looking forward to sharing this information with my agency – and with my family and friends as well. Thank you."
"Congratulations again on an OUTSTANDING ZS Conference – I was thrilled and honored to be a part of it."
-Ed CoffeyConference Speaker
"Thank you so much for the chance to spend some time with you all this week working on suicide prevention. You all are truly ahead of the game and leaders in this space."
-Becky StollConference Speaker
"As you move this project forward in Dane County … I look forward to our continued collaboration!"
-Brian AhmedaniConference Speaker

Zero Suicide Collaborative Clinical Leaders and Organizational Partners

  • Rachel Edwards, RN, Behavioral Health Nurse Manager, UW Health
  • Meghan Henderson, LCSW, MSW Clinical Practice Leader for Behavioral Health, UnityPoint Health-Meriter 
  • Christina Fearn, RN, Nurse Manager, Behavioral Health, SSM Health St. Mary’s
  • Hannah Flanagan, Director of Crisis Services, and Pete Zellar, Crisis Stabilization, Journey Mental Health Center
  • Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin
  • Alex Smith, Access Community Health Centers

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Safe Communities is not a counseling or crisis center and does not provide direct services. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

RESOURCES

related news

A mother holding her child's hand while they are on a bed, the mother is trying to comfort the child

Explaining Suicide to Children

November 1, 2021

“What should I tell the children?” A question often asked after the suicide of a loved one. The answer – the truth. Many people still believe it is best to

Read More

RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE

Treatment Key

Safe communities has complied a list of abbreviation definitions for finding the right treatment for you.

MAT: Medication for Addiction Treatment.
OP: Outpatient Treatment – person lives at home or in the community, attends. individual and group therapy, these can include or not include MAT.
IOP: Intensive Outpatient Treatment – person lives at home or in the community, attends individual and extended groups, 9-12 hours a week.
Residential: person lives at the facility for a period of at least 14 days, some last as many as 45 days.
PHP: Partial Hospitalization Program is a structured mental health treatment program that runs for several hours each day, three to five days per week.
DBT: Dialectical behavior therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that integrates mindfulness techniques.

TREATMENT FACILITIES
START HERE
OTHER RESOURCES
START HERE