Project Zero | Suicide Prevention Action Team

The Suicide Prevention Action (SPA) team is a Tri-County effort that includes representatives from public health departments, healthcare, physical and mental healthcare systems, veterans’ services, school districts, identify-based organizations, nonprofits and local suicide prevention groups.

Mission

Engage Tri-County community suicide prevention stakeholders to create a culture of connection and collaboration to reduce suicides and increase our collective knowledge of evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention.

Vision

Zero suicides in the Tri-County

The SPA team is the action arm for tracking and advancing Tri-County Death Review teams suicide prevention recommendations. Through this work, the SPA team serves as the bridge between insights gained from suicide death reviews and the community action needed to prevent future tragedies.

Prevention Recommendations:

Prevention Training:

Ensure QPR (Question Persuade, Refer) training is provided for family court officers.
Implement targeted suicide prevention education initiatives for key community stakeholders, including District Attorney’s offices, employers, faith leaders, and primary care providers.
Continue to promote Zero Suicide’s framework as the leading evidence-based best practices for suicide prevention within healthcare systems to enhance patient safety and outcomes.
Ensure medical staff have the training in the proper administration of screening instruments to support clinical decision-making and the early detection of suicide risk.
Promote and expand access to Mental Health First Aid and QPR trainings to equip community members with the knowledge and skills to recognize and respond effectively to mental health challenges.

Lethal Means Safety:

Dispensing smaller quantities of medications for individuals with a history of dependence.
Non-opening or windows with bars on upper floors in public buildings.
Increase and promote the number of mental health professionals trained in CALMS (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means).
Safety Plans should contain a section on lethal means safety.
Explore barriers (such as fixed or collapsible bollards, gates and signage) to reduce vehicles entering bodies of water through boat launches/ramps.
Support families by providing safe medication disposal options, including drug deactivation pouches and medication lock boxes or bags (available via local public health vending machines), and by exploring medication management strategies such as pharmacy-dispensed pill packets.”

Improved Systems Communication:

Implement Zero Suicide’s suicide safe care protocols to ensure timely follow-up between an emergency department visit and next medical appointment for individuals presenting with suicidal ideation.
Ensure that community-based residential facilities and group homes have a suicide warning signs checklist for staff to identify individuals displaying warning signs such as lack of belonging and feelings of burdensomeness.
Coordinate with immigrant serving organizations (i.e. World Relief) to provide adults with an orientation on local resources that include introduction to law enforcement and first responders to promote help seeking-behaviors in times of concern.
Release of information consent forms for information sharing between healthcare providers and systems.
Case management for patients with complex care needs such as those with chronic/physical health challenges, substance use challenges, mental health and other high-risk categories and comorbidities.
Medication management post inpatient discharge and prior to visit with established care provider.
Streamlined communication between school systems and healthcare systems to provide wrap around care when a minor is admitted to the emergency department for a suicide attempt.
Create internal processes of engagement and outreach for high-risk patients in psychiatry that cancel or no show for appointments.
Automatically call the Victim Crisis Response team to the scene of a suicide death so that suicide loss resources can be left with families; additionally provide funeral homes with Victim Crisis Response referral information.
Lethal Means Safety Checklist for Probation and Parole officers- Completed in Winnebago County- Oshkosh Police Department, expand and implement usage in all Tri-County police departments.

Education and Awareness:

Opportunities for support and awareness of impact on Mental Health through divorce and other court proceedings.
Promote education within healthcare providers on sleep wellness and identification of insomnia as a significant suicide risk factor.
Culturally informed suicide prevention and education on culturally specific risk factors.
Education for employers: Educate Human Resource Departments on mental health resources and referrals.
Education for employers: Provide employees with information regarding leave policies and parameters of leave.
Prevention education for healthcare providers regarding the increased risk of suicide with multiple attempts.
Education and awareness of the increased risk of psychosis for adolescents with cannabis use.
Education for workplace Human Resources on the importance of providing resources to retirees to include social support groups to aid in the transition to retirement.
Education for those seeking recovery that mental health symptoms can worsen/increase for a time after a substance is removed and the importance of working with a provider through recovery.
Education on suicide risk and warning signs for employers of 3^rd shift employees, those in the food/beverage industry, or jobs with non-livable wages.
Provide families with education on suicide risk and warning signs, lethal means safety and additional resources for adult children that have moved back home following a release from an institution.
Begin education on substance use disorders at an earlier age in school systems, consider programming for parents/guardians that includes stories of those with lived experience.
Increased knowledge and understanding around the role of neuropsychological testing to understand and identify correlations between traumatic brain injuries and suicide and overdose deaths.

Postvention Care:

Postvention care for all family/household members, especially when multiple deaths have occurred within a family.
Postvention care and resources for individuals experiencing a loss while incarcerated.
A policy for healthcare systems to provide postvention care and resources to behavioral health providers that lose a patient to suicide.
Provide follow-up with suicide loss resources to families.

Stigma Reduction:

Foster a compassionate “reach in” approach- proactively connecting with and supporting individuals who may be struggling with mental health but are hesitant to seek help.

Policy Change:

Increase funding to increase the number of available inpatient mental health beds regionally.
Mental Health Peer Support Navigators embedded into all work systems and with after-hours availability.
Establish parameters within the criminal justice system for garnishments and include repayment options to limit the financial burden on an individual in recovery.
Review the State of Wisconsin Chapter 51 Settlement agreement language to identify potential improvements in outcomes related to enforcement or an identified course of action for those with a history of noncompliance.
Change the age of consent for mental health treatment without parental consent to age 14.
Extension of employer provided benefits for a period of time following retirement or termination.
Policies for higher education institutions to ensure students have access to mental health and substance use resources and care.

Access to Care and Resources:

Expand and deepen the role of peer support specialists to provide stronger social support for individuals who are not thriving.
Increase availability of accessible, inclusive and substance-free social opportunities to support resilience, belonging and community health.
Provide assistance in navigating essential services and basic needs systems, including housing, healthcare and food access, to promote overall well-being.
Recommend referral for a substance use assessment when marijuana is a repeated part of patient’s history.
Identify services and resources that are outside of our geographic area that may provide assistance that cannot be found locally, such as group homes that provide both mental health and substance use help.
Creation of Community Care Teams for individuals with serious mental illnesses. Care teams generally consist of a medical provider, a case manager, a family member or support person, and other professionals, depending on individual needs).
Provide safety planning for individuals experiencing chronic pain.
Promote public safety industry specific resources, such as “The Guardian” wellness app for law enforcement and first responders.
Create directory of clinicians trained to serve specific populations or industries, such as law enforcement.
Healthcare, law enforcement and other systems of care conduct ACE’s screening to identify risk factors and inform needed supports and resources.
Explore the role of Mental Health Navigators to identify potential capacity for targeted outreach and engagement efforts for individuals that struggle with following through on recommended services and treatments.
Expand the Zero Suicide Lethal Means “Safe-Guard Your Home” resource to include more ways to stay safe at home with consideration of suicide risk and warning signs.
Establish a process for healthcare providers to maintain and annually distribute up-to-date information on community resources and free support groups.
Provide intensive wraparound services for patients with complex needs— including mental health conditions, substance use, early childhood trauma and other comorbidities— to help achieve stability.
Mental Health Therapists offer an opportunity for a supportive person to attend a psychoeducational session along with the individual in treatment.