Suicide is a human crisis in America.
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death nationwide and rising.
- About 45,000 suicide related deaths nationwide in 2016, almost 10,000 more than in 2005.
- One death every 12 minutes.
- Men die by suicide three and half times more often than women.
- Women attempt suicide two more times often than men.
Here in Rhode Island, suicide is attacking our young adults.
- In 2015,129 suicide deaths.
- In 2015, 290 opioid overdose deaths, of which some are believed to be suicide deaths.
- Second leading cause of death for ages 15 to 34 years old.
- Almost five percent of adults report having serious thoughts of suicide.
- Ten percent of high school students have attempted suicide.
What is Zero Suicide?
The Zero Suicide Initiative asks health and behavioral health providers to adopt the patient safety philosophy of proactively addressing preventable medical errors that is embraced in other areas of medical treatment. The bold, aspirational goal of this initiative is zero suicides for individuals in Butler’s inpatient and partial hospital programs and for 30 days post-discharge. Butler Hospital is creating a patient safety net that will start within the hospital and eventually integrate within community-based care and the homes of family and friends of those at risk for suicide. It is a significant task that will be years in the making, and we are up for the challenge.
Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) | Michael Hogan, PhD, Zero Suicide in Health Care
What are we doing at Butler Hospital?
- Providing treatment that is based on the most current research.
- Creating a team of suicide researchers and hospital clinicians to help guide changes .
- Helping all our staff understand the risk factors of suicide and share suicide prevention resources.
- Training our clinicians in evidence based interventions .
- Developing a common language for all staff to use to describe suicide risk.
And, Butler Hospital has set a goal of zero suicides among patients receiving inpatient and partial hospital treatment and for 30 days post discharge.
We can reduce suicide deaths by all working together on this important goal. Read about last year’s A Masterpiece of Hope event which raised more than $80,000 to support the launch of this initiative.