Challenge

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2018, over 47,000 people died by suicide. Research indicates that 84% of these people saw a health care provider in the year before their death; almost 40% visited an emergency department but did not receive a mental health diagnosis; and 19% contacted a mental health system in the month before their death.

A core responsibility of health care systems should be high-quality, evidence-based treatment that ensures the safety of those at risk of suicide. Zero Suicide aims to prevent suicide for patients under care. It includes the Zero Suicide Toolkit and a robust framework that transforms health care systems. EDC’s Zero Suicide Institute provides training and consultation to advance the use of Zero Suicide around the world.

Key Activities

  • Provide tailored consultation to health care systems that are launching or expanding Zero Suicide
  • Conduct intensive training, including Zero Suicide Academies, to support implementation teams
  • Offer training for clinicians on conducting risk assessments and using best practices to manage clients’ risk for suicide
  • Contribute to tools used by health systems to launch and monitor their Zero Suicide efforts
  • Collaborate with key suicide prevention stakeholders to advance implementation of Zero Suicide  

Impact

  • As of early 2020, 38 Zero Suicide Academies have taken place nationwide, with approximately 1,520 attendees from 516 health care systems.
  • As of early 2020, more than 70,000 health and behavioral health professionals have completed Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR) training.

Learn More

Zero Suicide Institute at EDC
:
PROJECT DIRECTOR
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DURATION
2015–Present
FUNDED BY
Fee-For-Service