Battelle Partnership to Increase Local Suicide Research

Friday, July 14, 2017

DATE: JULY 5, 2017
TO: ALL LOCAL MEDIA
FROM: DENNIS PFRIMMER, CEO
CAPITAL AREA COUNSELING SERVICE, INC.
605-224-5811

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Capital Area Counseling Service (CACS) announces a new suicide research partnership. In 2014, there were 42,704 deaths by suicide and 469,096 documented cases of self-harm in the United States, which represents a significant increase over the 32,439 deaths by suicide and 425,650 cases of self-harm in 2004 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

In 2016, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) contracted with Battelle, a nationally known research group, to develop a clinical quality measure focused on suicide prevention. CACS is now partnering with Battelle to gather information on the barriers and facilitators to engaging clinicians in suicide prevention interventions. The specific question CACS will be assisting in answering is, “What percentage of patients 18 years or older with a positive risk assessment (i.e. determined to be at heightened risk of suicide) received a same day shared-decision making safety plan?”

CACS Clinicians, during July, will be completing surveys of their safety planning process and will ask those identified clients to voluntarily do the same. The results of this survey will be given to Battelle for compilation and analysis. Jennifer Gray, LCSW at CACS states, “This tool will allow CACS to assess and improve the care we provide to those individuals who are at risk of suicide and to support the national research to better understand suicide and what can prevent it.” Dennis Pfrimmer, CEO adds, “We are happy to be a part of this nationwide research. Preventing suicide is a very important to us. It’s our number one priority at Capital Area.”

Categories: Press Release

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