NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to
the U.S. Department of Justice, suicide is the leading cause of
death in jails, and the suicide rate in prisons continues to
increase. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care
(NCCHC) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
have created an authoritative resource on preventing suicide in
correctional facilities, the Suicide Prevention Resource Guide.
This guide is free and available to the public.
Drawing from both organizations' expertise, with input from
national experts in the field of correctional mental health and
suicide prevention, this guide provides a road map, tools and
resources for navigating the complexities of suicide prevention
within correctional facilities – a serious problem in the United States.
"Research tells us that people in times of transition are at
especially high risk for suicide, and incarcerated people are
particularly vulnerable due to health and situational reasons,"
said Robert Gebbia, CEO of
AFSP.
The nation's largest suicide prevention organization, AFSP,
joined NCCHC's ongoing efforts to reduce suicide among incarcerated
populations as part of its Project 2025, which aims to reduce the
annual suicide rate 20 percent by 2025. AFSP identified the
correctional system as one of four critical areas where evidence
points to saving the most lives in the shortest amount of time.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Guide focuses on three key
areas, with the goal to educate people who work in jails and
prisons on how to better identify and help inmates at risk for
suicide, safely manage those identified as high risk, and provide
consistent, comprehensive training to all involved personnel.
The Guide includes suicide risk assessment principles,
approaches to intervention and treatment, a training curriculum
guide, real-life case studies, and facility design
considerations.
"We greatly appreciate the teamwork that went into the
publication of this guide, and we are especially grateful to AFSP
for their guidance, subject matter expertise, and support," said
Deborah Ross, CCHP, chief
executive officer, NCCHC.
Risk assessment, treatment, and training were identified as
essential elements to effective suicide prevention by a group of
experts who gathered to brainstorm at a series of summits
cosponsored by NCCHC and AFSP over the past two years. The group
included mental health experts from the nation's largest jail and
prison health care providers, thought leaders from jails,
departments of corrections, universities, the federal government,
and leaders from NCCHC and AFSP.
"The collaboration between our organizations and national health
care providers underscores the importance of working together to
tackle the problem of suicide," said Brent Gibson, MD, MPH, CCHP-P, chief health
officer, NCCHC. "It represents a true 'meeting of the minds'
with the potential to save lives."
The Guide is available at ncchc.org/suicide-prevention-plan.
MORE ABOUT PROJECT 2025
Launched in October 2015, Project 2025 is a high-impact,
collaborative initiative developed by AFSP, aimed at achieving the
organization's bold goal of reducing the annual suicide rate 20
percent by 2025. Using a dynamic systems model approach based
on what the evidence tells us about suicide, AFSP has determined a
series of actions and critical areas to help us reach our goal.
With this approach we reach across all demographic and sociological
groups to have the greatest impact for suicide prevention and the
potential to save thousands of lives within the next 10 years. If
we work collectively to expand the above interventions in key areas
(Firearms, Emergency Departments, Healthcare Systems, and the
Corrections System) – cumulatively, we can expect to save nearly
20,000 lives through 2025.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CORRECTIONAL HEALTH
CARE
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care
is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization working to improve the
quality of care in the nation's jails, prisons, and juvenile
detention and confinement facilities. NCCHC establishes standards
for health services in correctional facilities, operates a
voluntary accreditation program for institutions that meet these
standards, produces and disseminates resource publications, offers
a quality review program, conducts educational trainings and
conferences, and offers a certification program for correctional
health professionals. NCCHC is supported by the major national
organizations representing the fields of health, mental health,
law, and corrections. Each of these organizations has named a
liaison to the NCCHC board of directors. For more information, go
to ncchc.org.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION:
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to
saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP
creates a culture that's smart about mental health through
education and community programs, develops suicide prevention
through research and advocacy, and provides support for those
affected by suicide. Led by CEO Robert
Gebbia and headquartered in New
York, and with a public policy office in Washington, DC, AFSP has local chapters in all
50 states with programs and events nationwide. Learn more about
AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on
suicide prevention by following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube.
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SOURCE American Foundation for Suicide Prevention