More than a dozen Tompkins County nonprofits participated in the Mental Health and Wellness Fair on May 7 at the Bernie Milton Pavilion in the Ithaca Commons. Thanks to the kind and compassionate souls who are working so hard to support mental health in our community! Gratitude to Josephine Gibson and the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County for hosting this opportunity to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month 2022.
The Tompkins County Legislature passed a resolution a year ago to support the Zero Suicide Model, calling on local healthcare and behavioral healthcare providers to follow the model’s systematic clinical approach to preventing suicides.
Members of the Cayuga Health Partners Care Coordination Team
Cayuga Health Partners, a Physician-Hospital Organization comprising more than 40 medical practices and 200 physicians and a leader of healthcare delivery in Tompkins County, pledged to become a “Zero Suicide Champion” with the goal of implementing the suicide prevention model in our local healthcare network.
That pledge was made during a June 2018 meeting of the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition, formed in 2017 by more than 30 community-based organizations. Others announcing their commitment included Cayuga Medical Center, Tompkins County Mental Health Services, Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County, Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service, Cornell Health of Cornell University, and Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca.
The Zero Suicide Model involves a foundational belief that suicide deaths for those engaged in the healthcare system are preventable. It is clear that safer suicide care is in the best interest of our patient population. I know for myself and my team, we all want to go to bed at night knowing we’ve done everything in our power to support the well being of the communities we serve.
The case for Zero Suicide is compelling. The New York State Office of Mental Health has released data showing that an overwhelming number of those who die by suicide are often already engaged in health systems. More than 80 percent of people who die by suicide have had health care visits in the prior 12 months—often more recently than that. These findings are consistent with national data.
Making the commitment to become a Zero Suicide Champion was the easy part. Now, utilizing the specific strategies and tools available free of charge to practices and providers nationwide through the Zero Suicide framework, Cayuga Health Partners is working to prevent suicides while improving the care for those who seek help.
Cayuga Health Partners is working in collaboration with Ithaca’s Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in an effort to encourage individual practices and providers to embrace the Zero Suicide Model. In the fall of 2018, we launched a series of Lunch & Learn events featuring presentations about the model by SPCS Executive Director Lee-Ellen Marvin. To date, more than 60 percent of the primary care practices in the network have opened their doors to the presentations and discussions about the role they can play in suicide prevention. Members of Cayuga Health Partners have also played a role in supporting our partner organization, Cayuga Medical Center, in its own implementation of the Zero Suicide Model.
Cayuga Health Partners (formerly called Cayuga Area Plan/Preferred) is a partnership of the Cayuga Area Physicians Alliance (CAPA) and Cayuga Medical Center. Our network mission is to unify member organizations in the pursuit of high quality, accessible, and cost-effective healthcare for the population of patients we serve. In efforts to accomplish this, Cayuga Health Partners is a physician-led, physician-driven effort combining evidence-based best practices and innovative data collection technology in a way that aligns physician incentives and community partnerships to drive improvement in clinical quality.
Emily Mallar is the director of Care Management at Cayuga Health Partners
[If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.]
Community mental health stakeholders representing 18 organizations on Monday declared suicide a “serious public health concern” and pledged to intensify suicide prevention efforts in Ithaca and Tompkins County.
Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center New York
The call to action, known as The Watershed Declaration, was adopted by acclamation at the close of a meeting of leaders from Tompkins County, the City of Ithaca, non-profit organizations, and the campuses of Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College.
The Watershed Declaration stated as follows:
“We the assembled mental health stakeholders of the greater Ithaca community and Tompkins County recognize suicide as a serious public health concern. Today we renew our commitment to suicide prevention and pledge to intensify efforts toward saving lives and bringing hope to those struggling with suicide thoughts or affected by suicide loss.”
Lee-Ellen Marvin, executive director of the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in Ithaca, praised the call to action. “I was excited and moved to see leaders from different parts of our social service community together in one room, thinking about and committing to suicide prevention,” she said. “There is indeed a public health crisis, and the way to prevent suicide is with awareness, vigilance, and the willingness of all parts of society to commit to this effort.”
Addressing the gathering at The Watershed in Ithaca, Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center New York, announced plans to convene a “key stakeholders” meeting in June with the aim of establishing a suicide prevention coalition in Tompkins County.
Lloyd-Lester explained that suicide is increasingly seen as a public health problem rather than just an issue to be handled by an individual and their therapist.
“Operationally, that means we can all play a role in helping individuals who might be struggling with thoughts of suicide, to help keep them safe,” said Lloyd-Lester. “Seeing the folks here today it is really reflective of this idea that suicide is everybody’s business. That is the mantra that the state talks about: suicide prevention is everybody’s business.”
Sharon MacDougall, Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health Services in Tompkins County, welcomed the state’s initiative. “Suicide prevention efforts in Tompkins County are strong and need collaboration among all our agencies, providers, and groups like The Sophie Fund,” she said. “A Suicide Prevention Coalition will help bring these efforts together in close collaboration—providing a unified and passionate Tompkins County voice advocating zero suicides in our county.”
Monday’s meeting was organized by The Sophie Fund, which advocates for improved mental health for young people in the greater Ithaca area.
Garra Lloyd-Lester, associate director of the Suicide Prevention Center New York
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