Nurse’s Tragic Loss Gives Greater Meaning to New Suicide Screening Program

Suicide has become the 2nd leading cause of death for children, adolescents and young adults ages five to 24-years-old, with kids suffering chronic pediatric illnesses experiencing an increased suicide risk.

In an effort to raise awareness and help prevent future tragedies, Blythedale Children’s Hospital is marking National Suicide Prevention Month in September by introducing its Suicide Prevention Screening and Risk Assessment Safety Plan.

“We have children who are often here for a month, sometimes even longer, and so there’s much more opportunity for things to come up, like thoughts of wanting to hurt themselves,” said Scott Klein, M.D., M.H.S.A., Blythedale’s Chief Medical and Clinical Services Officer.  “So now, for any child that is admitted, we do an assessment which is a simple screening to identify those who may need extra support.”

This major initiative will teach Blythedale clinicians how to utilize preventative measures to identify warning signs and prepare next steps for pediatric patients at risk for suicide throughout all levels of Hospital care, including Inpatient, Day Hospital and Long Term Care units.

Its inception arose from the realization that Blythedale was not immune to the growing health threat of suicide, and experiencing what was happening in the media, schools and to Hospital staff or their family members.

“I think Blythedale’s always been ahead of other hospitals, on the forefront of bringing new tools in, and mental health and suicide prevention is definitely a top priority,” said Suzanne Bartlett, B.S.N., R.N., C.P.N, Director of Employee Health, PALS and BLS.

In May, Suzanne’s 25-year-old son, Peter, was taken by suicide.  It was a heartbreaking loss felt by their family, friends and the entire community at Blythedale Children’s Hospital.

“Everybody knows somebody who’s had mental health issues and we just need to get rid of the stigma because what happened to Peter matters, every single person that suffers from this matters, and together we can make a difference,” said Suzanne.  “This new program is going to be very helpful and will make a tremendous difference.”

Blythedale’s Suicide Prevention Screening and Risk Assessment Safety Plan will go into effect in the fall of 2018.

 

Learn more about Suzanne's story and this lifesaving program: