Sacred Heart - Inspiring Health

IN WISCONSIN, THERE are four times more suicides each year than homicides. It's an epidemic that doesn't discriminate, affecting people of all ages, occupations, incomes, and education levels, with far-reaching impacts on the well-being of communities, families, and our healthcare system. People who consider suicide are distressed and in need of help that is hard for them to request. Mental health and suicide in particular can be difficult for many of us to talk about—creating a chasm that desperately needs to be bridged to save lives. A new method of suicide prevention called Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) helps bridge the gap between those who need help and those who can provide it. SERVING OUR COMMUNITY "QPR is a simple, evidence-based method of suicide prevention built on the idea that we can help each other fix this problem," says Rhonda Brown, Director of Chippewa Health Improvement Partnership and Division Director for 3D Community Health: Body.Mind.Spirit. "The three-step process is easy to learn, and it can save lives." As part of an ongoing campaign focused on mental health, 3D Community Health offers free regular courses teaching QPR to anyone interested. They also offer a gatekeeper course, certifying individuals who want to teach QPR. "We build our programs around the needs of the communities we serve," Brown says. "Mental health is a top health concern in the Chippewa Valley. By teaching QPR, we shed light on and improve awareness of an important issue that affects us all." OFFERING HOPE The basic method of QPR is to question a person, persuade him or her to get help, and refer that person to an appropriate source of help. It's the first step that can be the most daunting—and the most important. "Many people think that bringing up suicide will somehow cause people to start considering killing themselves, but that's just not the case" says Jon Snider, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist with HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital—L.E. Phillips Libertas Treatment Center and HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital Outpatient Behavioral Health. "There's no harm in bringing up the topic, especially if THREE SIMPLE STEPS MAY BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LIFE LOST TO SUICIDE AND GETTING A PERSON THE HELP HE OR SHE NEEDS TO SURVIVE. P ersuade, QUESTION, REFER 4 I N S P I R I N G H E A LT H

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