Suicide is a major public health issue in the United States. Approximately 32,439 lives were lost to suicide in 2004. In Indiana, suicide is the fourth leading case of death among those Hoosiers between the ages of 15 and 54 according to 2005 statistics.
It is estimated that there are 1,000 suicides per year among our veterans receiving care in the VA and 5,000 suicides per year among all veterans. Male veterans are twice as likely to die by suicide then those men who are non-veterans. The number of US Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993.
In light of these striking facts, the Veterans Administration has created a national system-wide suicide prevention plan that is intended to provide proactive strategies for identifying, screening, assessing, referring, tracking, and treating veterans at risk. It is anticipated that this coordinated prevention program will reduce the likelihood of attempted and completed suicides.
The VA Northern Indiana Health Care System has two Suicide Prevention Coordinators: Ms. Sarah Pettice, LCSW and Ms. Jennifer Baran-Prall, LCSW. Their role is to track and case manage those veterans who are identified as being high risk. They also provide both internal as well as community education to promote awareness of suicide risk factors and crisis management skills. They are involved in program improvement to promote the development of effective programs for the veterans as well as ensuring a safe physical environment for veteran's care. They also case manage consults from the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
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