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September is National Suicide Prevention Month
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Greetings from NAPNAP Partners/The Alliance the Alliance to Prevent Youth Suicide (APYS)
September was first declared National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in 2008. Since then, this month has been a time each year to focus prevention efforts on a leading cause of death among young children, adolescents and young adults. NAPNAP Partners encourages all families, communities, and health care providers, including pediatric-focused APRNs, to heighten their awareness of this issue and strengthen their skills in suicide prevention.
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Youth Suicide is a Preventable Cause of Death
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth from 10 to 24 years, and the fifth leading cause of death in children from 5 to 12 years of age. Although many who attempt or die from suicide are not receiving mental health treatment at the time of the attempt, most have seen a primary care provider during the year before the attempt. NAPNAP Partners for Vulnerable Youth, through its Alliance to Prevent Youth Suicide (APYS) initiative, is committed to providing all pediatric-focused APRNs with the latest information and skill development on suicide screening, assessing children and youth who screen positive, developing safety plans, increasing protective factors and decreasing risk for suicidal youth. Read More
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Suicide Prevention Tools and Resources
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NAPNAP Mental Health Resources
NAPNAP Partners’ parent organization, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, provides a wealth of information and resources on suicide prevention and mental health on its website:
Mental Health Facts
Behavioral and Mental Health Resources
PedsCESM Courses
Moving Toward Upstream Prevention: Comprehensive Approaches to Address Youth Suicide - Alarmed about increasing numbers of young people contemplating or attempting suicide? Learn evidenced-based approaches to preventing this tragic loss of young life. Taught by APYS Champions Laura Searcy and Katie Erdlitz, attendees of this session will leave with increased knowledge, tools and resources to assist in addressing this critical issue.
Mental Health Crisis in America's Youth: Answering the Call - Almost half of high school students reported that they felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, and many have no access to behavioral health care. Uncertain of how to handle this influx in your primary care setting? Learn how to assess and respond to anxiety, trauma, depression and suicidal ideation by taking this course taught by Beth Heuer, Pamela Lusk and Naomi Schapiro.
NAPNAP Cares Course Collection – Free to NAPNAP members, NAPNAP Cares was developed in response to the pediatric mental health crisis in the United States. Taught by experienced member experts who will discuss the evaluation, diagnostic decision making, and initial- and ongoing- management of a variety of mental health conditions and health promotion and anticipatory guidance.
Rollout of 988 Emergency Number
July 2022 saw the rollout of the national 988 mental health emergency hotline, which links callers to the nearest mental health crisis helplines and ultimately to trained mental health teams to support suicidal youth and other individuals facing a variety of mental health emergencies. As of May 2023, 988 received over 5 million contacts, including 1 million Veterans, 2.6 million calls, over 740,00 chats and 600,000 texts. Lifeline 988 uses the caller's area code to send the call to a local hotline, if available, or to a backup system. States are responsible for local hotlines and service referrals, and response rates vary from 55% to 98%, depending on the location.
Learn more about 988 by reading an informative article by APYS Champion Shawna Sisler.
American Academy of Pediatrics Blueprint
NAPNAP endorsed the American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention, which includes direct screening of all children ages 12 and up and selected screening and assessment of younger children.
ASQ Toolkit
The National Institute of Mental Health offers a Youth ASQ, Ask Suicide-Screening Questions, toolkit with informative resources and available downloads for health care providers and families in various languages.
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The Alliance to Prevent Youth Suicide – a NAPNAP Partners Initiative
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Our Vision
We envision a society where all youth are valued and heard for exactly who they are and where they receive the necessary resources and support to flourish.
Our Action Plans
We aim to promote safety for youth at risk for suicide by:
- Providing pediatric-focused advanced practice nurses with the knowledge and skills to optimize prevention, screening, intervention, management, support, and referral of youth struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviors
- Promoting suicide prevention strategies that increase awareness and access to mental health supports, increase safety, and decrease access to lethal means
- Collaborating with strategic partners to increase awareness and build resiliency in the home and the community.
Our Strategic Priorities – Two-Year Tiered Implementation
- Education and Evidence-based Practice
- Strategic partnerships
- Advocacy and Policy
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Meet the Alliance to Prevent Youth Suicide Champions
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Champion Co-Chair – Amee Moreno, DNP, APRN, CPNP PC/AC
Champion Co-Chair – Naomi Schapiro, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC
Champions –
Katie Erdlitz, DNP, CRNP, CPNP-PC, PMHS
Stephanie Evans, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC
April Fortenberry, CPNP-PC, PMHS
Laura Searcy, MN, APRN, PPCNP-BC, FAANP
Shawna Sisler, PhD, MS, MA, MAPP, APRN, C-PNP-PC
If you are interested in volunteering, email Eileen Arnold-Ley at earnold@napnap.org.
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Articles by Partners and Champions
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Searcy, L. & Lusk, P. (2022). 2022 Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention: An Urgent Call to Action for All Clinicians. JNP Journal for Nurse Practitioners. 18(9), P927-928.
Cottrell, D., Gonzalez, J., Atchison,P., Evans, S., & Stokes, A. " Suicide risk and prevention in LGBTQ+ youth". Nursing 2022: February 2022 - Volume 52 - Issue 2 - p 40-45
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Show Your Support - Donate
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Do you want to help our efforts to prevent youth suicide? To increase the success of our programs and initiatives, we need your help. Please donate an amount of your choosing to our fundraising campaign. Proceeds will benefit the Alliance for Children in Foster Care, the Alliance for Children in Trafficking, and the Alliance to Prevent Youth Suicide. Your donations go directly to help engage and equip advanced practice nurses and other health care providers across the country to effectively respond to these vulnerable populations!
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Facebook Fundraiser
Do you have a birthday or other special event coming up? Create a Facebook fundraiser and ask your friends to support NAPNAP Partners. Your generosity will be much appreciated!
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NAPNAP Partners Founding Members - Thank You For Your Support!
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National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Academic Pediatric Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Nurse Practitioners
American Nurses Association
American Organization of Nursing Leadership
American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association
Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Children’s Hospital Association
Emergency Nurses Association
HEAL Trafficking, Inc.
National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Illinois
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
National Association of School Nurses
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
National Student Nurses’ Association
Organization for Associate Degree Nursing
Partnership for Male Youth
Pediatric Nursing Certification Board
School-Based Health Alliance
Shared Hope International
Society of Pediatric Nurses
National, state and local organizations focused on improving the health and safety of vulnerable children are welcome to become a partner of NAPNAP Partners. There are no fees or dues to become a partner.
*Founding Partners: Please send your organization’s updates to info@napnappartners.org and we’ll be happy to include them in future newsletters.
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