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Monday, January 30, 2012

mental health Study Ranks Idaho Suicide Rate Fourth in Nation

Posted by George Prentice on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 9:08 AM

In a troubling report out today, Idaho is ranked fourth in the nation when measuring suicide rates in 2009.

The study from the American Association of Suicidology said Idaho's 2009 suicide rate of 19.7 per 100,000 population was far higher than the national average rate of 12.0. Only Montana, Alaska and Wyoming were ahead of Idaho. Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and Utah rounded out the Top 10.

"The ranking is higher than we've experienced," said Kathie Garrett, chairperson of the Idaho Council on Suicide Prevention, pointing to a 2008 study that ranked Idaho as sixth in the nation.

The council, along with the Suicide Prevention Action Network, Veterans' Services Administration, Idaho State University and the Idaho National Guard have been working to re-establish a suicide prevention hot line for Idaho, which was closed in 2006 after loss of funding.

"Our goal is to raise at least two years' worth of funding so we can be assured that a hot line would not be opened one year and closed the next," said Garrett. "We want to be sure that when Idahoans call the hot line, the telephone is answered."

Tags: suicide, Idaho Council on Suicide Prevention, American Association of Suicidology

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

NAMI / mental health Where all the shrinks are average

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 10:44 AM

Another report out yesterday (lateblogging again) ranks Idaho just about average for provision of mental health services.

But that's not saying much. The United States as a whole gets a D for our mental health "system" and Idaho also gets a D, up from F a few years ago. But as the National Alliance on Mental Illness points out, state budget cuts here and across the nation threaten to make mental health services even more difficult to access, and in these crazy times, more and more people are seeking help.

The NAMI report praises Idaho's criminal justice community for embracing mental health courts and approves of community collaboration grants, which are currently on the cutting room floor at the Legislature. Idaho still needs work with long term planning, more in-patient beds (an in-patient facility in Boise just closed) and more training.

Idaho contracted a special report last year to examine how the Department of Health and Welfare handles mental health services. You can read it here, or, if you can wait until next Wednesday, you can read a full examination of one segment of mental health services here by a brand new, clean shaven Boise Weekly freelancer.

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