Monday, April 28, 2025
4/28/2025
Valley Health Winchester Medical Center COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Project (WMC-SP) - Valley Health (VH) submits this proposal to establish safer suicide care by transforming its Winchester Medical Center Emergency Department (WMC ED) to more effectively identify, treat, and transition people with suicide and domestic violence (DV) risk. This project will fill critical service gaps – access to brief prevention interventions, validated risk assessment, suicide-specific treatment, transitional psychiatric care, safer care transitions, and enhanced DV services – in hopes of turning the tide of suicide risk and loss in our region post COVID-19. The WMC service region (80.8% White; 13% poverty; 17% uninsured) has among the highest suicide rates in Virginia (13.7-19.0), an alarming rate of substance-related deaths, and a documented shortage of mental health professionals. WMC will leverage grant support to better serve the target population (adults 25 and over) by improving suicide awareness and identification, expanding access to evidence-based suicide and DV care, and promoting suicide prevention (SP) throughout its region. Key project initiatives include: 1) increasing access to brief SP and DV interventions; 2) establishing an outpatient treatment service for people with suicide and DV risk; 3) enhancing suicide-specific treatment in acute care clinics; and 4) increasing psychiatric services during care transitions. WMC projects it will provide 20,000 unduplicated suicide/DV risk screens and 900 interventions/treatments over the project period. Grant funds will be used to train staff in EBPs, hire for key clinical positions, underwrite the cost of services for individuals who are under/uninsured and for services that are not reimbursable (e.g., care transition), and promote SP awareness and training to relevant community agencies. SAMHSA funding will allow WMC to meet the following goals and objectives: Goals: 1) Expand access to suicide and DV care through system transformation and workforce training to systematically identify, engage, treat, and transition people with suicide and DV risk using EBPs; 2) Raise awareness and promote a coordinated community response to SP and DV care across the service region; and 3) Use evaluation to improve project performance and impact at consumer, workforce, organizational, and local/regional levels. Objectives (summarized): 1) Improve policies and practices in support of sustainable SP and DV care; 2) Train 80% of staff in SP and DV EBPs; 3) Meet 100% adherence to risk screening, follow-up, and safe housing and 80% adherence delivering the indicated assessment/ intervention; 4) Provide SP and DV care to 900 unduplicated individuals both in-person and via telehealth; 5) Activate state and regional agencies to develop a comprehensive, coordinated response to SP; 6) Develop relationships and referral agreements with community support services leading to a community support resource guide; 7) Provide community agencies with SP training; 8) Continuous project improvement; and 9) Assess project impact on suicide attempts and deaths.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).