The New York State Suicide Infrastructure Project's (NYZIP) population of focus is adults aged 18 and older served by the 13 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in the NY State CCBHC Demonstration Program. NYS is seeking to use CCBHCs, vital access providers that serve an ultra-high-risk population, as a primary vehicle for increasing access to best practice suicide care across the state. NYS will soon increase the number of CCBHCs from 13 to 39, to serve approximately 200,000 individuals. The purpose of the project is twofold: 1) to reduce suicide attempts and and deaths among adults aged 19 and older in the 13 CCBHCs; and 2) to establish CCBHSs as the "backbone" of the state's ZS infrastructure using a center of excellence model. Building on the strengths of CCBHCs, including peer support and targeted care management services, the approach will include universal suicide-specific screening, a comprehensive suicide risk assessment for those at-risk, and enhanced services using a suicide care management pathway with attention to health equity throughout. The proposed NYZIP project goals are:
Goal 1: Create a behavioral health infrastructure within the NYS CCBHC system to improve sustainability and scalability of suicide care.
Goal 2: Support CCBHCs in the full implementation of the ZS model: Lead, Train, Identify, Engage, Treat, Transition, and Improve.
Goal 3: Ensure health equity principles are integrated into the ZS framework by employing culturally based engagement strategies and cultural humility in services.
Goal 4: Reduce suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths among adults aged 18 and older in the 13 NYS CCBHCs by operationalizing the ZS model.
Each NYZIP goal has a set of measurable objectives identified by timeframes. We estimate that approximately 50,868 unduplicated individuals will be served annually during each of the five years of the project.