Upcoming Webinar:

The Zero Suicide Approach to Postvention in Health and Behavioral Healthcare Settings

Thursday, December 8, 2016 | 2–3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Join the Suicide Prevention Resource Center for the next Zero Suicide webinar, which will focus on how health and behavioral healthcare organizations respond following a patient suicide death.

A patient's death by suicide in health and behavioral healthcare organizations can have a significant impact on family members, other patients, and staff. It may be even more destabilizing or demoralizing in systems where significant changes to improve suicide care have been implemented.

Optimal postvention practices in health and behavioral healthcare organizations include immediately supporting the family, other clients, and staff; conducting root cause analyses; and embedding policies and protocols supporting postvention actions into the organization's operations. Consistent with a Zero Suicide framework, leadership should ensure that policies and practices promote an organizational response that is consistent with a just, no-blame culture that remains focused on continuous quality improvement in the aftermath of a patient suicide.

Participants will hear from healthcare leaders and experts who will discuss key components of an organization-level postvention plan. They will explore considerations for supporting patients, staff, and the community, and continuing to provide quality care. In addition, a clinician survivor will share her perspective on what she felt was supportive after experiencing a patient suicide.