(Omaha, NE) -- Children’s Hospital & Medical Center receives a federal grant to help prevent suicides in children.
Children's says they are one of 16 recipients nationwide for the Preventing Youth Suicide: A Cardinal Health Foundation National Collaborative grant. The collaborative is a partnership with Children’s Hospital Association, Cardinal Health Foundation and the Zero Suicide Institute at the Education Development Center. Children’s says it was awarded $100,000 to implement a framework, committing to a system-wide transformation to better care for children at risk of suicide.
The program is the first national collaborative intended to develop a pediatric-specific approach to address the youth mental health crisis and improve suicide care in children’s hospitals and health systems using data-backed strategies to identify and care for youth at risk for suicide. Youth across America are facing mental health challenges at alarming rates that have been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. National data demonstrates that one in five U.S. children report having experienced a mental health condition in a given year. In 2021 alone, children's hospitals across the country reported a 45% increase in the number of self-injury and suicide cases in 5- to 17-year-olds compared to the same period in 2019.
“Children’s is committed to improving pediatric mental health care and taking action to save and improve young lives,” said Children’s President & CEO Chanda Chacón, MPH, FACHE. “We all carry a responsibility to prevent suicide, especially among our most vulnerable populations. We are honored to partner with this national collaborative to strengthen mental health resources and reduce youth suicides locally, regionally and nationally.”
Children’s will receive $50,000 annually over two years with the grant, which Children's says was awarded following a highly competitive selection process. “CHA is proud to partner with Cardinal Health and the Zero Suicide Institute to help children’s hospitals improve care for children experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Amy Wimpey Knight, president of CHA. “Preventing Youth Suicide’s aim is to identify and treat children thinking about suicide who may otherwise slip through the cracks in our health care system. In short, this collaborative will help save lives.”