A Necessary Conversation on Youth Suicide

Recently, WBT, George Fox University, Oregon Association of Student Councils, Providence St. Joseph Health, and Youthline hosted a necessary conversation on youth suicide.

The event featured a discussion of health, hope, and opportunity with mental health specialist Dr. Justin Coffey. You can access the presentations from the event, local training seminars, and additional resources for school administrators, students, and other community members here.

In 2015, Dr. Justin Coffey published “Perfect Depression Care Spread: The Traction of Zero Suicides” in the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. In the article, he chronicled the diffusion of the Henry Ford Health System Perfect Depression Care initiative that was founded and led by his father Dr. Ed Coffey. He went on to describe how he led the spread of the Zero Suicide approach into both general hospital and primary care settings.

Dr. Coffey aimed to achieve breakthrough improvement in quality and safety by completely redesigning the delivery of depression care using the 6 aims and 10 new rules set forth in the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report Crossing the Quality Chasm. He and the Henry Ford Health System team developed a clinical protocol, enhanced their training and carefully measured their progress.

In 2012, when medical leadership from Magellan Health approached Dr. Coffey to learn more, he generously shared these easily replicable tools and encouraged adaptation and adoption. These principles of innovation have been core components of the viral spread across multiple countries.