Oak Ridge Today

ORNL-Veterans Affairs collaboration targets veteran suicide epidemic

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An Oak Ridge Team recently sped up a computer model that helps predict veteran suicide risk. (Image credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL)

 

Submitted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

More than 6,000 veterans died by suicide in 2016, and from 2005 to 2016, the rate of veteran suicides in the United States increased by more than 25 percent.

Suicide prevention is the highest priority for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—so much so that in recent years, the VA has started using predictive models and advanced informatics (the study of information processing; computer science) to identify at-risk veterans.

One model of this type is called the medication possession ratio algorithm. It creates individualized summaries of veterans’ medication patterns, such as which medications a veteran is prescribed and how often those prescriptions are filled. The model helps clinicians pinpoint veterans with inconsistent medication usage patterns. These veterans are known to have a higher risk of attempting suicide in the next month.

In a collaborative project with the VA, a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has taken the model and engineered the expanded version of it to run 300 times faster, gaining an unprecedented acceleration that might have a profound effect on the VA’s ability to reach susceptible veterans quickly. [Read more…]

Roane State to screen suicide prevention film ‘The S Word’ on Thursday

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Roane State Community College is participating in Suicide Prevention Awareness Month with a variety of events, including the screening of a highly acclaimed documentary titled “The ‘S’ Word.”

“Unfortunately, right now you hear so much about suicide,” Roane State Dean of Students Brenda Rector said. “We lose some 1,000 Tennesseans each year to suicide, and that’s just not acceptable.”

“The ‘S’ Word” will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 20, at the Princess Theatre, which is at 421 North Roane Street in Harriman, and it is free, a press release said.

The public is invited to view the 90-minute documentary, featuring interviews with four people who tried to kill themselves, but survived, the press release said. [Read more…]

Free suicide prevention training at Grace Lutheran on Saturday

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Danielle Roach

Danielle Roach

 

The Grace Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge’s Mental Health Ministry will host a free community program on suicide prevention training on Saturday, July 15, at 10:30 a.m. in the church’s fellowship hall. Childcare will be provided.

Community health practitioner Danielle Roach, through association with the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN), will be the instructor, a press release said. Roach has worked at a community mental health center for the past 16 years. In addition to suicide prevention training, she as taught verbal and physical de-escalation techniques, CPR, and newborn care Safety/CPR classes for the last 12 years at a local hospital.

According to the TSPN website, this training, known as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), is a program designed to teach lay people and professionals alike how to prevent suicide.

Grace Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge. For more information about the program or the Mental Health Ministry, contact the church office at (865) 483-3787.

Suicide prevention training on May 16

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Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis can as well.

As a resource for the community, the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Pastoral Care Team will host a QPR Institute suicide prevention training on Tuesday, May 16, from 6-7:30 p.m. in the church’s Social Hall. This event is free and open to the public. ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike (close to traffic light 2) in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

CONTACT Care Line to bring new film ‘The Listeners’ to Oak Ridge

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Trainee Kortney Rist in the call room at Headquarters Counseling Center., from a scene in the documentary The Listeners. (Photo submitted by CONTACT Care Line)

Trainee Kortney Rist in the call room at Headquarters Counseling Center., from a scene in the documentary The Listeners. (Photo submitted by CONTACT Care Line)

 

Special one-time screening of a new documentary about suicide hotline volunteers; screening requires 80  tickets to be sold by Thursday, April 27

CONTACT Care Line will be hosting a one-time screening of “The Listeners” in Oak Ridge on Thursday, May 4.

“The Listeners” follows a cadre of new volunteer trainees in crisis and suicide prevention as they learn to answer suicide hotlines, a press release said.

“Through their eyes—and more importantly, their ears—the film examines mental health and suicide prevention strategies, volunteerism, and the life-saving power of empathy,” the press release said.

The event includes a brief introduction to the work of CONTACT Care Line and concludes with a 15-minute opportunity for questions.

The film is being screened through Tugg.com, a platform that helps organizations to host screenings in their local theaters. Tickets can be purchased at www.tugg.com/events/the-listeners-xxbt. [Read more…]

CONTACT Care Line volunteer wins national award

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Doris Jolley

Doris Jolley

 

A longtime volunteer for the CONTACT Care Line, an East Tennessee crisis intervention resource, was recently honored with a national award for outstanding contributions, a press release said.

Doris Jolley, a CONTACT volunteer for more than 43 years, was awarded the Spirit of Contact Award given by the National Association of Crisis Center Directors and Contact USA following their annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, last fall. The award is the highest given by the organization and recognizes Jolley’s supreme commitment to serving community members in crisis, the press release said.

Having completed the newly implemented CONTACT training course, Jolley was accredited to take calls on the brand new Oak Ridge Contact Helpline in October 1973. Since then, her service to the organization has continued without interruptions, the press release said. Over the years, Jolley has served the organization in a variety of roles: crisis line volunteer, scheduler of volunteers, mentor to new volunteer recruits, as well as executive director for 16 years. Since 2009 alone, Jolley has logged more than 4,000 hours of service. [Read more…]

Suicide prevention the focus of Aug. 22 training

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Scott Payne of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, or TSPN, will offer a free one-hour gatekeeper training program for all who want to learn more about suicide prevention on Saturday, August 22, at Grace Lutheran Church. The church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The presentation, which is titled “Addressing Suicidal Ideation and Behavior,” will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the church fellowship hall. Free child care will be provided.

The training is appropriate for anyone who may come in contact with a person who is having suicidal thoughts and wants to help that person choose life, a press release said.

In information provided by Payne, he noted that the training is a customized version of the evidence-based, best practice “Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR)” suicide prevention training and that it will enhance each participant’s awareness of their values, attitudes, and beliefs regarding suicide. [Read more…]