CONTACT:
Barbra A. Gonzalez, Associate Director, 954-262-5354
Mara Kiffin, Assistant Director, (954) 262-5350
Elizabeth Ninomiya, Coordinator, (954) 262-5309
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2004
NSU SUPPORTS ‘SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY' IN FLORIDA
Governor,
Legislature Focus on Suicide Prevention As NSU Researchers Publish
Guide for Schools
FORT LAUDERDALE , FL — The Health Professions Division of Nova Southeastern
University (NSU) is pleased to support Governor Jeb Bush and Mrs. Bush's
proclamation of “Suicide Prevention Day” on March 23, 2004 . Two bills,
Senate Bill 2042 and House Bill 897, have been introduced into current
the Florida legislative session to create and support a statewide office
for Suicide Prevention which will help decrease the incidence of suicide
in the Sunshine State .
NSU's Institute for Child Health Policy Youth
Suicide Prevention Prototype Program, funded by the Governor's Office
of Drug Control - Drug Free Community Program, has created a comprehensive Youth
Suicide Prevention School-based Guide . The planning guide is
a tool designed to provide accurate, user-friendly information. It
is not a program, but rather provides a framework for schools to assess
their existing or proposed suicide prevention efforts, and resources
and information that school administrators can use to enhance their
existing programs.
“Youth Suicide – as stark as the words sound, this phenomenon reflects
a silent epidemic too frequently ignored except by those who have been
devastated by it. Youth Suicide is a critical but under-reported and
under-treated public health crisis,” said Dr. Deborah Mulligan-Smith
, Director of Institute for Child Health Policy at NSU and President
of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Florida Chapter). “Working together
with the Florida Mental Health Institute at University of South Florida
, we have created a guide that can help schools detect certain risk
factors and hopefully prevent suicides from occurring in our youth.”
Using the guide, a school completes a series of checklists to help
evaluate the adequacy of its suicide prevention programs, and then
it can review a series of issue briefs corresponding to each checklist.
Every brief offers a rationale for the importance of certain topics
and proven strategies that help reduce the incidence of suicide, as
well as references that schools may explore in greater detail.
“The suicide rate in the State of Florida is high compared to that
of other states. We hope ‘Suicide Prevention Day,' the legislation
that has been introduced in the House and Senate, and this new guide
for schools help attract people's attention to the importance of this
issue and the profound impact it has on our state,” continued Dr. Mulligan-Smith.
To download a copy of the guide go to http://cfs.fmhi.usf.edu/StateandLocal/suicide_prevention
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