Health Care Providers Encouraged to “Ask the Question” Hamilton County Chosen for Nationwide Program Preventing Veteran Suicide
Hamilton County’s Veteran Suicide Prevention Coalition is encouraging health care providers and community organizations to “Ask the Question” in an effort to better identify military veterans and their families and to prevent suicides among veterans.
Indiana is home to more than 390,000 veterans. Yet the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates more than half of them do not receive health care through the VA system. The Coalition wants to encourage more health care providers to ask, “Have you or a family member ever served in the military?”
“It seems like a simple question, but the conversation isn’t currently happening,” says Kristen M. Ludeker-Seibert, Director of Coordination for A Healthier Hamilton County: Systems of Care and a facilitator of the Veteran Suicide Prevention Coalition. “By asking the question, we’re hoping we’ll be able to better identify Hoosier veterans and service members, screen them for medical or mental health issues related to their service, and provide them with the resources and support they need.”
To that end, the Coalition has begun to plan a number of town hall meetings. Health care providers and community organizations are encouraged to email Ludeker-Seibert at kludeker-seibert@hamiltoncountyphhc.org if they are interested in partnering with the “Ask the Question” initiative. Those who chose to participate will be provided staff training, military member resource sheets, access to military culture training, and aggregate data to track effectiveness of the initiative.
The “Ask the Question” initiative and its sister-program Crisis Intercept Mapping, were designed and developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on behalf of service members, veterans, and their families to help communities strengthen the delivery of evidence-based suicide prevention policies and practices. The program is now up and running in 36 communities throughout the United States. Hamilton County is the first and only Indiana county selected to participate.
“We started noticing an increase in veteran suicides two years ago,” says Jim Ginder, a Health Education Specialist at the Hamilton County Health Department. “We’re thrilled to participate as this program has a proven track record of providing a comprehensive and coordinated approach in creating connections and opening doors for our veterans.”
Members of the Hamilton County Veteran Suicide Prevention Coalition include the Indy Warrior Partnership, Acadia Health, Aspire Indiana Health, the Hamilton County Commissioners, the City of Carmel, the City of Fishers, the Hamilton County Health Department, the Fishers Health Department, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Acadia Health, the Indiana Veterans Association, the Veterans Health Administration, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction, and the Department of Workforce Development.