Not only is suicide risk management challenging for healthcare personnel, but it becomes an increasingly difficult task with space demands in the ED and shortages of healthcare workers.  It is imperative now more than ever that hospital risk managers identify the right preventive measures to take and have in place to possibly avoid such events.

During this 90-minute webinar, revisit your plan and listen to real world examples from presenters Lauren Ball, LCSW, BCD and Michelle Buckman, RN, MSN, who will give you practical management strategies you can use today to refine your suicide risk assessment program and overcome implementation challenges.  In addition, specific interventions will be discussed to manage suicidal patients who present in the Emergency Department, with the escalating shortage of beds in healthcare facilities.

Learning Objectives:  

• Discuss the prevalence and top root causes of suicides.
• Describe the elements of performance for TJC National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) related to suicide.
• Implement tools to identify key risk factors in patients at risk for suicide.
• Discuss the management of suicidal patients, including assessments, triaging, safety contracts, and safety precautions. 
• Describe the essential staff competencies, documentation, and practices required when caring for patients at risk for suicide, including providing crisis information for patients and families.

Bonus Tools:

• Risk Screening Tool
• Sample Crisis Numbers Wallet Card 
• Staff Competency Checklist

Target audience:

• Risk managers 
• Patient Safety Officers
• Quality Improvement Managers
• Facility supervisors 
• Social workers 
• Case managers 
• Nurses
• Hospital administrators

Level: All Levels

Meet Your Experts:

Lauren R. Ball, MSW, LCSW, BCD, is the author of Suicide Risk Assessment: Practical Strategies and tools for Joint Commission Compliance, and is the director of social services and director of youth services at Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine. As director of youth services, she has primary responsibility for a 29-bed inpatient unit for children and adolescents, as well as partial hospital and intensive outpatient mental health and dual diagnosis programs for approximately 60 outpatient youth and their families. In addition, she serves on the Behavioral Health Advisory Committee for California Hospital Association and is a member of the California Society for Clinical Social Work.

Michelle Buckman, RN, MSN is a psychiatric clinical nurse specialist working as a consultant to the Loma Linda University Medical Center Emergency Department. She assists emergency department staff in assessment, treatment, and disposition of the psychiatric patient in crisis. Michelle worked on a task force appointed by the Emergency Nurses Association to improve national policy and standards of the care of psychiatric patients in emergency rooms. She serves on a multi-county team to examine and improve care of the psychiatric patient in the community. In addition Michelle is an Assistant Professor at the Loma Linda University School of Nursing teaching lecture and clinical skills in community Mental Health.

Participation:

Each listener participates in the continuing education activity by listening to the webinar and completing the online post test and evaluation.

Accreditation Statement:

AHC Media is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Credit Designation:

This activity has been approved for 1.5 nursing contact hours using a 60-minute contact hour. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # 14749, for 1.5 Contact Hours.

Sponsor:

The sponsor of this educational activity is AHC Media.

Recorded: Thursday, December 15, 2011