What is Zero Suicide?
Zero Suicide is a framework for safety and quality improvement in heath care, rooted in the belief that suicide deaths among people receiving care in health systems are preventable. Established in 2012 by national experts in suicidology and public health, the framework’s name reflects an aspirational goal and bold challenge to hospitals, primary care, behavioral health providers, and public health agencies. Rising rates of suicide in Colorado and across the country demonstrate the urgent need for a more robust approach, and Zero Suicide offers a conceptual framework for health systems to implement evidence-based strategies and continuously improve performance.
Learn more about this national model at https://zerosuicide.edc.org
Colorado’s Approach
With support from the state legislature and the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) began work on a statewide Zero Suicide strategy in 2017. Adapting the seven-element framework Zero Suicide applies to individual health systems, this approach combines targeted funding for framework implementation in pilot health systems, telephonic follow-up services for people transitioning out of hospital treatment, clinical training, and collaborative learning and community-building efforts led by the OSP.
Join Zero Suicide Colorado
All Colorado health systems are welcome to join monthly learning collaborative discussions, explore training and networking opportunities, and connect with the OSP about challenges and opportunities in suicide prevention. Please email Conlin.Bass@state.co.us to learn more and get involved.
For exclusively hospital systems participating in the Health Quality Incentive Program (HQIP), please see this Workplan Template to guide your implementation effort and satisfy HQIP requirements.
Getting Started
Zero Suicide Organizational Self-Study
Looking for a place to start your implementation? Are you a year or two into your Zero Suicide implementation and interested to see how far you’ve come and gather information about potential next steps?
The Organizational Self-Study will help you understand where your organization stands in providing safer suicide care across all 7 elements. It’s a great tool to use annually.
Visit the link below to learn more and get started!
After seeing where your system stands, you can make a plan to transform and improve its suicide care via implementing the Zero Suicide framework! Check out the Work Plan Template to start setting goals and mapping out the progress of the initiative.
You can access the Work Plan Template via the following link:
Learning Collaborative Resources
The OSP hosts a monthly virtual Learning Collaborative for health systems on the fourth Thursday of each month from 10 - 11 a.m. These meetings cover a range of topics that can bolster your Zero Suicide implementation efforts, from elevating lived experience in your system to incorporating brief interventions in acute care to improve health outcomes. Come for the opportunity to learn from amazing guest speakers and experts in the field; stick around to be connected with a network of health systems all working together to improve safer suicide care for their patients.
Call for 2024 Zero Suicide Learning Collaborative Meeting speakers
We currently have openings for speakers for the July 2024 through December 2024 meetings. We are particularly interested in presentations with a focus on:
- innovative strategies
- best practices
- equity in action
- ZS framework implementation
- lived experience related to zero suicide initiatives
Are you an expert in research, clinical practice, policy development, or community engagement? Those with diverse perspectives are welcome and encouraged to submit a speaker interest form for consideration.
Speaker interest form
| Month | Topic | Meeting Recording | Slides and Resources Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Suicide, gender, and implications for healthcare | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) |
| February 2024 | Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Timeline of Events and Policy and Implications for Suicide Prevention | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) |
| March 2024 | Suicidality Among High-Risk Youth presented by Fully Liberated Youth (F.L.Y) | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) Presenter Training (PDF) |
| Month | Topic | Meeting Recording | Slides and Resources Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2023 | Trauma-Informed Care and ZS Implementation | Recording |
|
| February 2023 | Change Management and ZS Implementation | Recording | Saint Mary's Hospital Slides (PDF) Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) |
| March 2023 | Health System-Level Improvements for Healthcare Worker Wellbeing | Recording | MHTTC Slide Deck (PDF) OSP Slide Deck (PDF) |
| April 2023 | Meeting the Mental Health Needs of the Agricultural Community | Recording | |
| May 2023 | Eating Disorders and Suicidality | Recording | Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) Presenter Slides (PDF) |
| June 2023 | Valley Settlement's Alma Program: Considerations for Maternal Mental Health and Peer Support Programs | Recording | Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) Presenter Slides (PDF) |
| July 2023 | Providing Care for Patients Experiencing Chronic Pain, Substance Use, and Suicidality | Recording | Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) |
| August 2023 | Disability, Ableism, and Suicidality in Disabled and Chronically Ill Communities | Recording | Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) |
| September 2023 | Self-Assessment for Modification of Anti-Racism Tool (SMART) | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) |
| October 2023 | ZS Colorado Updates, RFA Release, and Needs Assessment | Recording | Office of Suicide Prevention Slides (PDF) |
| November 2023 | Updates to COMPACT Act and Rocky Mountain Crisis Partner's Follow-Up Project | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) |
| December 2023 | Peer Support and Alternatives to Suicide from the Yarrow Collective | Recording | Presenter Slides (PDF) Presenter Resources (PDF) |
| Month | Topic | Meeting Recording | Slides and Resources Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2022 | These are not normal times; how to be well anyway | Recording | Resilient Colorado Slides — Mental Health & Wellness During a Pandemic |
| February 2022 | Postvention | Recording | NORC at University of Chicago's Postvention Slides OSP's slides |
| March 2022 | National Hispanic and Latino Prevention Technology Transfer Center | Recording | National Hispanic and Latino PTTC Suicide Prevention Resources Learning Collaborative Slides |
| April 2022 | Lessons Learned in ZS Implementation from Centura Health | Recording | Learning Collaborative Slides |
| May 2022 | Zero Suicide Implementation at UC Health | Recording | Zero Suicide Presentation UCHealth 2022 5-25-22 OSP Learning Collaborative Slides |
| June 2022 | Authentic Community Engagement to Build Rapport with Immigrant and Refugee Communities, and Connecting Systems of Care | Recording | |
| July 2022 | Using the Zero Suicide Toolkit at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless | Recording | |
| August 2022 | Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) | Recording | |
| September 2022 | Zero Suicide Learning Collaborative: Suicide prevention in the Construction Industry | Recording | |
| October 2022 | Affirming and Culturally Responsive Care for LGBTQ+ patients, from Envision : You | Recording | |
| November 2022 | Culturally Responsive ZS Implementation | Recording | |
| December 2022 | Professional Well-Being: How to Transform “Self-Care” Initiatives | Recording |
| Month | Topic | Meeting Recording | Slides and Resources Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 25 | Incorporating and Elevating the Voice of Lived Experience |
|
Slides and Resources
|
| March 25 |
Main session: Brief Interventions to Prevent Suicide Dr. Craig Bryan, Breakout: Zero Suicide 101 |
|
Main Presentation Slides
Breakout Slides |
| April 22 | Data Use Agreements with Kirk Bol | Recording |
Slides
Example Agreements |
|
May 27 |
Main Session: Innovations from the Field | Recording | |
| June 24 | LGBTQ+ Provider Training, Steven Haden and Donaven Smith from Envision:You | Recording | |
| July 22 | Learning Collaborative Needs | Recording | |
| August 26 | Empowering Lived Experience- Jess Stohlmann-Rainey | Recording |
Additional Resources
|
| September 23 | Lethal Means Safety, Emmy Betz | Recording | |
| October 28 | Suicide Care Pathway Development, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Spotlight | Recording |
Main Presentation Slides: OSP Slides: Past Presentation Slides: |
| November 15 | Providing Culturally Competent Care for Veterans | Recording |
Main Presentation Slides OSP Slides |
| December 21 | Getting Creative with ZS Implementation | Recording |
JCMH Slides Summitstone Slides OSP Slides |
Archived Meeting Resources
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April 22
March 25
February 25
12-17-20_ Planning for ZS-CO in 2021
11-19-20 Screening in the Suicide Care Pathway
10-22-20_ Systems-Centered Language and LC Pathway Project
9-24-20_ Caregivers, Moral Injury, and Suicide
8-27-20_ Older Adults and Zero Suicide
7-23-2020_ Service Members, Veterans, _ Military Families
6-25-2020_ LGBTQ+ Challenges and Resources
6.25.20 ZS-CO Learning Collaborative Recording
5-28-2020_ Learning from Lived Experience of Receiving Care
May 28, 2020 ZS Learning Collaborative Audio
4-23-2020_ Health Equity in Suicide Prevention
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3-26-2020_ Responding to CoVID Pandemic
2-27-2020_ Collaborative Safety Planning
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01-23-2020_ Safety Assessments