2019 Awareness Day Final Report 2019_ADay_FinaReport_FINAL_pages | Page 22

suicides and care for people with suicide-related
behaviors. IHS also has:
SUICIDE PREVENTION
AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN AND
ALASKA NATIVE POPULATIONS
“Factors that protect Native youth and young adults against
suicidal behavior include a sense of belonging to one’s culture,
a strong tribal and spiritual bond, the opportunity to discuss
problems with family or friends, feeling connected to family and
culture, as well as positive emotional health.”
— REAR ADMIRAL MICHAEL TOEDT, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Health Service, HHS
The Indian Health Service, an agency within HHS, is the
principal federal provider and advocate for health care
services in tribal communities. At Awareness Day, Rear
Admiral Michael Toedt shared what the agency is doing
to prevent suicide among American Indian and Alaska
Native (AI/AN) populations, which currently have the
highest rates of suicide of any racial or ethnic group in
the country.
First, Toedt explained, IHS created the National Suicide
Prevention and Care Policy to guide clinicians at IHS
facilities in standards of care so they can help prevent
• Partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs
to focus on the needs of AI/AN veterans within
urban, rural, and tribal communities;
• Collaborated with the National Action Alliance
for Suicide Prevention on a task force devoted to
suicide prevention efforts in AI/AN communities;
• Provided eight grants to tribes, tribal organizations,
and federal facilities to apply the evidence-based
Zero Suicide model to further the goal of preventing
suicides in AI/AN communities;
• Implemented best practices at the local level,
focusing on suicide prevention among AI/AN youth
and young adults; and
• Established the IHS Telebehavioral Health Center
of Excellence in partnership with the University
of New Mexico Division of Community Behavioral
Health to provide high-quality culturally competent
telebehavioral health services for patients across
the Indian health system.
Toedt shared an example of how telebehavioral health
services through an IHS clinic recently helped a Native youth
experiencing behavioral issues at school. The telebehavioral
health provider arranged a four-way televideo session that
included: 1) the youth and his mother at the IHS clinic; 2) staff
and administration at the youth’s school; 3) the father, who
was several states away; and 4) the telebehavioral health
provider. The session negated the need for a seven-hour
roundtrip drive to the mental health care provider.
“Everyone came together to support the youth, but also set
clear expectations that everyone agreed to,” Toedt said. “For
the youth, it was a very clear demonstration of all those who
cared about him working together to support and nurture
him.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT SUICIDE PREVENTION
EFFORTS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES:
https://youtu.be/9kngz_9Oqq8
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2019