Ã山ǿ¼é

Increased stressors brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as quarantine, isolation, food insecurity, finance-related anxiety, and employment changes, are driving demand for behavioral health services.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, a companywide event featuring a panel of Ã山ǿ¼é experts, titled "Real Talk – Mental Health Knows No Bounds," focused on improving the whole health of Ã山ǿ¼é’s workforce, enabling them to better care for our members. The frank and genuine discussion focused on managing overall well-being, supporting loved ones experiencing challenges, how to access behavioral health care and resources, and how Ã山ǿ¼é is caring for members' mental health needs.

Beyond improving the holistic health of Ã山ǿ¼é's workforce, our nation's healthcare system is strengthening suicide prevention efforts in primary care settings, a critical sector of the healthcare system. Approximately 45% of individuals who died by suicide visited a primary care provider in the month before their death — making primary care appointments a crucial opportunity to assess risk and intervene.

Recognizing the devastating prevalence of suicide, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) and Concert Health have led the most significant effort in history to engage primary care providers in suicide prevention training. In 2020, with support from Ã山ǿ¼é, the ACU expanded the Suicide Safer Care program to train more than 1,700 primary care providers and staff to better meet the needs of patients in crisis. The program and a related toolkit included evidence-based practices for suicide prevention in primary care, including screening, assessment, and intervention techniques.

A recent white paper outlines the Suicide Safer care program's evidence-based approaches to identify and care for those at risk of suicide.

ÌýOpen a PDF of the full white paper, titled "SUICIDE PREVENTION IN PRIMARY CARE: TRAININGS FOR PRIMARY CARE CLINICIANS AND THEIR TEAMS: 2020-2021" (PDF)

Ã山ǿ¼é's commitment to behavioral health, including suicide prevention, is aligned with our holistic health and wellness focus. Learn more about community partnerships focused on whole-person care and recent .