(This article is about suicide. If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.)
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County has begun the process to establish a Suicide Fatality Review Board.
Suicide is responsible for an average 16 deaths a year in Wood County – with firearms accounting for 65% of those deaths.
The Wood County Health Department and Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services are teaming up to create a review board that will study local suicide deaths in hopes of coming up with preventative actions.
Rachel Aeschliman, director of nursing at the health department, recently reported on the proposed suicide review board to the Wood County Board of Health. She explained the county already has a board that reviews child fatalities.
Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison will be presenting the proposal to the Wood County Commissioners. If approved, Robison would be the chairperson of the review board, which will include people representing public health, law enforcement, physicians and Wood County ADAMHS.
“They are very interested in moving forward on this project,” Aeschliman said of WCADAMHS.
By setting up a Suicide Fatality Review Board, Wood County will be committed to participate in a state suicide data program.
“This is a piece of the puzzle,” Aeschliman said.
“We will be able to tackle and address what we’re seeing here locally,” Robison said.
Board of Health President Nilgun Sezginis voiced her concerns about the effects of proposed federal funding cuts for Medicaid, which helps lower income individuals access mental health care.
“What’s going to happen with that?” Sezginis asked.
A year ago, Tyler Briggs, head of the epidemiology division at the health department, presented information about local suicides.
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in Wood County and is responsible for an average of 16 deaths per year, Briggs reported. Many more individuals consider or take steps to end their lives. Young adults were at the highest risk, followed by youths between 10-18. Men account for over 70% of suicide deaths in Wood County. The main method of suicide is by gunshot.
Briggs also reported on mental health information gathered during the Wood County Community Health Assessment in 2021. That data showed:
- 12% of adults reported feeling sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row, 3% contemplated suicide, and 3% attempted suicide.
- 10% of adults who looked for a mental health program could not find one.
- 3% of adults didn’t get care because of long delays to get an appointment.
“Some of these percentages seem small, but they really aren’t,” Briggs said, putting those numbers in perspective.
For example, that means about 16,000 local residents reported feeling depression for an extended period of time, 500 attempted suicide, and about 13,000 couldn’t find mental health services.
In addition to using data from the community health assessment and county vital statistics, Briggs said he also made some “cold calls” to facilities providing mental health services locally.
It was not uncommon to be told that the wait time for therapy is six months, Briggs said. And health insurance coverage often doesn’t help with the costs of telehealth mental health visits, he added. Briggs presented the following information:
- The number of Wood County people who were treated annually after attempting suicide or talking about suicide grew from fewer than 300 in 2015, to more than 700 in 2023.
- Individuals aged 20-24 are the most identified age group for suicide ideation followed closely by those 10-19.
- Females make up 55% of suicide ideation healthcare visits in Wood County.
- Since 2019, males account for 73% of suicides in Wood County, until 2023 when suicides were equal in numbers for males and females.
- Drug related suicidal ideation encounters have increased since 2015.
- From 2019-2023, Wood County suicides are most often committed by firearms, with guns accounting for 65% of suicides, followed by 24% by suffocation, 5% by overdose, and 5% by other trauma.
- Overdoses included the use of anxiety medication, opioids and insulin. All the suicides by overdose were females.
- 80% of the firearm suicides were males.
Suicide death data included in this report is based off of county of residence. Reports provided by Wood County Vital Stats include suicides based on county of death.
Suicide prevention is complex and requires a comprehensive approach. Some evidence-based methods of prevention include:
- Mental health education to understand and identify the signs of distress, involving Question Persuade and Refer (QPR).
- Access to mental health care by reducing barriers like cost, cultural sensitivity, and staff capacity.
- Restricting access to lethal means such as firearms and medications.
- Community-based intervention programs and support networks.
- Follow-up and aftercare for individuals who survive a suicide attempt, with immediate Wood County Health Center behavioral health consult and scheduling.
Resources:
• Unison Crisis Stabilization Unit: 419-352-4624
• Suicide Prevention Hotline:text 4HOPE to 741741
• National Suicide Hotline: 988
• Wood County Crisis Line: 419-502-4673 (HOPE)
• Children’s Resource Center (18 and younger): 419-352-7588
• Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 Press 1 or text 838255
• The Trevor Project (LGBTQ): text START to 678678
• Harbor Connection Center: 419-354-4200
• Wood County Suicide Prevention Coalition
