The Wyoming Injury and Violence Prevention Program (WIVPP) has identified healthcare-based suicide prevention as a priority. Healthcare-based suicide prevention encompasses all policies, procedures, training, treatments, and community collaboration that a healthcare facility engages in to prevent suicide among individuals in the community. In an effort to support healthcare-based suicide prevention, WIVPP provides funds to healthcare facilities in Wyoming through the Healthcare-Based Suicide Prevention Grant and facilitates a bimonthly Healthcare-Based Suicide Prevention Workgroup.
Background
Background
Healthcare facilities in Wyoming face unique challenges, including but not limited to staffing shortages, extensive travel time for some patients, lack of local certified mental health providers to refer to, and lack of adequate crisis care services. Due to these challenges, nationwide frameworks for healthcare-based suicide prevention like the Zero Suicide Framework can be difficult to fully implement.
By providing funding, guidance, and opportunities for collaboration with key partners, WIVPP seeks to support a strong foundation of evidence-based suicide prevention measures in Wyoming healthcare facilities that can build and grow over time. Recognizing the unique challenges of rural healthcare facilities in Wyoming, WIVPP will work closely with key healthcare partners to improve healthcare-based suicide prevention in the state in small, actionable increments that are feasible for the organizations involved. This grant opportunity, along with the newly created Healthcare Suicide Prevention Workgroup, is a key component of this focus.
Purpose
Purpose
Several studies have shown that individuals are more likely to utilize healthcare services in the weeks and months leading up to death by suicide. One study that examined over 2,500 individuals in the US who had died by suicide between 2000 and 2013 found that “nearly 30% of individuals had a healthcare visit in the 7 days before suicide (6.5% emergency, 16.3% outpatient specialty, and 9.5% primary care),” over 50% within 30 days, and over 90% within a year. Individuals who died by suicide also utilized healthcare services more frequently. The same study found that “Those who died by suicide averaged 16.7 healthcare visits during the year [of their death].”
This increased healthcare utilization by persons at risk for suicide positions healthcare facilities as critical points for suicide prevention efforts. Unfortunately, other studies show that many behavioral health professionals do not receive the proper training to effectively interact with suicidal individuals, and thus often lack the confidence to do so. This lack of training and confidence can be even more profound with healthcare staff who do not specialize in behavioral healthcare. The rural nature of Wyoming and a relative lack of behavioral healthcare providers add additional layers of difficulty to suicide prevention efforts in the state.
However, small changes can make a big impact on suicide prevention. This grant program is intended to provide funds and support to help Wyoming healthcare facilities improve their evidence-based suicide prevention efforts in ways that are feasible for them and the people they serve. Instead of requiring implementation of the entire Zero Suicide Framework, recipients of this grant can select achievable deliverables from categories essential to healthcare suicide prevention–Policy and Procedure, Training, and Community Collaboration.
Recipients of this grant will are expected to collaborate with one another and with a broader range of partners in the Healthcare Suicide Prevention Workgroup. They will ultimately function as pilot communities to inform future funding efforts for this initiative and to model efforts for other hospitals in the state to improve suicide prevention.
Healthcare-Based Suicide Prevention Workgroup
The Healthcare-Based Suicide Prevention Workgroup meets virtually every two months to hear updates from the subrecipients of the Healthcare-Based Suicide Prevention Grant and provide a space to share resources, learn, and collaborate on efforts to improve suicide prevention within Wyoming healthcare facilities. Anyone with an interest in healthcare-based suicide prevention is welcome to join. If you would like to join, please fill out this form.
2025/2026 Grant Details
25/26 Request for Applications
Total Funding Available: $100,000.00
Successful Applicants
- Big Horn County
- Campbell County Health
- Memorial Hospital of Converse County
- Sublette County
Period of Performance
- September 1, 2025 — August 31, 2026