Suicide Risk Assessment

AUDIOCONFERENCE ON CD OR AUDIO ON-DEMAND

Sponsored by: Suicide Risk Assessment: Practical Strategies and Tools for Joint Commission Compliance

presented on May 29, 2008

The Joint Commission’s Suicide Risk Assessment NPSG aims to save lives—so why is compliance still such a challenge?

You’ve developed your initial patient suicide risk screen and subsequent assessment. You’ve put environmental safeguards in place to enhance patient safety. You’ve created and modified policies to accommodate this important National Patient Safety Goal. But you’ve still got questions like these:

"Our initial suicide risk screen seems to be delivering a lot of ‘false positive’ results. How can we make it more accurate?"

"There is a suicidal patient in the ED, but no caregiver is available to provide 1:1 observation. What are our options?"

“If a patient is screened as a high suicide risk, how to we communicate that to all necessary staff members while respecting the patient’s privacy?"

This NPSG continues to confound hospitals nationwide, and patient suicide is still high on The Joint Commission’s list of reported sentinel events. Listen to HCPro’s audioconference to find solutions to your toughest suicide risk assessment challenges—and more. Our expert speakers provide information, tools, and advice you can use to fine-tune your suicide risk assessment program. You also learn from a real-world case study, and discover best practices you can use in your facility right away!

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR AGENDA

1. Why this NPSG remains such a challenge almost two years after Joint Commission implementation
   a. Target areas
   b. Screening tools
   c. Policies

   II. Managing the patient
   a. Risk Assessment
   b. Environment of safety
   c. Staff training / education
   d. Observers
   g. Suicide precautions/care plan
   e. Discharge planning and Referrals
   f. collaboration

   III. Case Study: Jennie Stuart Medical Center
   a. Risk analysis
   b. Levels of observation
              1. Screening questions for ED and inpatient
   c. Communication
               1. Observation log
               2. Door signage
               3. Codes for dietary
               4. Ticket to Ride
   d. Barriers and tips to overcome
              1. Who determines future care decision for patient
              2. Delays
              3. Lack of resources / support from local mental health center
              4. Resistance from patients

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

After this program, you will be able to:
1. Identify ways to fine-tune your assessment tools
2. Determine the best possible way to manage and handle high-risk patients
3. Implement tips on how to train and educate staff in dealing with high-risk patients
4. Implement tools and best practices on how to improve communication
5. Recognize common barriers to keeping patients safe—and how to overcome them

BONUS TOOLS

In addition to the expertise and advice presented during this audioconference, you'll also receive a slide presentation of the program materials and:

1.  Risk Assessment - Jennie Stuart Medical Center
2.  Risk Assessment - Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine
3.  Observation Log
4.  Flow Charts
5. Door signage

These materials are provided with PDF links.

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

Patient Safety Officer, Director of Nursing, Survey Coordinator, Quality Improvement Director/Manager, Risk Manager, Case Manager

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Lauren R. Ball, MSW, LCSW, BCD, is director of social services and director of youth services at Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine. As director of youth services, she has primary responsibility for a 29-bed inpatient unit for children and adolescents, as well as partial hospital and intensive outpatient mental health and dual diagnosis programs for approximately 60 outpatient youth and their families. In addition, she serves on the Behavioral Health Advisory Committee for California Hospital Association and is a member of the California Society for Clinical Social Work.

Sherry D. Beck, RN, BSN, MSHL, LNC, is the risk manager and patient safety officer at Jennie Stuart Medical Center, a 194-bed acute care facility in Kentucky.  As risk manager and patient safety officer, she has primary responsibility for facility wide loss control, loss prevention, and patient safety activities. In addition, she serves as chair for the patient safety committee and is a member of the American Association of Healthcare Risk Managers.

AUDIO ON-DEMAND

In addition to the regular purchase options for HCPro audioconferences, we are pleased to offer another option, an audio on-demand. Audio on-demand allows you to download the program and play it back at your convenience through your computer or MP3 player. Purchase a CD or audio archive of the program and listen when you can. It's also a perfect training tool for new staff or as a refresher for veteran staff.

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