Georgia Health Policy Center assistant project director Ursula Davis was named the co-chair of Georgia’s Suicide Prevention Task Force.
The task force supports the Suicide Prevention Program, established by the state legislature and housed within the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. Specifically, task force members work to promote and implement the Georgia Suicide Prevention Plan.
“Suicide is preventable and is an urgent public health concern affecting people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities,” says Ann DiGirolamo, director of behavioral health at the Georgia Health Policy Center. “Globally one in 100 deaths is by suicide making it among the leading causes of death worldwide and suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death overall in Georgia and the second leading cause for those aged 10 to 24. Supporting Georgia’s comprehensive Suicide Prevention Plan is an important step in addressing this significant public health concern. We are proud of Ursula’s continued work in this area.”
The work of the Georgia Suicide Prevention Task Force complements the work Davis does at the Georgia Health Policy Center related to behavioral workforce development and capacity building, including training others in Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk, Counseling on Access to Lethal Means, Mental Health First Aid, and Sources of Strength curricula.