Community Impact | 2019–2020
Meeting the mental health needs of youth
Lowering Lincoln County’s suicide rate
Be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to mental health. That’s the advice offered by two Great Plains Health mental and behavioral health professionals who regularly work with local children and teens.
Kevin Hines
Enhancing behavioral health services is one way Great Plains Health is helping to combat the rising rate of suicide, the 10th leading cause of death in Nebraska. A GPHealth committee is now working to reduce the rate in Lincoln County and surrounding areas by half by the end of 2021. “We are working to ensure access to quality care by enhancing behavioral health services and education,” says Tamara Martin-Linnard, chief clinical officer. “We’re also developing an assembly program and live cast featuring GPHealth staff discussing suicide prevention; trainings for BHS clinic staff and school guidance counselors; a public awareness campaign; and interdepartmental communications.” In 2020, the committee will bring Kevin Hines, a suicide prevention speaker, to North Platte. As a teen, Hines struggled to accept his mental illness diagnosis and battled suicidal thoughts and paranoid delusions. “Mental illness is how I found myself atop the Golden Gate Bridge, but the jump is not the most important part of the story,” says Hines. “When my hands left the rail, it was an instant regret and I thought that I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. That’s why I share my journey since then and the importance of never silencing your pain.” + GPHealth will be announcing the date, times and location for Mr. Hines presentation in the coming weeks through local and social media.
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