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There’s
a Better
Solution
YOUNG PEOPLE
,
FATHERS
,
CO-WORKERS
AND
FRIENDS
.
Words that describe people you
see every day. They also describe
the more than 50 people who
took their own lives in northern
Idaho last year, according to law
enforcement.
K O O T E N A I H E A L T H
Each year Kootenai Health tracks its
philanthropic activities in the com-
munity, from the millions of dollars
that are annually given to provide free
and discounted care to its donations
to groups such as Dirne Community
Health Center and Hospice of North
Idaho. To help guide some of those
giving decisions, in 2010, Kootenai
worked with a professional research
firm to conduct a community health
needs assessment.
“The community health needs
assessment combined results from
a telephone survey, information
from a community health leaders’
focus group and publicly available
health statistics,” said Teri Farr, vice
president of community develop-
ment for Kootenai. “We wanted
an accurate, unbiased assessment
to use as a tool when making our
decisions about allocating Kootenai’s
resources.”
When the analysis was complete, the
top five areas of concern were access
to health care services, stroke, men-
tal health and substance abuse—and
one sobering surprise. Suicide rates
in Idaho were 50 percent higher than
the national average. Worse still was
the fact that rates in northern Idaho
were 20.6 per 100,000 people, nearly
double the national average of 10.9.
Additionally, suicide rates have been
rising in northern Idaho since 1999,
while they remained steady in the rest
of the country.
C O E U R D ’ A L E N E
S C H O O L D I S T R I C T
While Kootenai was collecting re-
search, within the Coeur d’Alene
School District the problem was
playing out in real life. In a period of
13 months, four students took their
lives. Mental health providers rallied
to help provide support, backup and
caring hearts to help those devastated
by these tragedies.
Through the process, the district and
Kootenai worked together to identify a
resource that would not only provide
MENTAL HEALTH
S U P P O R T
I f y o u o r
someone you
know is feeling sui-
cidal, there are people
who can help. Call
Kootenai Behavioral
Health at
800-221-5008
.
By Kim Anderson
16