In the 1930s, pediatrician and toxicologist Jay Arena began collecting data on poisoning cases and discovered that the lead cause of death for children was poisoning. “Children are naturally curious,” says Marsha Ford, emergency physician, medical toxicologist, and former president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers. “At the
Charles Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, lay in the street with his arms high in the air. He told officers that the man next to him, Arnaldo Rios Soto, had severe autism and didn’t have a weapon. “All he has is a toy truck in his hand. A toy truck.” “That’s
Over the past two decades, Dr. Madelyn Gould has evaluated the SAMHSA-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, studying whether the crisis intervention service significantly decreases suicide risk, despair, and hopelessness. (It does.) She’s a professor of epidemiology in Columbia University’s psychiatry department and a research scientist at the New York State
Between the hours of 6 am and 10 pm, seven days a week, behavioral health call takers sit alongside 911 call takers at the Houston Office of Emergency Management, ready to meet the mental health crisis needs of Harris County’s 4.1 million people. The first of its kind in the
Annie Murdock sits at her computer monitoring multiple conversations at the Kansas Suicide Prevention Head Quarters (KSPHQ). She notices a particularly challenging and emotionally intense chat that a KSPHQ chat responder is engaged in. Immediately following this particular chat, Murdock hops on the phone with the crisis worker to provide
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, we’ve heard mental health experts frequently discuss their concerns over isolation and the implication it might have on people’s wellbeing. In a rural state like Montana—a sprawling state defined by rolling grasslands, mountain ranges, low valleys, and water flows—the pandemic compounded an already
On Thursday, the FCC voted to formally make 988 the nationwide number for mental health and suicide crisis, adopting rules that require all phone service carriers to start directing 988 calls to the existing SAMHSA-funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK | (1-800-273-8255) by July 16, 2022. Ajit Pai, FCC chairman,
FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, announced today that the agency is taking the next step to establish 988 as the nationwide 3-digit number for mental health, substance use, and suicide crisis, mirroring what 911 is for medical emergencies. He notes that 988 is critical to combat the rising number of suicides
When I moved to New Orleans in February 2006, it was five and a half months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city, and the storm still pulsed in its streets and people. A rescue boat appeared to be parallel parked outside of my Marigny apartment on Elysian Fields, and dogs
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