Aspirus Health Awarded Wisconsin DHS Grant

The WI Department of Health Services (DHS) awarded Aspirus Health with a grant in May 2024 to begin a pilot project to implement Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) as part of our system’s suicide prevention initiatives. Aspirus Health was selected due to our system’s ability to reach WI rural males ages 25 and older, the population with the highest rate of suicide deaths in WI. A team representing multiple departments and sites collaborated on the grant application and is working on plans to deliver CALM training and resources to Aspirus’ providers and employees throughout the system. 

 

Members of that multi-disciplinary team were invited to attend the Injury and Violence Prevention Program Showcase held by WI DHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Safe States Alliance at the Corporate Office of Children’s Hospital of WI in Milwaukee on September 4. The event focused on the injury and violence prevention programs in WI that receive funding through the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. This opportunity allowed team members to obtain a deeper understanding of critical injury prevention programs within the state of Wisconsin, in addition to new insights about how they are impacting Wisconsin residents.

 

Aspirus Health attendees were (pictured from left): Heidi Pritzl, Aspirus Koller Behavioral Health Counselor and Suicide Preventionist; Amanda Tabin, Safe Kids & Injury Prevention Coordinator for Aspirus Wausau Hospital’s Trauma Department; and Jessica Schiek, System Behavioral Health Service Line Administrator.