Go to main contentsGo to search barGo to main menu
Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Ad

School District Works on Suicide Prevention

During their February 12 meeting, the Churchill County School District Trustees heard a presentation from Emma White, the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator with the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, who made a report on the work her agency is doing to assist the district with Youth Suicide prevention in Churchill County and statewide. 

The Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention has offices in Reno and Las Vegas, covering the state with six staff members. According to White, who referenced the current data from 2022, Nevada falls 7th highest in suicide rates in the country, and suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among 8 to 44-year-olds in Nevada. In the 65+ population, suicide is the 6th leading cause of death. In Nevada, there is one suicide death every 14 hours. 

“For 60 years Nevada was first in the nation in suicide deaths per capita, so we are headed in the right direction,” White said. 

There are several initiatives White and her colleagues are working on with the district, including Prevention 101, the Hope Squad, which is a peer-led group focusing on mental health, and Postvention at the middle and high schools. “We have been working with the middle school during August, September, and October,” White said, explaining Postvention as “what we do when we lose someone.”

White also said her NOSP has received the Garrett Lee Smith grant and will be working with Churchill, Elko, and Carson Counties for the next five years, focused on “what to recognize and what to do about it.” 

Additionally, the Signs of Suicide program (SOS) will continue, with training for school district members, families, and students. 

Trustee Joe McFadden expressed concern that students are made aware of all available resources, and Trustee Kathryn Whitaker emphasized the need for ongoing, continual training. 

White explained that there will be training every year with new approaches, and sometimes, training can be designed to focus on informal roundtable conversations instead of structured three-hour training. “Sometimes there is so much value in talking and asking questions about certain circumstances and experiences,” White said. 

Whitaker said the district does not currently have a policy addressing suicide prevention, “and I want one.”

White said that the Postvention program has a tool kit template with best practices that can be used to model policy statements. “The Department of Education is going to require these plans be a part of the emergency operation plans by August,” White said. 

In addition to this work with NOSP, school district staff and representatives have also participated in the community-wide work with Tipping Point over the past eight months to develop the Churchill County Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Plan.

 

 

More about the author/authors:
Share
Rate

Comment

Comments

COMMENTS
Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I knew Sam as a member of our church growing up. He always had a warm smile, a kind word, and a great sense of humor! He will be great missed!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:57 AMComment source: Obituary -- Samuel Bruce WickizerComment author: Mike HinzComment text: Great teacher, great coach, but even a better person!!! Rest in peace Mr. BeachComment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:53 AMComment source: Obituary -- Jack Victor Beach, Jr.Comment author: Mike HinzComment text: I had Mrs Hedges for First Grade at Northside Elementary in 1969. I still, to this day, remember her as a wonderful teacher…one of my favorites!!Comment publication date: 7/2/25, 11:29 AMComment source: Obituary - Nancy Marie Hedges C Comment author: Carl C. HagenComment text: What are MFNs and PBMs ?? ............................ From the editor: This is a very good question and we apologize for not catching that wasn't in there. We reached out to the writer/submitter and got this info back...hope it's helpful. PBM: Pharmacy Benefit Managers are pharmacies that are owned by insurance companies. (CVS is one.) They negotiate with drug makers to get reduced pricing for medications, but they historically have not passed along those savings to patients. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/pharmacy-benefit-managers-staff-report.pdf MFN: Most Favored Nation pricing is a policy that means a country agrees to offer the same trade concessions (like tariffs or price reductions) to all member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). When applied to pharmaceuticals, it could disrupt global access, deter innovation, and obscure the deeper systemic issues in American health care. https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2025/05/22/the-global-risks-of-americas-most-favored-nation-drug-pricing-policy/Comment publication date: 6/23/25, 7:47 AMComment source: L E T T E R TO THE EDITOR
SUPPORT OUR WORK