Jennie Edmundson Hospital Hosting Suicide Prevention Event

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA - Six times as many people die from suicide each year as from homicide, one person dies by suicide every 20 hours in Iowa, and suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall, but second among Iowans 15 to 34 years old.

It is because of those statistics that the Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Behavioral Health Department is facilitating a presentation and panel discussion about the stigma associated with suicide. 

The community event will be held on Tuesday, June 11, from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Looft Auditorium at Iowa Western Community College.

Ciara Warden is a suicide attempt survivor and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the Grace Abbott School of Social Work. As a survivor, Warden will share her lived experience with mental illness and becoming a mental health professional.

Warden is a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) in Iowa and member of the American Association of Suicidology. She specializes in crisis issues, primarily suicide research, education, risk assessment, outreach, and grief and loss. 

Suicide is a public health issue that must be addressed by entire communities working together.

> According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides have increased by more than 25 percent in the last 10 years. The causes are multifaceted and complex.  While depression and other mental illnesses are leading risk factors, many who die by suicide are not known to have had a mental illness. 

> The free presentation will be followed by a panel discussion. Panel participants will include Methodist Jennie Edmundson Psychiatrist, Dr. S. Pirzada Sattar (moderator) as well as community and family members who will share their story. Questions for the panel will follow. 

If you are interested in attending or having a vendor booth, please call or email the Jennie Edmundson Foundation at (712) 396-6040 or @email.