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Ensuring that all in Buncombe County are able to live free of stigma, supported in mind, body, and spirit in times of both strength and difficulty with resilience, self-determination and a positive sense of self-worth regardless of income, race, neighborhood, nationality, ability and age.

Buncombe County - Emergency Room Visits for Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation (all people)

Current Value

2,358

2023

Definition

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Data Description & Source

Data is gathered from NC DETECT. This table provides emergency room (ER) visits related to suicidal ideation/thoughts/plans/intent. The data points include suicide ideation ER visits from Buncombe County residents, as well as ER visits for the entire state of North Carolina. 

**NOTE: At this time, NC DETECT data reports only include overall numbers for Emergency Room visits for suicidal ideation; goal is to obtain and include disaggregated data by race/ethnicity and gender.

Story Behind the Curve

Story Behind the Indicator data was gathered from: community partners/providers, those impacted the most/those with lived experience, and Buncombe County residents.

What’s Helping? - Mental Health

  • “Buncombe is resource rich comparatively”
  • “There are a lot of mental health professionals working in this area”
  • “Outreach to vulnerable, at-risk groups”
  • “Prevalence of telehealth and support group options [during COVID-19 pandemic]
  • “Community health workers are bridging a lot of gaps, especially when everything was shut down”
  • Peer supports - those with lived mental health experience
  • Existing community programs that address mental health
  • Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for law enforcement and first responders
  • Community Health workers
  • Increase mental health screenings within primary care provider offices
  • New national 988# for crisis support
  • 211
  • NCCARE 360


What’s Hurting? - Mental Health

  • “Stigma”
  • “Waitlists [for services] are sometimes longer than 3 months”
  • “Medicaid access barriers and insurance costs”
  • “Systemic racism within healthcare systems – we need more culturally aware service providers”
  • “High cost of living and poverty creates housing instability which negatively influences mental health”
  • "3+ month waitlists for services" 
  • "Medicaid barriers and insurance costs"
  • "Licensed providers who bill through insurance are often controlled by larger entities" 
  • "Current practice requires an individual to have a 'clinical home' established in order to access services"
  • "Not enough mental health resources available to meet the needs of the community"
  • "Systemic racism and reasonable distrust in systems of oppression"
  • "High cost of living"
  • "Impact of social determinants of health"
  • "There are a few big, corporate mental health agencies vs. the need for more culturally aware inclusive services"
  • "Waitlist times, especially for adolescents needing appointments for psychiatric support"
  • "Crisis burnout and secondary traumatic stress exposure for health care/social service workers has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic"

Partners

Partners in our Community Health Improvement Process:  

  • Buncombe County CHIP Advisory Council members/agencies
  • VAYA 
  • North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness
  • WNC Healthy Impact

Partners with a Role in Helping Our Community Do Better on This Issue: 

  • CHIP Advisory Council members and organizations
  • MAHEC
  • Local hospital networks *to be further defined
  • Community-based crisis programs *to be further defined
  • Buncombe County EMS – Community Paramedicine/Post-Overdose Response Team
  • Harm Reduction Providers – community reversals *to be further defined
  • *Community-based peer support specialists – to be further defined
  • Sunrise Community for Recovery & Wellness
  • Umoja Health, Wellness, and Justice Collaborative
  • Appalachian Mountain Community Health Services
  • Institute for Preventive Healthcare & Advocacy

What Works

Strategies Considered input was gathered from: community partners/providers, those impacted the most/those with lived experience, and Buncombe County residents.

What Works to Do Better?

  • Talking about it (formally and informally) supports with reducing isolation and stigma
  • Provide more specific education that normalizes personal experiences
  • Language Justice - more Spanish speaking peer supports, counselors, healthcare providers; widely available materials that are in Spanish; services delivered in Spanish without being put on a waitlist for interpretation services
  • Formal Children’s Collaborative group to address micro and macro-level advocacy
  • Home Visitors services to support with healthy attachment and parenting skills
  • Growth around brining attachment-focused parenting
  • Organizations becoming more trauma-aware
  • Dismantling white supremacy culture within healthcare and social services institutions
  • Creating systems and services that are equity-driven 

Process data was gathered from a variety of community-driven sources, including those with lived experience, those most impacted by the focus health condition, those providing services/support in the community, professionals/organizations with a role to play, and the 40+ agencies that represent the Buncombe County CHIP Advisory. 

 

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