I first met Peggy in August 2013 when I landed as a patient on the short-stay unit at Gundersen. She was a float pool Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Float workers train on all units and go where there is need and she was assigned to me. She was one of those individuals you meet for the first time and just know they are a genuinely good human.
I began my career in mental health in January of that year and worked at Gundersen in the Inpatient Behavioral Health unit. Several months after I was hospitalized, I came to work to start my shift. Peggy was assigned as one of our CNAs for the day and I immediately recognized her. I remember telling everyone that she was MY CNA, but I was allowing IBH to borrow her. Whenever she was assigned to our unit, I knew the shift was going to be awesome. She was fun to joke around with, but also got the job done. She was so great with the patients and always buzzing around the unit to help out.
Everyone on an inpatient behavioral health unit is assessed for suicidal ideation. It's openly talked about patients are given resources, support, and a safe place to talk about their mental health. I can't count how many times I asked patients about their suicidal ideations, plans, and intent. We talked about building their support network outside of the hospital, their coping skills, and safety planning.
I left Gundersen and moved away four years ago, but continued my work in mental health. I always carried with me a valuable lesson from Peg. Never cut a donut in half - take the whole donut!
December 3, 2018
I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a "RIP Peg" post. I was in disbelief that this vibrant woman was gone and had so many questions. When I learned we lost Peg as a result of suicide, I questioned everything. How can you work alongside someone and miss this? While we spoke so openly with our patients and their families about the warning signs and how to access help and services, how could we lose one of our own?
Everyone, staff included, had access to an abundance of pamphlets, brochures, helpline flyers, and suicide prevention information on the unit I worked on. With over 50 million Americans experiencing mental illness, the odds of working alongside someone struggling is high. Do we ever assess our coworkers and ask if their having thoughts of suicide? Would they be honest? Would you be comfortable going to your place of employment saying you're suicidal and possibly being admitted to a unit where you know everyone looking at your medical records? If not, are you willing to drive 70 to 200 miles to an outside organization to access treatment?
In the four years since Peg's death, we've gone through a global pandemic and our healthcare workers have been pushed to limits I never imagined seeing in my lifetime. As a result of increasing suicide rates in nurses and healthcare workers, a group of nurses who lost a colleague to suicide created Don't Clock Out. They call it a resiliency project to provide resources for Mental Health Nurses and healthcare workers.
INFORMATION & RESOURCES:
National Suicide Prevention Line: 988 | 988lifeline.org
The State of Mental Health in America
National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI)