Tool for Helping Suicide Prevention: “I Made 18 Phone Calls Before I Found Somebody”

So the panel created the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale to assess the risk of each person, and determine the appropriate treatment option

FARGO, ND — A new suicide screening tool is being used by health professionals in the metro.

It’s a way officials hope creates common ground for health professionals to determine how to work with each patient.

“I ended up putting a gun to my head and pulling the trigger,” said Scott Geiselhart, who is a former Frazee firefighter. “My favorite gun and it misfired.”

Geiselhart is one of the millions of Americans who have experienced suicidal thoughts, but unlike many others, he said his favorite gun gave him a second chance.

“Reaching out, getting the help that I needed,” Geiselhart said. “It was probably the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Researchers with Columbia University found that people with suicidal thoughts are not always receiving the specialized treatment.

So the panel created the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale to assess the risk of each person and determine the appropriate treatment option.

“The default for our first responders is, if somebody is talking about self–harm, well we’re going to take them to the emergency room,” said Rory Beil, who is the project manager with Clay County Public Health. “Might be the appropriate care for them, but often it isn’t.”

“One of the phone calls I made was to a police officer,” Geiselhart said. “When I told him I think I have PTSD and I need help, he told me he was going to come pick me up, take me to the hospital and they we’re going to lock me up.”

The six question tool allows health professionals to ask three to six of the questions.

Five are about thoughts and one is about behavior.

Depending on the responses, patients will be categorized as low, moderate or high risk.

On average, there are 121 suicides per day and nearly 45,000 per year.

Each case is different and the reasons vary, but Scott said the biggest misconception is there are no answers.

“I made 18 phone calls before I found somebody that would listen,” Geiselhart said. “Eighteen phone calls is too much.”

Especially when it comes to the difference between life and death.

“I started smiling again, got my life back,” he added. “I could go to sleep without the nightmares. The nightmares seized. The anger seized. I didn’t have that frustration anymore.”

Organizers are hoping to expand the tool further and promote suicide prevention across the country.