Mercy Health will host two free QPR training sessions on August 23 from 11:30 am to 1 pm at the Graves County Health Department’s Conference Room. Lunch will be provided. The other session will be on September 5 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm at the Marshall County Health Department’s Conference Room.
QPR is an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons created in 1995 by Paul Quinnett. In QPR, the general public is educated about the known warning signs of a suicide crisis: expressions of hopelessness, depression, giving away prized possessions, talking of suicide, securing lethal means, and then taught how to respond.
“According to the Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a gatekeeper is someone in a position to recognize a crisis and the warning signs that someone may be contemplating suicide,” says Dr. Laurie Ballew, Mercy Health- Behavioral Health. “In this class, participants will learn to be a QPR-trained gatekeeper trained to recognize the warning signs of suicide, know how to offer hope and how to get help. The more people we can train in QPR, the more lives we can save.”
Gatekeepers can be anyone, but include parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, and many others who are strategically positioned to recognize and refer someone at risk of suicide.
The class is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. To register, or for more information, email nrcoursey@mercy.com.
The class is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. To register, or for more information, email nrcoursey@mercy.com.
Also to help raise awareness for suicide prevention, Mercy Health is sponsoring the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Walk on September 8 at KY Oaks Mall in Paducah. Registration beings at 9:30 am and the walk starts at 11 am.
