CareSource provides $250,000 grant to the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics

CareSource announced a $250,000 grant to The Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (Ohio AAP) to help support their efforts of the Store it Safe Adolescent Suicide Prevention Program (SIS) across the state. The program empowers healthcare professionals to identify and address the risks of youth suicide.

“Ohio AAP is incredibly grateful for our long-time partnership with CareSource, which has helped us impact thousands of children and families across Ohio,” said Melissa Wervey Arnold, Chief Executive Officer of the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics. “Their support will allow us to take our SIS work out of the primary care setting and into the community, where we hope to impact even more youth and adolescents, particularly those in vulnerable populations.” 

SIS, which was launched in 2015, is a unique partnership of healthcare providers, firearm advocates, and community organizations established to keep children safe from unintentional gun deaths and teens safe from suicide by firearms, medications, or alcohol; change the approach in talking about firearm safety; and encourage families to store firearms safely and teach their children safety around firearms.

“CareSource is proud to support the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2023,” said Dee Yocum, vice president of Ohio Market Operations for CareSource. “We are confident that by working together we will be able to significantly impact and reduce youth suicide rates across the state. It is critically important that we make great strides in addressing this growing problem.”

Suicide in youth knows no boundaries, with all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic levels being impacted. Historically focused on working directly with primary care providers through quality improvement programs that screen adolescents for depression and suicide and provide resources during office visits. There is a critical need for more and broader interventions across the state.

The expanded program will utilize youth focus groups to ensure the resources and materials are representative of the populations at highest risk and materials will be refined with tailoring for new audiences. Ohio AAP will implement regional training for youth-serving organizations that includes counseling, screening, safety planning, and utilizing resources.

"As a company, we invest in our communities to support better outcomes," said Josh Boynton, senior vice president of Complex Health Solutions, CareSource. "Prioritizing preventative suicide resources like SIS empowers and informs youth and helps avoid future trauma within families."