The Colorado Health Foundation awarded a one-year grant to the hospital foundation to provide funding to educate health care personnel on the signs of suicide and how to respond. QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention is evidenced-based, peer-reviewed and heavily tested. It is the most widely taught gatekeeper training in the world.
Just like CPR, the training—referred to as QPR for “Question, Persuade, Refer”—is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. The education is targeted to “gatekeepers,” health care professionals who have the first encounter with a patient and who thus control the patient’s entry into the health care system.
Josie Rosenberg, the licensed therapist hired by the grant funding, offers recurring monthly trainings to all staff at PVH and MCR. “Every year, the suicide rate in Larimer county hovers around twice the national average,” Rosenberg says. “QPR Gatekeeper Training is a crucial first step in breaking stigma, starting conversations, and addressing the suicide epidemic in our community.”