erthealth Offers Suicide Risk Screening Program, Incentives to U.S. High Schools
PHILADELPHIA– September 10, 2015 (PRWEB) September 10, 2015 -- erthealth™, a leading provider of technology solutions and services that increase the reliability and efficiency of high quality health-related data collection, today announced a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of the need for suicide risk screening among young adults. In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10, 2015) and World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2015), erthealth is offering the ertcares Program, which includes a number of elements that help high school teachers, counselors, principals and staff effectively identify students at risk of suicide.
The ertcares Program offers school staff an opportunity to learn about state laws for teaching suicide training and tool kits available for high school suicide prevention. In addition, US high schools can register to win a complimentary Suicide Screening Day for all students.
erthealth enables effective suicide risk screening through the use of AVERT, its proven and intelligent suicide risk assessment system. AVERT electronically administers scientifically proven questionnaires on tablets and browsers, using the leading Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS and the self-reported electronic C-SSRS (eC-SSRS) have been widely accepted by the U.S. FDA, CDC, the Joint Commission, the U.S. military, and many states and progressive health care providers.
A Suicide Screening Day begins with each student obtaining parental consent. Then students answer questions about suicidal thoughts and behaviors privately, via a tablet or web browser. Student answers are evaluated in real-time, triggering immediate notification to a designated school counselor of students at risk. This designated counselor receives all students’ screening reports.
To be eligible to win the complimentary Suicide Screening Day – which is valued at more than $10,000 – schools are to register for the online AVERT demonstration at http://www.erthealth.com/ertcares.
To further support student suicide risk screening, ERT is offering US high schools a 25% discount on AVERT for this school year.
“By offering the ertcares Program, we hope to help school-based gatekeepers proactively identify at-risk students and more efficiently refer them to trained mental health professionals in their community, ultimately saving lives,” said Jim Corrigan, President and CEO, ERT.
According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds in the United States (2012). Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recommended student suicide screenings, many U.S. schools have not adopted such measures – likely due to the significant burden traditional screening tools have placed on school guidance counselors, in terms of administration and evaluation. Additionally, student non-disclosure regarding sensitive subjects during face-to-face interviews has also proven challenging, and often leads to ineffective screenings.
Having been used in over 200,000 healthcare and clinical applications to date, the eC-SSRS is a reliable, efficient, and scalable suicide risk screening solution. It provides a comfortable and private environment for students to provide information on suicidal ideation and behaviors and reduces the risk of non-disclosure and assessor variability. If the eC-SSRS identifies a student at risk, the school’s guidance staff is alerted immediately, enabling them to take appropriate action.
School staff and faculty can participate in the ertcares Program at http://www.erthealth.com/ertcares/.
About ERT
ERT (http://www.ert.com) is a leading provider of high-quality health-related data collection solutions for use in clinical drug development and healthcare settings. ERT delivers the most widely deployed electronic solutions in centralized cardiac safety, respiratory services, suicide risk assessment and Clinical Outcome Assessments (COA) – which includes patient, clinician and observer reported outcomes. By efficiently integrating these solutions through a system built upon a scientific and regulatory foundation, ERT is able to increase the accuracy and reliability of data that it collects, analyzes and delivers. ERT is a global organization with headquarters in Philadelphia, PA and offices throughout the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, Japan and Germany. Join ERT on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
Christine Tobin, ERT, http://www.ert.com/, +1 (412) 719-4568, [email protected]
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