Mental Health Resource Guide – Section 2

To help someone who may be struggling with their mental health, use these five action steps:

1. Ask the hard question(s) in a caring way.
2. Be there – in their presence, on the phone or in any other way that shows you care.
3. Keep them safe by removing anything in their presence they could use to harm themselves or others.
4. Connect them with resources and individuals for support and safety during moments of crisis.
5. Follow up by leaving a message, sending a text or calling them to let them know you care about their wellbeing.

Health system mental health crisis procedure

If you are a health system leader, use the following steps to support employees who may be exhibiting warning signs of suicide.

1. Identify potential warning signs with the I GET HELP acronym:

• • Isolation
  • Giving things away/saying goodbye
  • Excessive use of drugs/alcohol
  • Talking or thinking about suicide
  • Hopelessness
  • Emotional/physical pain
  • Lonely/feeling like a burden
  • Planning for suicide

Additional warning signs may include:

• • Eating more or less than usual, outside of illness
  • Sleeping too little or too much
  • Acting anxious, agitated or reckless
  • Disengaging from previously enjoyed activities
  • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge

2. Ask questions such as:

• • You haven’t seemed yourself lately, are you ok? I’m here to listen.
  • How are you…really?
  • How long have you felt like this?
  • How are you coping with what has been going on in your life?
  • Can you think of anything I could do to help you?
  • Have you thought about getting help?
  • Do you ever think about suicide?
  • Are you thinking about hurting yourself?

3. If the person has a plan to hurt or kill themselves and you fear they are in immediate danger:

• • For any of the Kansas City campuses and surrounding area, call 9-1-1 or KUPD-8-5030 (913-588-5030) 
  • For Great Bend campus, call 9-1-1
  • If you are with the person, stay with them until help arrives.

4. If you feel the person is not in immediate danger, offer to work together to get help:

• • If you are at work and emergency services are available onsite, offer to take them to the Emergency Department.
  • If emergency services are not available onsite, reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline:
    • Call or text 988 (for Spanish language support call 1-888-628-9454)
    • Chat at 988lifeline.org
    • Text “HELLO” to 741741 to reach a trained Crisis Counselor, available 24/7, with the Crisis Text Line
  • Contact the employee’s emergency contact, if appropriate and necessary

5. As soon as possible following the event, notify your department’s Employee Relations Consultant by contacting the HR Support Center at 913-945-6500 or AskHR@kumc.edu.

6. Consider if you need to comfort or support other staff, dispel rumors or delegate additional work as needed following the event.

• • Use our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to connect staff with professional counseling, education and other resources.
    • EAP for health system employees
    • EAP for physicians
  • If the employee in crisis will be taking a leave of absence, contact The Hartford at 866-315-0809 (Policy 675446), Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CST).
  • If you have any questions, consult your Employee Relations or Leave Consultant by contacting the HR Support Center at 913-945-6500 or AskHR@kumc.edu.