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Clinicians, Educators and Elected Officials Among Those Who Convened at Kennedy Krieger Institute to Share Ideas for Reducing Youth Suicide Across State
The Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP) recently convened the 2024 Maryland Youth Suicide Prevention Summit at Kennedy Krieger Institute. The second annual daylong summit brought together clinicians, educators, elected officials and advocates from more than 20 jurisdictions to strategize about ways to better serve their patients and students.
One area of focus during the daylong summit was increased communication between school staff and clinicians who might share a common patient but are unable to communicate because of privacy laws. A working group will collaborate with elected officials to figure out a consent process that will allow everyone to communicate about a patient’s care.
“This is important because a school counselor might create a safety plan for a student who is having suicidal thoughts, but not be able to talk about that plan with the child’s physican because of privacy laws,” said Kristi Machemer, MD, FAAP, pediatrician, MDAAP Mental Health Committee Co-Chair, and an MDAAP Suicide Prevention Ambassador. “We want to maintain a child’s right to privacy but allow a care team to collaborate and provide that child with what they need both at school and at home.”
Attendees also discussed Prosper, a mental health app used in some county school systems, as well as a new initiative from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to educate school staff about pediatric mental health concerns and provide their teams with additional supports.
Bringing various groups together at the summit like this gave them the opportunity to share other concerns, barriers and innovations, and is a big reason the summit will continue to be an annual event, said Benjamin J. Schindel, MD, MPH, a member of the summit planning committee and a neurodevelopmental specialist in the Department of Neurology and Developmental Medicine at Kennedy Krieger Institute.
In additional to MDAAP, MSDE and Kennedy Krieger, representatives from NAMI, Nurse Practitioners of Maryland, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, University of Maryland Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, GBMC and Centro Sol attended the summit.
Also in attendance were Maryland State Delegates Bonnie Cullison, Montgomery County; Heather Bagnall, Anne Arundel County; and Michele Guyton, Baltimore County.
Suicide is second-leading cause of death in the U.S. for children, adolescents and yound adults between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 57 percent of teen girls and 29 percent of teen boys in 2021 reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless.
Resources on suicide prevention can be found at the following websites:
For more information about the MDAAP’s suicide prevention efforts or any other MDAAP resources, contact Loretta I. Hoepfner, MDAAP Executive Director, at loretta@mdaap.org.
About Kennedy Krieger Institute
Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally known, non-profit organization located in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region, transforms the lives of more than 27,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient medical, behavioral health and wellness therapies, home and community services, school-based programs, training and education for professionals and advocacy. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders or injuries that impact the nervous system, ranging from mild to severe. The Institute is home to a team of investigators who contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneer new interventions and methods of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Visit KennedyKrieger.org for more information about Kennedy Krieger.
About Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Since its inception in 1950, the Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (MDAAP) has a long and distinguished history of advocacy and support of Maryland’s children and adolescents and their healthcare needs. The MDAAP’s mission “To support and encourage pediatricians in the promotion of optimal health for all of Maryland’s children and adolescents” speaks to that commitment. The MDAAP initiates and supports programs that respond to the needs of children and adolescents and their healthcare providers through collaborative and creative programming with other public and private organizations.Visit www.mdaap.org for more information.