How Henry Ford Health’s Zero Suicide Model Is Transforming Suicide Prevention
Many people who die by suicide have already interacted with the healthcare system before their death.
According to Brian Ahmedani, Ph.D., director of the Center for Healthcare Improvement and director of research for Behavioral Health Services at Henry Ford Health, approximately 83% of people who die by suicide have a healthcare visit in the weeks and months leading up to their death.
“That means we have an opportunity within a healthcare system to identify people at risk and to intervene,” Ahmedani says.
That idea has guided more than two decades of work at Henry Ford Health and helped shape an approach to suicide prevention that is now being implemented by healthcare organizations across the United States and in more than 30 countries worldwide.
Known as Zero Suicide, the model is built on the premise that suicide prevention should be an integrated part of healthcare, supported by systems designed to identify risk, provide evidence-based interventions and connect people with ongoing support.
The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation has supported Henry Ford Health’s behavioral health work for many years, including earlier efforts to integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings.
Andrea Cole, president and CEO of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation, says Henry Ford Health’s evolution from behavioral health integration to Zero Suicide demonstrates how prevention-focused investments can grow over time. Those earlier efforts helped establish systems for screening, assessment and behavioral health support that continue to support the organization’s suicide prevention work today.
From depression care to Zero Suicide
The roots of Henry Ford Health’s suicide prevention work date back to 2001, when the organization launched an initiative known as Perfect Depression Care.
The name and work transitioned rapidly to the Zero Suicide model as the team created an audacious vision for a world with a perfect system of care and a perfect outcome. The Zero Suicide model is a comprehensive approach that includes suicide risk screening, assessment, brief intervention, treatment and follow-up support.
The model has continued to expand as research has improved understanding of suicide risk and effective interventions. Today, Henry Ford Health serves as a leader in implementing and advancing the approach nationally and internationally.
Research conducted by Ahmedani and his colleagues has shown reductions in suicide attempts and deaths across healthcare systems implementing Zero Suicide principles. At Henry Ford Health, Ahmedani says the organization saw a reduction approaching 80% when the model was initially launched.
How Zero Suicide works
One of the defining features of the Zero Suicide model is its focus on suicide risk itself.
Historically, suicide risk has often been addressed indirectly through treatment of underlying mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. Henry Ford Health’s approach recognizes that while those conditions remain important, suicide risk requires its own assessment and intervention strategy.
“We treat suicide risk as a separate disease — not as part of another mental health condition, but as its own disease,” Ahmedani says.
That philosophy shapes how the health system approaches care. Patients are screened specifically for suicide risk, not simply for other behavioral health concerns. When risk is identified, providers can connect patients with evidence-based interventions designed to address suicide risk directly.
The result is a more targeted approach that seeks to identify risk earlier and connect individuals with appropriate support before a crisis occurs.
Building on behavioral health integration
The Flinn Foundation has supported Henry Ford Health’s behavioral health work for many years, including efforts to integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings.
Those programs embedded behavioral health providers within primary care clinics, creating opportunities to identify concerns, assess risk and connect patients with care as part of routine healthcare visits.
“The Flinn Foundation funded the original adult and child and adolescent behavioral health integration pilot programs,” Ahmedani says. “Those programs are the foundation of what we’re building on.”
As Henry Ford Health’s suicide prevention efforts have expanded, those early behavioral health integration programs have continued to provide an important foundation for identifying risk and connecting patients with support.
Expanding beyond healthcare
While healthcare remains a critical component of suicide prevention, Henry Ford Health increasingly views community partnerships as an essential part of the solution.
Ahmedani says people experiencing suicidal thoughts may first come to the attention of teachers, faith leaders, community organizations or others outside the healthcare system.
“We really have to partner with organizations and community groups, including schools, churches, jails and other service organizations,” he says.
Those partnerships help create additional pathways for identifying risk and connecting people with prevention and care.
Henry Ford Health is also expanding efforts focused on specific populations, including veterans.
With support from the Flinn Foundation, the organization is conducting proactive outreach to veterans who may not receive care through the Veterans Administration but remain at elevated risk for suicide.
The next phase
Henry Ford Health continues to expand and refine its suicide prevention efforts.
Recent support from Four Pines Fund, a Vermont-based philanthropic organization focused on suicide prevention, is helping launch several new initiatives. These include efforts to improve the quality and delivery of safety plans, develop technology-based safety planning tools and expand access to suicide-specific psychotherapy treatment through virtual care.
The goal is to make evidence-based suicide prevention interventions more accessible while continuing to improve how they are delivered.
For Ahmedani, that work represents the next chapter of an effort that has been evolving for more than two decades.
“We’re actively expanding locally, nationally and globally,” he says. “We’re continuing to test, innovate and adapt new approaches.”
Continuing the work
Although significant progress has been made, Ahmedani believes suicide remains one of the most urgent public health challenges facing communities today.
Millions of Americans experience suicidal thoughts each year, and the effects of suicide extend far beyond those who die, impacting families, friends, workplaces and communities.
For Henry Ford Health, the response is to continue building systems that identify risk earlier, strengthen connections to care and expand access to effective interventions.
“We’re committed to working every day to try to prevent every single suicide in any way that we can,” Ahmedani says.
Learn more about Zero Suicide at Henry Ford Health and discover the work of the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation.
