More than 300 members of WMed and the broader Kalamazoo community came together in September for a full-day event focusing on suicide prevention and well-being.
The inaugural WMed Suicide Prevention & Well-Being Promotion Symposium was held Friday, September 16, 2022, at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus in downtown Kalamazoo. The free event featured morning and afternoon workshops covering important topics ranging from burnout prevention and mindfulness to regulating emotions and promoting personal and organizational well-being.
“I feel grateful that so many of us were able to meet in-person around such an important topic,” said Karen Horneffer-Ginter, the medical school’s associate dean for Culture and Chief Wellness Officer. “I’m grateful for the expertise and insights that so many people shared. It’s an equally real issue now of how we continue forth in our work and support ourselves and support each other.”
Attendees heard remarks from Dr. Horneffer-Ginter and WMed Dean Paula M. Termuhlen, MD, followed by the keynote address, “Suicide Prevention and Recovery: Working Together to Learn, Support, Debunk Myths, and Prevent” from John F. Greden, MD, chair emeritus for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Dr. Greden’s address was live streamed, and about 50 attendees joined virtually to hear his remarks.
Dr. Greden acknowledged the day’s goal as a balance between suicide prevention and well-being promotion and encouraged attendees to keep talking about mental health and support others’ well being. He identified health professionals as a high-risk group for suicide and said improving their well being should be everyone’s priority.
“We are vital to society, and right now, burnout and the patterns that are affecting health care providers must be overcome,” Dr. Greden said. “Otherwise we’re depleting our own, and that can’t happen.”
The symposium was held in memory of Rebekah Sharp, MD, a beloved faculty member at WMed, who passed away on August 29, 2021. Dr. Sharp began her duties at WMed in 2018 as an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, following a nearly 11-year stint as a physician in private practice at OB-GYN, P.C. in Kalamazoo. She was named program director for the medical school’s OB/GYN residency program in 2021. After the tragic loss of Dr. Sharp, leaders from the medical school’s Department of Psychiatry and the Wellness Initiative committed to launching an annual educational event in conjunction with National Suicide Awareness Month and National Physician Suicide Awareness Day, both of which are recognized in September.
The symposium included informational tables highlighting resources that are available at WMed. The medical school’s Department of Psychiatry handed out information about suicide prevention and crisis hotlines, and WMed’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was on hand to highlight its offerings.
WMed’s Suicide Prevention and Well Being Promotion Symposium is slated to be an annual event, with the next symposium slated to take place in late summer or early fall of 2023.