Partnersmen

Men. The masculine half of the human equation. Long known for hiding their sensitive sides, men actually experience depression at serious levels. Serious enough for suicide to be the eighth leading cause of death for men in the United States. Serious enough that men are four more times likely to die from suicide than women.

In an effort to address this public health concern, Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH) recently launched a suicide prevention project with Partners Healthcare System Employee Assistance Program in Boston, Massachusetts. With funding and support from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Program, as well donations from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) “Real Men, Real Depression” campaign, SMH is providing online screenings and educational information to tens of thousands of Partners Healthcare employees and their families.

The purpose of this partnership is to reach men between 35 and 54, who are in a high-risk age group for suicide and also in their prime earning years. The program casts a wide net in order to reach employees in this specific group directly but also to reach their immediate family members – particularly wives – who play a key role in getting men in for evaluation and treatment. Family members are also eligible for this program even if they are not employees themselves but are covered through the EAP plan.

Early results indicate the program is having an impact. Thus far, over 800 screenings have been completed. That is 800 lives, 800 families, 800 second chances. It is also thousands of coworkers, thousands of project deadlines and, yes, even thousands of dollars, because depression doesn’t just affect the individual who has it.

If you’d like to learn more about implementing online mental health and alcohol screening programs for your organization, please contact
Mr. Richard Bern, MSW, Program Manager, at 781.239.0071 extension 121 or via email at: rbern @ MentalHealthscreening.org