Lane County public health outlines coordinated plan linking suicide prevention and substance‑use interventions

At a joint Board of Health session, Lane County Public Health staff described recent accomplishments and a strategy tying suicide prevention to substance‑use prevention and rural access to care. Brian Johnson, the county’s public health administrator, said the division had been reaccredited and recently secured approximately $650,000 through the federal Rural Health Transformation program to support four projects, including community health worker workforce development, systems mapping in greater Florence, a Family Connects outreach campaign, and suicide prevention and rural outreach.

"Public health accreditation is a measurement of both our health department's performance against a set of nationally recognized standards... As of May, Lane County has once again met these high standards," Brian Johnson said, and he listed the four projects to be funded through the rural health award. Luis Pimementel, the county alcohol and drug prevention coordinator, presented data that excessive alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in Oregon and noted county binge‑drinking prevalence (18.4% in Lane County), transportation safety links and student survey findings tying substance use to food insecurity.

Michelle Hampton, suicide prevention coordinator, outlined coalition expansion and concrete prevention work: large‑attendance coalition meetings, training offerings (QPR, ASSIST, counseling on access to lethal means), a formal postvention response team and partnerships with Lines for Life and other organizations to deploy counselors or provide postvention supports. "53%... have also used a substance," she said when discussing student survey correlations between substance use and suicidal ideation, emphasizing the rationale for integrated prevention strategies.

Staff and commissioners discussed opportunities and constraints around local revenue tools — such as a proposed 25‑cent per‑drink surcharge — and noted that such retail/ excise changes would require state legislative action. The board heard multiple commissioner questions about targeting underage drinking, rural transportation for services and civil‑commitment barriers in Oregon, and staff recommended continued community partnerships and targeted grants as immediate steps.