Children’s Hospitals Team Up with Cardinal Health to Prevent Youth Suicide

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), in partnership with the Cardinal Health and the Zero Suicide Institute (ZSI) at the Education Development Center (EDC), announced the grant recipients of the Preventing Youth Suicide: A Cardinal Health Foundation National Collaborative. The grants, which total nearly $2.1 million, will provide support to 16 children’s hospitals and health systems to implement a framework developed by ZSI and commit to a system-wide transformation to better care for children at risk of suicide. This program is the first national collaborative with the intent to develop a pediatric-specific, data driven approach to improve identification and care of children at risk for suicide in children’s hospitals and health systems.

“CHA is proud to partner with Cardinal Health and the Zero Suicide Institute to help children’s hospitals improve care for children experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Amy Wimpey Knight, president of CHA. “Preventing Youth Suicide’s aim is to identify and treat children thinking about suicide who may otherwise slip through the cracks in our health care system. In short, this collaborative will help save lives.”

The collaborative is part of CHA’s ongoing work to address the youth mental health crisis. Last year, CHA along with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) declared a national emergency in children’s mental health. CHA also launched the advocacy initiative Sound the Alarm for Kids which urges Congress to enact legislation and increase funding to address the crisis. 

The grants announced today are an expansion of Cardinal Health’s previous two-year, $1.6 million commitment to suicide prevention that launched in 2020. Cardinal’s initial commitment was in partnership with ZSI, who helped the grantees build a preventive system within their own hospital.  

“Suicide is tragically one of the top leading causes of deaths for adolescents in America and resources for mental health support have never been more important,” said Jessie Cannon, vice president of Community Relations at Cardinal Health. “We’re proud to support the incredible work of CHA and all of our grant recipients and we’re confident in the system-wide approach to reduce youth suicide and improve community outcomes.” 

The following children’s hospitals and health systems have been awarded grants:

• Phoenix Children’s – Ariz.
• Children’s Health of Orange County – Calif. 
• UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital – Calif. 
• Valley Children’s Healthcare – Calif. 
• Children’s Hospital Colorado – Colo. 
• Connecticut Children’s – Conn. 
• Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital – Conn. 
• Nicklaus Children’s Hospital – Fla. 
• C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital – Mich. 
• Children’s Mercy Kansas City – Mo.
• St. Louis Children’s Hospital – Mo. 
• Atrium Health Levine Children's – N.C.
• Children’s Hospital and Medical Center Omaha – Neb. 
• Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital – Tenn.
• Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas 
• Seattle Children’s – Wash. 

To learn more, please visit: Preventing Youth Suicide National Collaborative

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About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance and data solutions for health care facilities. With 50 years in business, operations in more than 30 countries and approximately 46,500 employees globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care. Information about Cardinal Health is available at cardinalhealth.com.