Hailey police took a woman into protective custody Saturday night in what Police Chief Jeff Gunter described as "attempted suicide by drug overdose."
The woman was transported by ambulance to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center. Gunter said she had reportedly taken 13 pain killers and injected herself with anti-anxiety medication following an argument with her boyfriend.
It was one of three calls that police responded to last week about people in the Wood River Valley attempting or threatening to kill themselves. Hailey police took a middle-aged man threatening suicide last Wednesday to the hospital and the Bellevue Marshal's Office took a 60-year-old woman into protective custody Thursday and had her transported to St. Luke's.
Disturbing to police is the fact that suicide calls are becoming all too common in Blaine County.
Gunter said Hailey police used to get a suicide call about every other month. Now, the average is three per month.
The Crisis Hotline, headquartered in Ketchum, also reports that calls for assistance are on the rise.
"We're receiving a lot more suicidal calls," said hotline Executive Director Sher Foster. "We've had three suicide intervention calls within the past week. We've had more calls within the last year than in the entire 23-year history of our organization."
Gunter's and Foster's assessments are backed up by hard facts provided by the Blaine County Coroner's Office, which reported that the suicide rate has tripled in Blaine County during the past six months.
According to coroner records, 19 suicides occurred in Blaine County during the five-year period from 2005 to 2009, an average of 3.8 per year. From mid-September 2009 through mid-March of this year, there were six suicides in the county, which translates into an average of 12 per year.
Suicide rates have also increased statewide and nationally, but Blaine County's recent three-fold jump appears to be somewhat of an anomaly.
The latest statistics from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare are from 2008, when 251 Idahoans took their own lives.
Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan said complete data is not yet available for 2009, but a preliminary report released last month by the Idaho Council on Suicide Prevention estimates the number of Idahoans who committed suicide in 2009 at 300, an increase of about 18 percent.
The Suicide Prevention Network of Idaho reported that Blaine County's suicide rate from 2004 to 2008 was 14.9 per 100,000 people, a rate slightly below the then state average of 15.7 per 100,000 population.
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So what is going on in Blaine County? The obvious reason seems to be the bad state of the economy, but people who deal routinely with suicides or suicidal people agree the problem is more complex and that there are no easily discernable answers.
Foster said the predominant problem heard at the Crisis Hotline is the sorry state of the economy and its effects on people already under stress.
"The bad economy tips the scale for people who are already stressed out by illness, depression, addiction, job loss or divorce," Foster said.
Corner Russell Mikel, who talks to families of suicide victims to ascertain causes of death, said the economy is only one factor.
"A lot of people lose their jobs but don't commit suicide," Mikel said. "It's bound to increase the stress, but it's a combination of things. We've only had one that was directly attributable to the economy.
"Most of them have had alcohol involved. But that's pretty typical of a suicide to bolster the ability to act."
Kathryn Olson, a board member for the Wood River chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said depression is the core cause of suicide, but then "something comes along that can trigger it."
"The things that trigger suicide are things like losing your job, divorce or losing your home," Olson said.
What many people don't realize, she said, is that depression is an illness that can be treated.
"When I was young, I had a brother that took his life, and it was devastating to our family," she said. "I'm really empathetic and I have a good reason to be concerned. It makes me sad because there are good treatments available.
"Suicide is preventable—it is treatable," she said. "What I think is really going on is that there are people who aren't aware of what the signs are."
Olson said friends and families of depressed people need to watch for abrupt changes in behavior and moods, reckless behavior, changes in weight or appearance and other warning signs of suicide. (See sidebar for more complete list.)
"If a family member can pick up three or four of those signs, then it's time to start looking for help," she said.
Either the Nation Alliance on Mental Illness or the Crisis Hotline can help people find resources for assistance.
"If a person is feeling really desperate, don't call us, call 911, because the police can pick that person up if they are a danger to themselves or to someone else," Olson said.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Whom to call for help
In an immediate and desperate suicide situation, call 911.
Help is available for anyone contemplating suicide at the Crisis Hotline in Ketchum. Assistance can be found 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 726-3596 or 788-3596. The Crisis Hotline can also help with finding care or treatment.
The Wood River Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness also has a hotline open 24/7 at 309-1987. The organization can help with obtaining medications, often free, and finding resources for treatment.
Hospice & Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley provides support for families of suicide victims. Call 726-8464.
Information on suicide is available at several Web sites, including nami-wrv.com, suicide.org and spanidaho.org.
Suicide warning signs
The Suicide Prevention Action Network of Idaho lists the following warning signs of potential suicide:
· Threatening or talking of hurting or killing oneself.
· Abrupt personality changes.
· Dramatic mood changes.
· Engaging in reckless behavior.
· Withdrawing from friends, family or society.
· Increased drug or alcohol use.
· Giving away possessions.
· Neglecting personal appearance.
· Inability to sleep or sleeping unusually long.
· Abrupt ending of a personal relationship.
· Significant weight change.
· Unusually long grief reaction.
· A sense of hopelessness or resignation to death.
Information from the Blaine County Coroner’s Office shows that the suicide rate has tripled in the county in the past six months.
