(410 ILCS 53/5)

Sec. 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly makes the following findings:

(1) 1,474 Illinoisans lost their lives to suicide in 2017. During 2016, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in Illinois, causing more deaths than homicide, motor vehicle crashes, accidental falls, and numerous prevalent diseases, including liver disease, hypertension, influenza/pneumonia, Parkinson's disease, and HIV. Suicide was the third leading cause of death of ages 15 to 34 and the fourth leading cause of death of ages 35 to 54. Those living outside of urban areas are particularly at risk for suicide, with a rate that is 50% higher than those living in urban areas.

(2) For every person who dies by suicide, more than 30 others attempt suicide.

(3) Each suicide attempt and death impacts countless other individuals. Family members, friends, co-workers, and others in the community all suffer the long-lasting consequences of suicidal behaviors.

(4) Suicide attempts and deaths by suicide have an economic impact on Illinois. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that in 2010 each suicide death in Illinois resulted in $1,181,549 in medical costs and work loss costs. It also estimated that each hospitalization for self-harm resulted in $31,019 in medical costs and work loss costs and each emergency room visit for self-harm resulted in $4,546 in medical costs and work loss costs.

(5) In 2004, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Suicide Prevention, Education, and Treatment Act (Public Act 93-907), which required the Illinois Department of Public Health to establish the Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic Planning Committee to develop the Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan. That law required the use of the 2002 United States Surgeon General's National Suicide Prevention Strategy as a model for the Plan. Public Act 95-109 changed the name of the committee to the Illinois Suicide Prevention Alliance. The Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan was submitted in 2007 and updated in 2018.

(6) In 2004, there were 1,028 suicide deaths in Illinois, which the Centers for Disease Control reports was an age-adjusted rate of 8.11 deaths per 100,000. The Centers for Disease Control reports that the 1,474 suicide deaths in 2017 result in an age-adjusted rate of 11.19 deaths per 100,000. Thus, since the enactment of Public Act 93-907, the rate of suicides in Illinois has risen by 38%.

(7) Since the enactment of Public Act 93-907, there have been numerous developments in suicide prevention, including the issuance of the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention by the United States Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention containing new strategies and recommended activities for local governmental bodies.

(8) Despite the obvious impact of suicide on Illinois citizens, Illinois has devoted minimal resources to its prevention. There is no full-time coordinator or director of suicide prevention activities in the State. Moreover, the Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan is still modeled on the now obsolete 2002 National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

(9) It is necessary to revise the Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan to reflect the most current National Suicide Prevention Strategy as well as current research and experience into the prevention of suicide.

(10) One of the goals adopted in the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is to promote suicide prevention as a core component of health care services so there is an active engagement of health and social services, as well as the coordination of care across multiple settings, thereby ensuring continuity of care and promoting patient safety.

(11) Integrating suicide prevention into behavioral and physical health care services can save lives. National data indicate that: over 30% of individuals are receiving mental health care at the time of their deaths by suicide; 45% have seen their primary care physicians within one month of their deaths; and 25% of those who die of suicide visited an emergency department in the year prior to their deaths.

(12) The Zero Suicide model is a part of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a priority of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, and a project of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center that implements the goal of making suicide prevention a core component of health care services.

(13) The Zero Suicide model is built on the foundational belief and aspirational goal that suicide deaths of individuals who are under the care of our health care systems are preventable with the adoption of comprehensive training, patient engagement, transition, and quality improvement.

(14) Health care systems, including mental and behavioral health systems and hospitals, that have implemented the Zero Suicide model have noted significant reductions in suicide deaths for patients within their care.

(15) The Suicide Prevention Resource Center facilitates adoption of the Zero Suicide model by providing comprehensive information, resources, and tools for its implementation.

(Source: P.A. 101-331, eff. 8-9-19; 102-982, eff. 7-1-23.)