PORT ORCHARD, Wash. - El índice de suicidios en Washington es de 15 muertes por cada 100,000 habitantes, 25% mayor a la media nacional; y en algunos condados del estado, incluso superior.

La League of Women Voters (Liga de Mujeres Votantes) del Condado Kitsap considera que es una alarmante epidemia lo que descubrió cuando revisaba la causa de muertes en el estado: la que encabeza la lista es el suicidio.

En ese Condado, más del 80 por ciento de las muertes por arma de fuego corresponden a personas que se quitaron la vida. Tal dato provocó que iniciara un Programa de Prevención del Suicidio (SPP, por sus siglas en inglés), y que se realizara el primer foro público que durante la primavera pasada abordó el tema en el Condado.

La legislatura encargó al comité de dicho programa un Plan de Acción sobre el Suicidio. Susanne Hughes, quien representa a la Liga de Mujeres Votantes dentro del comité, asegura que un paso crítico para manejar el problema es animar a la gente a que hable sobre el suicidio.

“Tenemos que superar el estigma del suicidio –afirmó Hughes–. Es crucial que familiares o amistades de la persona le pregunten: ‘¿Estás pensando en suicidarte?’ Es un mito pensar que si mencionas el tema eso le dará la idea a la persona.”

El comité tiene un año para elaborar el informe preliminar y presentar sus recomendaciones al estado. Las estadísticas indican que aproximadamente mil washingtonianos se quitan la vida cada año, más que la norma nacional.

Gran parte del esfuerzo de prevención del suicido está dirigido a adolescentes y adultos jóvenes; pero sobre eso Greg Sandstorm, Coronel del Condado Kitsap, tiene la esperanza de que el suicidio del actor Robin Williams cambie una parte de esa atención a otro grupo de edad.

“La inmensa mayoría son hombres en su edad media los que se están quitando la vida –indicó–, sobre todo con armas de fuego. Así que aunque es muy importante llegar a los jóvenes, debemos difundir el mensaje de que no son sólo los jóvenes, sino gente en sus 30s, 40s y 50s.”

Recientemente se aprobó que Washington se incorpore a un sistema más integral de reportes de muertes, a través de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (Centers for Desease Control and Prevention), que ya utilizan 18 estados del país. Susanne Hughes explica que el sistema reúne información sobre la salud mental y física de las víctimas, sus relaciones, trabajo y finanzas, todo en un esfuerzo por encontrar y conocer mejor las variables sensibles.

“Registra homicidios, pero también suicidios –explicó–. Es un sistema anónimo, y no habrá nombres asociados con esto; más bien es mucho más exhaustivo que lo que tenemos hoy en el estado de Washington. Así que nos da mucho gusto.”

La Semana Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio comienza el domingo 7 de septiembre.

Las estadísticas de suicidios pueden verse en www.intheforefront.org/media/stats.


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While Black Maternal Health Week is wrapping up, health disparities for pregnant Black women continues to be an issue.

From April 11-17 this year, the high death rate of Black mothers is in the spotlight. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.

Dr. Patricia Egwuatu, a family practice physician at Kaiser Permanente in Seattle, said racism is at the root of the disparities, which create barriers to health care access. She pointed out lack of access can lead to problems during pregnancy that are preventable or treatable.

"They may exist prior to pregnancy and then it gets worse during pregnancy if it's not managed as part of that maternity care," Egwuatu emphasized. "There are more pregnant women that have chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease that are amplified during pregnancy."

The White House released a proclamation recognizing Black Maternal Health Week. The Biden administration began recognizing the week in 2021.

Egwuatu noted there are some warning signs any pregnant woman should be aware of and check in with their physician if they develop.

"You might get some changes in your vision that is not your normal. So, like, fuzziness, you can't see as well, or an excruciating headache," Egwuatu outlined. "You could also develop new swelling in your lower extremities that's making it difficult to get around or even new shortness of breath."

Egwuatu stressed physicians also need to recognize the role of racism in medicine. She argued continuous medical education is important for learning how to confront biases, and it is important for doctors to understand how they can provide people with resources.

"Asking the questions about personal barriers," Egwuatu suggested. "Does a patient have issues with getting to work, child care, transportation? What's their education, what's their cultural background and language? And do they even have a cell phone so we can connect with them?"

Today, Connecticut health care advocates are holding a student day of action.

They will speak to state lawmakers about raising the age limit for undocumented immigrants eligible for HUSKY, the state's Medicare program. Undocumented people up to age 15 are eligible and the General Assembly is considering raising it to 18.

Yenimar Cortes, New Haven organizer for the group Connecticut Students for a Dream, said undocumented people not having health insurance is problematic.

"When it came to some stuff, like even a simple physical, my mom would have to like work and my dad would have to work like more shifts to be able to cover the costs," Cortes recounted. "It also meant getting sick was something we didn't want to do."

She added if they got sick, they would try home remedies before going to the hospital. Some people pay for visits out of pocket and take on medical debt. Some lawmakers opposed the age limit increase due to high costs, which studies estimated to be $83 million. However, the study noted expanding HUSKY could save hospitals between $63 million and $72 million.

Though uninsured rates fell during the pandemic, health officials are trying to ensure people maintain any coverage they have.

Luis Luna, coalition manager for the nonprofit HUSKY 4 Immigrants, said the pandemic helped advocates see the problem as a whole.

"It helped us see that health care is a fundamental human right," Luna asserted. "It helped us see that when people get sick and they don't take care of themselves their family suffers, and it helped us see that there's a really big disparity with health care access."

Several states have made health care affordable or available to undocumented immigrants. Luna added the hope is to make all immigrants, regardless of their status eligible for HUSKY.

A 2022 survey found most people support expanding HUSKY to all immigrants.

Today is National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day when everyone is encouraged to review their end-of-life planning. The 2024 Alzheimer's Association annual report predicts that the number of Americans 65 and older who are living with the most common form of dementia will double from nearly 7 million to 14 million patients by 2050.

Jessica Empeño, national director of clinical engagement with the end-of-life advocacy group Compassion & Choices, said legal matters are just part of the equation.

"The most important part is to have conversations about what matters most to you, what your wishes are, and share those things, not only with your family and your loved ones but with your health-care team," she explained.

People may want to put in writing who they want to be able to make decisions on their behalf once dementia progresses. They might consider whether in the future they would be OK with things like artificial hydration or nutrition, aggressive treatments or surgeries.

Compassion & Choices' website offers a free End of Life Decisions tool and a Dementia Values & Priorities Tool that helps people communicate and document their future health-care wishes, both for those who have early-stage dementia or those who just want to be prepared for the possibility.

Angela Schultz, California state advocacy director for Compassion & Choices, said people need to make a plan sooner rather than later.

"We just did recent polling, and 93% of Americans said that having an advanced directive and a health-care proxy and sharing that with your doctor is very important. But only 37% of Americans have done that," she said.

National Healthcare Decisions Day falls on April 16th, the day after tax day. It is a reference to the famous quote from Benajmin Franklin that "In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes."