How One Syracuse Doctor Quietly Helped Prevent 1,100 Suicides in 10 Years
A Quiet Revolution in Suicide Prevention in Syracuse
In Syracuse, a local doctor looked around her hospital’s emergency department and realized something heartbreaking: people in suicidal crisis kept coming back, cycling through brief visits, discharge papers, and long waits for follow-up care. Over the last decade, she and her team changed that pattern for more than 1,100 people by combining simple, evidence-based tools with consistent human connection.
One of those people is Veronica Ryan, a driven young woman who excelled in school and sports but was caught off guard when anxiety and depression began to take over her life. “My anxiety comes and goes, but I know how to deal with it better,” she says now. “All that work I’ve done has helped me get to this point.” Her story reflects a broader shift in how one Syracuse program is battling suicides: not with miracle cures, but with steady, compassionate care.
Why “Treat and Discharge” Was Failing People in Crisis
Across the United States, suicide rates have remained stubbornly high in many regions despite advances in medications and therapy. Emergency departments are often the front door for people in acute suicidal crisis, but historically the pattern has been:
- Short evaluation focused on immediate safety
- Brief stabilization, sometimes with medication
- Discharge instructions and a list of phone numbers
- A long wait—days or weeks—for outpatient appointments
Research has consistently shown that the weeks after discharge from an emergency department or psychiatric unit are among the highest-risk periods for suicide attempts. People leave with their pain still raw, often returning to the exact stressors that pushed them toward crisis in the first place.
“We were seeing the same faces again and again,” the Syracuse doctor explained. “Something had to change. We needed a bridge between the crisis visit and real, ongoing support.”
That realization became the seed of a new model: one that treats discharge not as the end of care, but as the beginning of a tightly supported recovery window.
Inside the Syracuse Suicide Prevention Model
Over roughly ten years, the Syracuse team developed a practical, layered approach that has now touched more than 1,100 lives. While each patient’s journey is unique, several core elements show up again and again.
- Safety Planning Before Discharge
Instead of sending people home with generic instructions, staff create a personalized written safety plan that includes:- Individual warning signs that a crisis is building
- Specific coping strategies that have worked before
- Names and phone numbers of supportive people to call
- Steps to reduce access to lethal means (like firearms or large medication supplies)
- Professional crisis contacts, including 988 in the U.S.
- Proactive Follow-Up Contact
Within days of discharge, patients receive follow-up calls or messages. These contacts:- Check on safety and emotional state
- Help problem-solve barriers to getting to appointments
- Reinforce the safety plan and coping skills
- Offer a reminder that someone is still paying attention
- Rapid Connection to Ongoing Care
The team works to shorten wait times for therapy or psychiatry visits by:- Coordinating directly with outpatient providers
- Using brief bridge clinics where possible
- Offering group or telehealth options when individual slots are limited
- Teaching Skills, Not Just Prescribing Pills
Sessions focus on:- Identifying unhelpful thought patterns
- Practicing grounding and relaxation techniques
- Breaking big problems into smaller, manageable steps
- Building routines around sleep, movement, and social contact
- Family and Support Network Involvement
With the patient’s consent, families or close friends are:- Educated about warning signs
- Guided on how to respond without judgment
- Included in parts of safety planning when appropriate
Veronica’s Story: From Crisis to Coping
Veronica Ryan grew up as the kind of person others admired: an early high school graduate, a competitive swimmer, and a nursing student with her future mapped out. Underneath that success, though, she was slowly losing her sense of control. Anxiety crept into everyday tasks, sleep became fractured, and the pressure she put on herself began to feel unbearable.
Like many high-achieving young adults, Veronica didn’t initially recognize her symptoms as a mental health crisis. She tried to push through, thinking she “should” be able to handle it alone. By the time she reached an emergency department in Syracuse, she was exhausted, frightened, and unsure whether life could get better.
“My anxiety comes and goes, but I know how to deal with it better,” she reflects now. “All that work I’ve done has helped me get to this point.”
That “work” included:
- Collaborating on a written safety plan she could actually imagine using at 2 a.m.
- Answering follow-up calls even when she felt tempted to withdraw
- Learning concrete skills in therapy—like how to ride out a panic surge without acting on it
- Being honest with family and friends about what she needed, instead of hiding everything
Veronica’s journey is not a tidy “before and after” transformation. She still has anxious days. But she now has tools, a team, and a sense of agency—key ingredients that research links to lower suicide risk and better long-term outcomes.
What the Science Says About These Strategies
The Syracuse program isn’t operating in a vacuum; many of its core elements are backed by growing scientific evidence. While results vary by setting, several trends are consistent across studies.
- Safety planning plus follow-up reduces attempts.
A widely cited study in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration found that pairing a structured safety plan with follow-up phone calls after emergency visits was associated with fewer subsequent suicide attempts compared with usual care. - Caring contacts can lower suicide risk.
Simple, non-demanding messages (letters, texts, or calls) expressing care and availability have been linked in multiple trials to reduced suicidal behavior, especially when maintained over time. - Restricting access to lethal means saves lives.
Research summarized by organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that reducing immediate access to firearms, toxic medications, and high-lethality methods is one of the most powerful, evidence-based ways to prevent suicide. - Skills-based therapies are more protective than insight alone.
Approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teach specific skills for managing intense emotions and crisis urges, and have demonstrated reductions in self-harm and suicide attempts in various populations.
Common Obstacles—and How the Syracuse Team Worked Around Them
Implementing a program like this inside a busy hospital isn’t easy. The Syracuse doctor and her colleagues faced many of the same barriers that health systems across the country grapple with.
- Limited staffing and burnout
Clinicians already stretched thin may worry that safety planning and follow-up will add to their workload.
How they responded: The team created streamlined templates and short training modules so that staff could integrate safety planning into standard workflows. Follow-up was sometimes handled by a dedicated coordinator or trained support staff instead of only physicians.
- Patient skepticism or fear
Some patients worry that talking openly about suicidal thoughts will lead to judgment, loss of independence, or involuntary hospitalization.
How they responded: Staff emphasized collaboration: safety plans were presented as tools owned by the patient, not paperwork for the hospital. Conversations focused on respect, privacy, and realistic choices rather than threats or ultimatums.
- Gaps in community mental health resources
Long wait lists for therapy or psychiatry can undermine even the best emergency care.
How they responded: The Syracuse program worked to:
- Develop relationships with local clinics willing to reserve a few rapid-access spots
- Use telehealth options when in-person visits were full
- Connect patients to peer support groups and hotlines as interim support
- Stigma in the wider community
Cultural messages about “toughing it out” or keeping mental health struggles private can discourage people from seeking help.
How they responded: The doctor and her team participated in community education events, partnered with schools and local organizations, and supported public storytelling—like Veronica’s—to show that seeking help is a sign of strength, not failure.
What Individuals, Families, and Communities Can Learn
You don’t need to be a physician or run a hospital program to apply some of the lessons from Syracuse. Whether you’re supporting yourself, a loved one, or your community, you can borrow several of the same principles.
If you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts or intense distress
- Create your own safety plan.
Write down:- What you notice in your body and thoughts when a crisis is building
- 3–5 specific actions that have helped you even a little (e.g., walking, breathing exercises, texting a friend, listening to a specific playlist)
- Names and numbers of people and services you can reach out to—including your local crisis line or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S.
- Steps to make your environment safer, such as asking someone you trust to hold onto firearms or securely store medications if possible
- Schedule follow-up for yourself.
If you’ve had a crisis or ER visit, ask before discharge:- “Who will follow up with me, and when?”
- “What’s my first appointment after this?”
- “Who can I call here if I run into problems before that appointment?”
- Practice small, repeatable skills.
Skills like paced breathing, naming five things you can see/hear/feel, or breaking tasks into 10-minute steps may feel too simple, but repeated practice helps your nervous system learn new patterns.
If you’re supporting a loved one
- Ask how you can fit into their safety plan: “If you’re having a terrible night, what would be most helpful for me to do?”
- Use open, non-judgmental language: “I’m really glad you told me. I’m here with you. We’ll figure out the next step together.”
- Offer practical help: rides to appointments, childcare, meal support, or help navigating insurance and scheduling.
If you work in schools, clinics, or community organizations
- Consider adopting brief safety planning and follow-up contact protocols for people who disclose suicidal thoughts.
- Post clear information about local crisis resources and the 988 line.
- Partner with local health systems to coordinate training and referral pathways.
From “In and Out” to “Stay Connected”: A Before-and-After Look
One way to understand the impact of the Syracuse approach is to compare a typical emergency-department experience before and after implementing these changes.
Before
- Brief evaluation focused on immediate risk only
- Limited discussion of long-term coping strategies
- Discharge with generic instructions and a list of phone numbers
- No guarantee of rapid follow-up or coordination with outpatient providers
After
- Collaborative safety plan created and reviewed with the patient
- Clear plan for follow-up contact within days
- Active scheduling support for the next therapy or psychiatry appointment
- Family or support network included when appropriate and desired by the patient
This shift doesn’t eliminate all risk, and it doesn’t mean every story ends as hopefully as Veronica’s. But across more than 1,100 people reached in a decade, it represents a quieter, steadier kind of success: fewer repeat crises, more people feeling seen and supported, and a community slowly changing how it responds to suicidal pain.
Moving Forward: Small Actions, Real Impact
The Syracuse doctor who decided “something had to change” didn’t invent a new medication or build a massive new facility. Instead, she and her team wove together simple, evidence-based practices—safety planning, follow-up, practical skills, and community partnership—into a consistent system of care.
For people like Veronica, that system made the difference between feeling abandoned after a crisis and feeling like someone was walking alongside them as they rebuilt their lives. The anxiety may still come and go, but now there are tools, plans, and people to lean on.
If you take one thing from the Syracuse story, let it be this: you don’t have to fix everything to make a real difference. Whether you are a clinician, a friend, a family member, or someone fighting through your own dark night, small, steady steps—making a safety plan, placing a follow-up call, asking one more honest question—can be life-changing.
Call to action: Today, consider one concrete step you can take:
- If you’re struggling, tell one trusted person and ask for help creating a safety plan.
- If you love someone who is hurting, check in and listen without trying to “fix” them.
- If you work in health care or community services, explore how safety planning and proactive follow-ups could fit into your setting.
Change often starts quietly—just as it did in Syracuse—with one person deciding that the way things have always been is no longer enough, and choosing to do the next compassionate, practical thing.
