LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It is National Suicide Prevention Month, and according to the CDC, every 11 minutes, someone takes their own life.
Keith Rankin points out that is the main goal at the Ridge Behavioral Health System. "We have to be here to meet the need," Rankin said.
"To be able to treat them, give them the resources they need to be successful and improve," Rankin added.
Meeting the needs of those in complete crisis is a constant for The Ridge CEO.
Those resources are available all day at the Ridge, offering 24-7 free-of-charge assessments for anyone.
"We can do on site assessments, so if they show up at our door, we're gonna make sure we take a look and provide that assessment," Rankin noted.
The Ridge gets the history of that person in crisis while also looking for warning signs of suicide. Three of the four include talking about or making plans for suicide, expressing hopelessness about the future, or displaying severe overwhelming emotional pain or distress.
"People who are in the throes of something that is really life changing," Rankin said.
The fourth is changes in behavior, and some of those signs include withdrawal from social connections, anger, and hostility, as well as changes in sleep.
"If you have a family member or a friend who is doing that, you need to get them connected to someone who can do a deeper dive into what their feeling," Rankin said.
And as Rankin adds, continue the conversation.
"You have to talk about it with friends, family, at the dinner table, and it shouldn't be taboo to talk about the dangers," Rankin said.
That talk, as Rankin puts it, could save a life.
The Ridge also does mobile assessments in the community in schools. This year, the keynote speaker at The Ridge Winter Conference Dec. 9 is Ashley Judd who has opened up about discovering her mom after her suicide in 2022.
