The legislature finds that the state of Washington lost one thousand two hundred ninety-seven lives to suicide in 2017, including two hundred fifty-five veterans and seventy-seven individuals working in the construction industry. The legislature finds that Washington's suicide rate is eleven percent higher than the national average and that men in the middle years (ages thirty-five to sixty-four) account for four out of ten suicide deaths in Washington, creating significant trauma for children, communities, and workplaces affected. The legislature finds that veterans and their family members are disproportionately impacted by suicide and that many veterans reenter the workforce in industries and professions with this highest suicide risk such as, construction, law enforcement, corrections, and emergency medical services. The legislature finds that means safety, defined as reducing access during times of crisis and/or increased safe storage of means commonly used in suicide, is a promising population-level strategy for reducing suicide. Therefore, the legislature seeks to implement best practices for workplace mental health promotion and suicide prevention and to provide resources to develop and implement a statewide plan to reduce suicide among service members, veterans, and their families.
The department shall develop and implement a statewide plan to reduce suicide among service members, veterans, and their families. In developing and implementing the plan, the department shall:
(1) Collaborate with government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to establish promising best practices for suicide awareness and prevention materials, training, and outreach programs targeted to service members, veterans, and their families;
(2) Cultivate peer-led organizations serving veterans in transition and recovery;
(3) Create and deliver statewide suicide awareness and prevention training programs with content specific to service members, veterans, and their families; and
(4) Provide safer homes materials and trainings, and distribute safe firearms storage devices, to the Washington national guard, the Washington state patrol, allied veteran groups, and other organizations serving or employing veterans, following the recommendations of the safer homes, suicide aware task force.
The safer homes, suicide aware task force shall distribute to all firearms dealers in the state suicide awareness and prevention materials tailored to firearms owners that are developed by the safer homes, suicide aware task force under RCW 43.70.445. Firearms dealers are strongly encouraged to post on the premises and make available to firearms purchasers and transferees the suicide awareness and prevention materials.
(1) The commission shall distribute or make available through electronic means to all licensed pharmacies suicide awareness and prevention materials developed by the safer homes, suicide aware task force under RCW 43.70.445. Each licensed pharmacy shall, when deemed appropriate through patient evaluation, make available to patients at the point of care the suicide awareness and prevention materials distributed by the commission.
(2) The commission shall survey each pharmacist licensed under this chapter on methods to bridge the gap between practice and suicide awareness and prevention training, including identifying barriers that exist in putting the training into practice. The commission shall consult with the safer homes, suicide aware task force in developing the survey. The commission may distribute the survey as part of each pharmacist's license renewal. The commission shall compile and analyze the survey data and report the results to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 15, 2020.
(1)(a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, a
(b) The
(i) The suicide prevention and firearms subcommittee shall consist of the following members and be cochaired by the University of Washington school of social work and a member
(A) A representative of the national rifle association and a representative of the second amendment foundation;
(B) Two representatives of suicide prevention organizations, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(C) Two representatives of the firearms industry, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(D) Two individuals who are suicide attempt survivors or who have experienced suicide loss, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(E) Two representatives of law enforcement agencies, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(F) One representative from the department of health;
(G) One representative from the department of veterans affairs, and one other individual representing veterans to be selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee; and
(H) No more than two other interested parties, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee.
(ii) The suicide prevention and health care subcommittee shall consist of the following members and be cochaired by the University of Washington school of social work and a member
(A) Two representatives of the Washington state pharmacy association;
(B) Two representatives of retailers who operate pharmacies, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(C) One faculty member from the University of Washington school of pharmacy and one faculty member from the Washington State University school of pharmacy;
(D) One representative of the department of health;
(E) One representative of the pharmacy quality assurance commission;
(F)
(G) One representative of the department of veterans affairs, and one other individual representing veterans to be selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee;
(H) Three members representing health care
(I) No more than two other interested parties, selected by the cochairs of the subcommittee.
(2) The task force shall:
(a) Develop and prepare to disseminate online trainings on suicide awareness and prevention for firearms dealers and their employees and firearm range owners and their employees;
(b) In consultation with the department of fish and wildlife, review the firearm safety pamphlet produced by the department of fish and wildlife under RCW 9.41.310 and, by January 1, 2017, recommend changes to the pamphlet to incorporate information on suicide awareness and prevention;
(c) Develop and approve suicide awareness and prevention messages for posters and brochures that are tailored to be effective for firearms owners for distribution to firearms dealers and firearms ranges;
(d) Develop suicide awareness and prevention messages for posters and brochures for distribution to pharmacies;
(e) In consultation with the department of fish and wildlife, develop strategies for creating and disseminating suicide awareness and prevention information for hunting safety classes, including messages to parents that can be shared during online registration, in either follow-up email communications, or in writing, or both;
(f) Develop suicide awareness and prevention messages for training for the schools of pharmacy and provide input on trainings being developed for community pharmacists;
(g) Create a web site that will be a clearinghouse for the newly created suicide awareness and prevention materials developed by the task force;
(h) Conduct a survey of firearms dealers and firearms ranges in the state to determine the types and amounts of incentives that would be effective in encouraging those entities to participate in
(i) Gather input on collateral educational materials that will help health care professionals in suicide prevention work;
(j) Create, implement, and evaluate a suicide awareness and prevention pilot program in two counties, one rural and one urban, that have high suicide rates. The pilot program shall include:
(i) Developing and directing advocacy efforts with firearms dealers to pair suicide awareness and prevention training with distribution of safe storage devices;
(ii) Developing and directing advocacy efforts with pharmacies to pair suicide awareness and prevention training with distribution of medication disposal kits and safe storage devices;
(iii) Training health care providers on suicide awareness and prevention, paired with distribution of medication disposal kits and safe storage devices; and
(iv) Training local law enforcement officers on suicide awareness and prevention, paired with distribution of medication disposal kits and safe storage devices
(3)
(1) After a public hearing, the department of fish and wildlife shall publish a pamphlet on firearms safety and the legal limits of the use of firearms. The pamphlet shall include current information on firearms laws and regulations and state preemption of local firearms laws. By July 1, 2017, the department of fish and wildlife shall update the pamphlet to incorporate information on suicide awareness and prevention as recommended by the
(2) This pamphlet may be used in the department's hunter safety education program and shall be provided to the department of licensing for distribution to firearms dealers and persons authorized to issue concealed pistol licenses. The department of fish and wildlife shall reimburse the department of licensing for costs associated with distribution of the pamphlet.
(1) The
(2) The
(3) The
(1) By July 1, 2020, the school of dentistry at the University of Washington shall develop a curriculum on suicide assessment, treatment, and management for dental students and licensed dentists. The curriculum must meet the minimum standards established under RCW 43.70.442 and must include material on identifying at-risk patients and limiting access to lethal means. When developing the curriculum, the school of dentistry must consult with experts on suicide assessment, treatment, and management and with the
(2) The dental quality assurance commission shall, for purposes of RCW 43.70.442(4)(a), consider a dentist who has successfully completed the curriculum developed under subsection (1) of this section prior to licensure as possessing the minimum training and experience necessary to be exempt from the training requirements in RCW 43.70.442.