Northeast State Community College is committed to the mental health wellness of our students, faculty, and staff. As such, and in compliance with the requirements of T.C.A. § 49-7-1, Northeast State has developed a suicide prevention plan that engages in a variety of initiatives to improve and provide crisis services. 

The Northeast State Suicide Prevention Plan will be disseminated to faculty, staff, and students each academic term.  The mental health wellness statement will be posted on D2L. The statement will also provide a direct link to the webpage Suicide Prevention and Awareness.

The statement:

Northeast State is committed to and cares about all students. Support services are available for any person at Northeast State who is experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed, hopeless, depression, thinking about dying by suicide, or otherwise in need of assistance.  Students may contact Counseling Services at 423.354.2587 Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For immediate help, contact the National Suicide Lifeline Number at 988, Text “TN” to 741741, or the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386. Veterans may also wish to contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 then press 1.

Prevention 

Northeast State has developed a comprehensive approach to increase mental health awareness though efforts of prevention. 

Contact

Northeast State’s contact for suicide prevention work is Lurelle McKay, Counselor and Director of Student Advocacy Programs.  Her number is 423-354-5308 and her email is LLMcKay@NortheastState.edu.    

Prevention Components & Resources

Key components of Northeast State’s suicide prevention work include: 

• Providing Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) for faculty, staff, and students by a Northeast State QPR-trained staff person and/or community QPR trainers.
• Promotion of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Crisis Text Line, and campus/community resources are made available through:
  • Northeast State’s website https://www.northeaststate.edu/counseling

o   TSPN posters with hotline and text line posted at all campuses.

• Counseling Services Campus and Community Resources rack card.
  • Bookmark with tips for managing anxiety and panic on one side and contact information for NeSCC’s Counseling Services, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the Crisis Text Line on the other side.
• Utilizing community resources and agencies to provide prevention services for Northeast State’s community members. Northeast State has established relationships with the following local Mental Health facilities for providing prevention education, training, and/or prevention screenings.
  • Frontier Health
  • Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN)
  • Creekside Behavioral Health
  • Ballad Health, Woodridge Hospital

Additional Information

Information regarding such relationships at Northeast State is available at Counseling Services, in room C2101, General Studies Building on the Blountville campus.  The email is Counseling@NortheastState.edu.  Counseling Services has a comprehensive list of partners and services available to members of the college community and is available to provide QPR training, crisis intervention, counseling, and referral.  Information on area resources for crisis referral and mental health resources is available online at https://www.northeaststate.edu/student-services/counseling/suicide-prevention-awareness.html

Intervention 

There is no typical suicidal person. No age group, ethnicity, or background is immune. Fortunately, many troubled individuals display behaviors that deliberately or inadvertently signal their suicidal intent. Some of the warning signs for students may include a drastic behavior change, increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, withdrawal from other students, or irritable or intense emotional reactions.  Recognizing the warning signs (http://tspn.org/warningsigns) and learning what to do next may help save a life. 

Contact

If someone exhibits behavioral patterns that may indicate a possible risk for suicide, they should be watched closely. If they appear at imminent risk, seek professional help at once. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or the Crisis Text Line by texting TN to 741 741. The Frontier Health crisis line, 1-877-928-9062 is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by trained mental health professionals.  Frontier Health’s Turning Point is a free walk-in crisis clinic in Johnson City for assessment and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

If a student, faculty, or staff expresses suicidal ideation verbally or in a written format, the following individuals should be contacted immediately: 

Northeast State Campus Police
423.677.7927

Counseling Services
Lurelle McKay, Counselor and Director of Student Advocacy Programs
423.354.5308

Should the incident occur after hours, or the above-noted individual is not available, the following should be contacted immediately: 

Northeast State Campus Police
423.677.7927

If the suicidal person has plans and access to a lethal means, is planning to try very soon, or is currently in the process of trying, this individual is in imminent danger and should not be left alone. Get the person help immediately. Determine who can get there quickly and keep the individual safe. 

Should you have this concern, you should immediately call 9-1-1. 

Intervention Resources

Northeast State has established relationships with the following local Mental Health facilities for crisis referral services. 

• Frontier Health
• Creekside Behavioral Health
• Ballad Health, Woodridge Hospital

The safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff are of the utmost importance. In situations that require immediate action because of safety or other concerns, Northeast State will take any reasonable administrative action or appropriate accommodation protocols. Such interim actions may include but are not limited to adjustments to schedules, ADA accommodations, adjustments to exam schedules, facilitation of hold harmless voluntary withdrawals, incompletes, etc.

Postvention  

Because all student/faculty/staff deaths affect our community, whether that death is accidental, due to illness, or the result of self-inflicted injury, it is important to respond to and recognize all deaths in a consistent manner. Campus leadership and the communications department developed a protocol that includes a campus response to a student/faculty/staff suicide to decrease the trauma experienced by the students and other campus community members left behind and to help prevent further suicides through contagion.   

• The Employee Assistance Program, EAP, will be contacted to provide support for faculty and staff.
• Frontier Health, Ballad Health, Creekside Behavioral Health and/or TSPN will be contacted to provide support and direction for faculty, staff, and students on campus and/or for follow-up.
• Counseling Services will provide ongoing support for faculty, staff, and students.
• Admissions and Records will be notified to close access to the student’s records.

Contact 

If a student, staff, or faculty member death occurs by suicide, the following person, or their designee, should be notified immediately: 

Faculty or Staff: Megan Jones, Director of Human Resources, 423.323.0226
Student: Deidra Close, Registrar, 423.354.2405

Postvention Components & Resources

Northeast State has established relationships with the following local Mental Health facilities for the purpose of working to decrease community trauma.  

• Frontier Health – MOU
• Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN)

Additional Information

Information regarding such relationships at Northeast State Community College is available in Counseling Services, C2101,  General Studies Building, www.NortheastState.edu/counseling. Counseling Services has a comprehensive list of partners and services available to members of the college.   Any campus member interested in more information about Northeast State’s suicide prevention protocol should contact Lurelle McKay, Counselor and Director of Student Advocacy Programs, 423.354.5308

Comprehensive Response Protocol  

Northeast State’s comprehensive suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention protocol is available (to the campus community, campus administration, etc.). For more information, please contact Lurelle McKay, Counselor and Director of Student Advocacy Programs, 423.354.5308