Ohio State announces mental-health task force in wake of two people jumping or falling from parking garage
Columbus OH April 10 2018 Ohio State President Michael Drake announced Monday night the creation of a task force designed to improve mental health resources and practices at the university in the wake of two people jumping or falling from the university’s Union South garage within four days.
Dr. Eileen Ryan, interim chair of our Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, and Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, senior vice president for Student Life, will lead the task force, which is intended “to further evaluate national best practices and provide recommendations to me within 60 days,” Drake said in a statement.
Drake said he directed Ohio State public safety officials on Sunday to review the garage and other facilities on campus in an effort to improve safety measures.
“These incidents have been shocking to our community and truly heartbreaking for the families, friends and loved ones of the victims. I know you join me in offering support and condolences,” he said. “The safety and well-being of our university community is — and always will be — our first priority.”
Drake reminded the campus community that “if you or someone you know is at immediate risk of harming yourself or someone else, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Additional resources are available here.”
Kelly Denlinger, 35, a former student at Ohio State who last attended in 2007, fell from the garage about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Daniel Birdsall, 19, a sophomore studying sociology and a student at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs from Morrow in Warren County, fell on Thursday onto the concrete driveway on the College Avenue entrance. They each were taken to the university’s Wexner Medical Center. Birdsall later died there Thursday. Denlinger, from Centerville, a suburb of Dayton, was reported in critical condition.
In February 2017, Madison Paul, 19, a first-year, pre-med neurosciences major from Zanesville, died after a fall at the garage. Officials later determined it was a suicide.
Whether Denlinger or Birdsall accidentally fell or intentionally jumped remains unclear. Investigation and determination of exactly what happened in each case takes time, officials said. Birdsall’s incident was initially reported as a jumper to responding police and Columbus fire medics.
The Franklin County coroner’s office, which is tasked with determining the cause and manner of death (accidental, natural, homicide, the result of suicide or undetermined) said Monday that it won’t have an official ruling for Birdsall’s death for several weeks, which is standard.
Regardless, the university recognizes this has all raised concerns.
“We understand this is upsetting to our community and it is deeply troubling to us. Anytime we lose a student or anyone in our community, it is a time of mourning,” Ohio State spokesman Chris Davey said. “It is troubling and tragic that we have had three incidents in the span of about a year … at that same location.”
Davey said it would be premature to discuss specifics of improved safety measures, as that review process is just beginning. In the meantime, he said campus police are stepping up foot patrols there.
Some students took to social media to address mental-health needs on campus, and to beg for more and better services.
This is not a concern for only Ohio State. USA Today reported last year that a survey of campus student-life administrators showed that 66 percent of them identified mental-health services as their top concern.
Ohio State has made a marked improvement in access to mental-health services, Davey said. Through a special program at the university’s suicide prevention office, he said more than 14,000 students, faculty and staff have been trained on how to spot warning signs, communicate hope, and intervene and help someone access treatment.
In addition, OSU has added 13 additional counselors to its staff in the past two years, bringing the total to 44.
dispatch.com
