In a significant move toward bolstering suicide prevention initiatives in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers signed five bills into law on Friday.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – In a significant move toward bolstering suicide prevention initiatives in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers signed five bills into law on Friday.
All of the bills were proposed by the Legislative Counsel Study Committee on Uniform Death Reporting.
These bills, aimed at enhancing the state’s approach to suicide prevention, were a direct outcome of recommendations put forth by the Speaker’s Task Force on Suicide Prevention.
Representative Steve Doyle, who served as the Vice-Chair of the Task Force and played a pivotal role in the Study Committee, emphasized the importance of these bipartisan measures. “The first step to solving a problem is understanding the problem. Wisconsin faces a crisis when it comes to suicide, and I’m incredibly proud that these bipartisan proposals I worked on will become law. The better we understand the issue, the better solutions we are able to come up with.”
During the Speaker’s Task Force on Suicide Prevention, it became apparent that a significant gap in the state’s suicide prevention efforts lay in the lack of uniformity and availability of data concerning death records.
The five proposals put forth by the Study Committee aim to address these gaps by allowing for additional fields on death records, including details such as the occupation of the deceased.
Furthermore, they mandate the use of electronic systems for vital records, recommend training regimens for individuals responsible for completing and signing medical certifications of death, and require the Department of Health Services to establish best practices for coroners and medical examiners.
With these measures in place, Rep. Doyle said Wisconsin aims to strengthen its ability to tackle the pressing issue of suicide and improve mental health outcomes for its residents.
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