Infographics & Interactives

Hope Starts Here: Addressing Suicide Through Access

Hope doesn't arrive in a waiting room, but it can. For millions of Americans navigating mental health struggles, the path to support often begins with a single, trusted relationship: their primary care provider. Seven in ten people say they want to be asked about both their physical and mental health during those appointments. Yet only 39% have ever discussed anxiety with their doctor, and just 35% have discussed depression. Behind every one of those numbers is a person who needed an opening, and didn't find one.

June 23, 2026

3 Minute Read

The infographic below tells the story of where change is possible. Primary care is already the place Americans turn to and trust. The Collaborative Care Model builds on that trust, weaving mental health support into the visits people are already making. It's not a new system to navigate or another referral to follow up on. It's care that meets people in a familiar place, at the right moment, before a struggle becomes a crisis. And it makes whole-person health not the exception, but the everyday.

Image illustrating the topic of the article.

Key Takeaways:

The need is clear. In 2023, 49,316 Americans died by suicide — an age-adjusted rate of 14.7 per 100,000, and the 11th leading cause of death nationwide. That is one life lost every 11 minutes.
Proven solutions exist. The Collaborative Care Model has been shown to reduce suicide risk by more than 50% and suicide attempts by 25%, offering an evidence-based path to better outcomes.
West Health is helping bring those solutions to scale. Through the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator, in partnership with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, we are expanding access by integrating mental health treatment directly into primary care — supporting early intervention and better outcomes for people of all ages.

Background:

A partnership built to scale what works. Northwestern Medicine, the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, and West Health launched the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator to provide the infrastructure, resources, and capabilities needed to rapidly expand the Collaborative Behavioral Health Program (CBHP) — Northwestern Medicine's clinical implementation of the Collaborative Care Model — across its primary care network. CBHP integrates mental health services directly into primary care, enabling consistent screening, early intervention, and better outcomes for patients of all ages.
The Collaborative Care Model is also a workforce strategy. By embedding psychiatric expertise into primary care teams, a single psychiatrist can support 3 to 8 times more patients than under traditional referral-based care — extending the reach of a limited specialty workforce and expanding access without waiting on a pipeline that takes years to grow.