Swain Community Hospital marks national suicide prevention awareness month with support group and community walks

BRYSON CITY and SYLVA – Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital will recognize national suicide prevention awareness month with a new monthly support group held at both hospitals, and with a series of community walks in Bryson City each Thursday throughout September.

The support group is named ‘WASH’ (We Are Still Here) and will be held the first Thursday of each month beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 5 in the Easton Conference Room at Harris Regional Hospital. Group meetings will alternate months between Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital. The purpose of the group is to provide a safe space for those who are ‘still here’, to be able to talk about loss to suicide and how it affects survivors, and to provide support to other survivors of suicide who are navigating the complex grief that comes with the loss of a loved one due to suicide.

The community walks will be held each Thursday throughout September beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, September 5 at the main entrance of Swain Community Hospital, 45 Plateau St. in Bryson City. Additional dates are: noon on September 12, 2 p.m. on September 19, and 4 p.m. on September 26. Everyone is invited and welcome to join the community walks.

“We are honored to expand our resources to support those surviving the aftermath of a loved one’s suicide, and to raise awareness about prevention.” said Amanda Fugate, a registered nurse and program director for Senior Life Solutions at Swain Community Hospital. “Suicide can be prevented and sharing the many resources available locally is an important step.”

For information on the support group or the community walks please contact Fugate at (828) 488-4027. To reach the national suicide prevention lifeline call 1-800-273-8255.

About Harris Regional Hospital & Swain Community Hospital

Harris Regional Hospital, established in 1925, is an 86-bed acute and specialty care facility serving Western North Carolina with more than 100 physicians practicing in locations throughout a multi-county region, including Harris Regional Hospital Medical Park of Franklin, an outpatient facility in Macon County.

Swain Community Hospital, established in 1950, is a 48-bed Critical Access Hospital serving a multi-county region with primary care, emergency medicine and subspecialty care including a pain clinic and a transitional care unit. Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital began an affiliation in 1997 and joined Duke LifePoint Healthcare in 2014.

About LifePoint Health^®

LifePoint Health^® (NASDAQ: LPNT) is a leading healthcare company dedicated to Making Communities Healthier^®.  Through its subsidiaries, it provides quality inpatient, outpatient and post-acute services close to home. LifePoint owns and operates community hospitals, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers, and post-acute facilities in 22 states. It is the sole community healthcare provider in the majority of the non-urban communities it serves. More information about the company can be found at www.LifePointHealth.net. All references to "LifePoint," "LifePoint Health" or the "Company" used in this release refer to affiliates or subsidiaries of LifePoint Health, Inc.

About Duke LifePoint Healthcare

Duke LifePoint Healthcare, a joint venture of Duke University Health System, Inc. and LifePoint Health (NASDAQ: LPNT), was established to build a dynamic network of hospitals and healthcare providers. The joint venture, which brings together LifePoint’s experience in community-based hospital management and Duke’s world-renowned leadership in patient safety and clinical quality systems, is strengthening and improving healthcare delivery by providing community hospitals the clinical, quality and operational resources they need to grow and prosper.