Prevent Suicide Sauk County
Our Vision: Everyone in Sauk County finds the support they need, ending suicide attempts and deaths.
We all want to live in a healthy community, but how do we decide what to improve and how? Every 3 years, Public Health Sauk County conducts a Community Health Assessment to see what is needed to make our community healthier. We assess our community’s health in partnership with the Sauk County Health & Wellness Steering Committee, Sauk County Data Council, Reedsburg Area Medical Center, Sauk Prairie Healthcare, SSM Health St Clare Hospital, and the Ho-Chunk Nation. We last completed this process in 2024 and will do so again in 2027. After gathering data from surveys, focus groups, interviews, and secondary sources, we choose health focus areas.
Our focus areas for 2024-2027 are mental health , housing , and substance use prevention & response . To address each of these topics, we facilitate community-based action teams or coalitions that are open to everyone. These groups analyze the underlying reasons for these community problems and act on strategies that create real change.
Here’s how Prevent Suicide Sauk County is working to improve our community:
Join Our Team
We meet to discuss suicide prevention and mental health issues on the 3rd Monday of the month online. To join us or learn more, contact Jodie Molitor, Public Health Sauk County Health Educator, at 608-355-4315 or Jodie.Molitor@saukcountywi.gov .
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Mental Health Data
Mental Health Care Access
Sauk County has 115 mental health providers. This means that there are 560 people per 1 mental health provider. To match the national average, Sauk County needs 67 more mental health providers.
Data Source: Mental Health Access. County Health Rankings 2022 layer. The report is from a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Depression
An estimated 21.8% of Sauk County Adults age 18 and older had a depressive disorder in 2020.
Data Source: PLACES Depression, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sauk County has High Rates of Suicide Attempts and Deaths
At 17 Suicide Deaths per 100,000 population, Sauk County continues to have More Suicide Deaths than state (15 per 100,000) and national (14 per 100,000) rates.
Data Source: County Health Rankings, https://www.countyhealthrankings.org
Sauk County High School Students report mental health challenges at rates similar to other WI High School Students.
Data Source: Sauk County YRBS Results compiled from Baraboo - Baraboo High 2023 YRBS Results (High School Version), River Valley - River Valley High 2023 YRBS Results (High School Version), and Reedsburg - Reedsburg Area High 2023 YRBS Results (High School Version). Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2023. Data compiled by Public Health Sauk County Staff, August 2024
Wisconsin lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) youth, students with a chronic health condition, those with food insecurity, and those with low grades are at the highest risk for suicidal ideation. LGB youth are at the highest risk.
Data Source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. 2024. “2023 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey Summary Report.” Retrieved September 13, 2024, from https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/yrbs
