Vita Health Collaborates with William & Mary to Improve Student Mental Health

Partnership Supports National Expansion of Critical Mission to Address College Suicide Epidemic

NEW HAVEN, CT – May 01, 2024 - Vita Health, the only provider specializing in proven suicide care and associated mental health co-morbidities, has collaborated with William & Mary to provide crucial mental health intervention for students and promote resilience.

The pilot program, which began in the Spring of 2023 and is supported by the William & Mary Parents Fund, aims to offer students in-time mental health resources and help them develop skills to manage their thoughts of suicide, with a goal to reduce attempts and deaths among at-risk students. By tracking student progress and associated reduction in risk scores through clinical scales, Vita is able to measure the impact of their intervention and the number of lives saved with a view to offering the services to colleges throughout the U.S. 

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens and college-age students and a top five killer across adults per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vita’s program with William & Mary has so far proved successful in helping to reduce suicidal tendencies in enrolled students; evidenced by their clinical scores moving from a ‘high-risk’ to a ‘low-risk’ status. 

Delivered by highly trained licensed clinicians (suicidologists) and supported by a proprietary app, Vita’s telehealth care model enables students to stay in school with sessions that fit around their schedules. As a result of the positive impact the program is having, William & Mary has extended the program for the 2024-2025 school year. 

“Each year 1,100 college students nationally die by suicide and, in 2022, 15% reported suicidal ideation,” says Vita Health co-founder and chief executive officer Lynn Hamilton. “This collaboration enables us to not only provide direct and expedient care to help to prevent a suicide death and equip students with the support and resources they need to manage their mental health, but to also assess how we can facilitate access of these services to all students throughout the U.S.”

Vita Health provides the only clinically validated intervention for suicide for adults and adolescents and offers teletherapy and psychiatry services for a broad spectrum of behavioral health conditions. Their program employs exclusive behavioral health care pathways based on the founding team’s successful clinical trials published in JAMA, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and thousands of patient encounters, which demonstrate reductions in suicide attempts by more than 60 percent and reductions in death by nearly 80 percent. 

“Adding Vita Health’s program to our mental health resources has enabled us to support our students more effectively during a critical and vulnerable time in their lives,” says Kelly Crace, associate vice president for health and wellness at William & Mary. “The result has been a transition from perceived helplessness to a greater sense of agency in managing their lives and the thoughts and feelings that come from interacting with an uncertain and sometimes painful world.”

About Vita Health

Founded in 2021, Vita Health is the leading provider of suicide focused care and general mental health treatment services through an innovative, scientifically validated care model offering timely mental health care and support on a national basis.  Vita Health offers care on a national basis through value-based models with payers, providers, employers, universities, and others. The co-founding scientific and clinical team pioneered leading interventions proven to reduce suicide attempt risks. Vita’s co-founders include leading suicide experts from several major national universities including Dr. David Rudd (University of Memphis), and Dr. Craig Bryan (Ohio State University), Dr. Cheryl King (University of Michigan), Dr. Greg Brown (University of Pennsylvania), and the late Dr. Barbara Stanely (Columbia University). https://www.vitahealth.care/

About William & Mary

Founded by Royal Charter in 1693, William & Mary is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the country. The Alma Mater of the Nation is a preeminent university, combining the depth and breadth of a liberal arts and sciences education with the disciplined exploration and innovation of a leading, global research university. A vibrant and inclusive community, William & Mary cultivates creative thinkers, principled leaders and compassionate global citizens equipped for lives of meaning and distinction. As a “Public Ivy,” the university convenes great minds and hearts to meet the most pressing needs of our time. https://www.wm.edu/