988 (previously 1-800-273-TALK) is the new, easier-to-remember national suicide & crisis hotline that provides 24/7 confidential support via call, text, and chat to people experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis. The hotline officially launched on July 16, 2022, but were states prepared for the rollout? Is 988 really the mental health version of 911? Today, two psychiatrists, Dr. John Palmieri and Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, join us to answer these questions and talk about the future of 988.

John Palmieri, MD, MHA, is a Senior Medical Advisor at SAMHSA and currently serving as the Acting Director for the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office. Prior to his arrival at SAMHSA, Dr. Palmieri was the Division Chief for Behavioral Healthcare at the Arlington County, Virginia, Department of Human Services. Dr. Palmieri is a licensed physician in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry. He graduated from Brown University Medical School and completed his Adult Psychiatry Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Eric Rafla-Yuan, MD is the 2021 American Psychiatric Association (APA) Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellow, and a voluntary assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, where he founded and led the psychiatry residency diversity committee. He graduated medical school and completed additional training in bioethics at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed residency training at the UC San Diego Community Psychiatry Program. He currently serves on the APA Council of Advocacy and Government Relations, and previously served as the legislative director for the San Diego Psychiatric Society, and as a board trustee for the California State Association of Psychiatrists. His research focuses on policy and structural drivers of health outcomes and his work on clinical crisis services has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Health Affairs. 

For a transcript of this episode, visit: https://apafdn.org/news-events/mentally-healthy-nation-podcast/what-you-should-know-about-the-988-suicide-crisis 

Resources

• 988 Frequently Asked Questions | SAMHSA
• 988 Implementation Act Packet (house.gov)
• Eric Rafla-Yuan (@DrEricRaflaYuan) / Twitter
• Check out the rest of our podcast family at psychiatry.org/podcasts