A 33-year-old Pagosa Springs woman died by suicide Friday night at the detox center run by Axis Health System.
Amanda Christensen was found shortly after 5:30 p.m. in a showering facility at Detox, 1125 Three Springs Blvd., said La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith.
Christensen had a husband and several children, Smith said.
Axis Health System is a nonprofit that provides mental health and substance abuse treatment to the five-county region in Southwest Colorado. It operates a detox and acute treatment unit at its Crossroads building in Grandview.
Detox is a secure residential facility near Mercy Regional Medical Center. People who are taken there typically stay one night and have access to meals, restrooms and showers.
Axis Health has taken precautions to prevent suicide in its secure facilities, including installing shatter-proof mirrors, breakaway towel racks and breakaway shower rods, said Bern Heath, CEO of the agency.
It also screens clients for depression and suicidal risk and has two “safe rooms” with cameras that are monitored every 15 minutes.
Heath said he could not comment about specific care Christensen was receiving.
The bathrooms have hand-hold bars that aren’t breakaway, but they’re necessary so people can steady themselves, especially while intoxicated, Heath said.
If someone is determined to harm themselves, they can do so, even in the most secure facilities, he said.
“There is no such thing as a suicide-proof facility,” Heath said. “Suicides happen in jails, they happen in detoxes, they happen in in-patient psychiatric units, as well as homes and businesses.”
This is the second death and first suicide in the 16 years Heath has been at Axis, he said. The other death occurred a few years ago, and it was the result of natural causes in the Detox unit, he said.
He reminded residents that it’s always better to confront people or report instances of concern if someone talks about harming themselves or taking their own life. It’s always possible the person didn’t mean anything by his or her comments, but it’s better to inquire than to have somebody try to take his or her own life, Heath said.
“You always take suicide and suicide threats very seriously,” Heath said. “You need to let people know when others are talking about feeling like life isn’t worth living.
“It saddens all of us every time this happens. It takes a little piece out of the families, out of the people who have been working with them, out of everybody.”
shane@durangoherald.com
For help
Help for people having suicidal thoughts or for those who fear a person is considering killing himself can be found from these sources:
Axis Health Systems:
24-hour hotline at 247-5245.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
(800) 273-TALK (8255).
RED Nacional de PrevencióN Del Suicidio:
(888) 628-9454.
National Crisis text Hotline:
741741
Boys Town Hotline:
(800) 448-3000.
