Building Better Pathways: Dr. Marc Woods on Nurse Suicide Prevention
When I sat down with Dr. Marc Woods, Chief Nursing Officer at Eastern State Hospital, I wanted to understand how a leader thinks about suicide prevention in a profession where the risks are often hidden and what Dr. Woods envisions for the future of supporting nurses who are struggling. Additionally, nearly two years after the opening of EmPATH in July 2024, the unit has become a steady presence in Kentucky’s mental health landscape. I hoped to learn what it looks like now that it is established and how it fits into the broader system of crisis care..
Suicide among nurses is not a new problem, but for years it was an unmeasured one. A landmark study by Davidson et al. (2019) found that both female and male nurses die by suicide at significantly higher rates than the general population. Female nurses had a 58 percent higher suicide rate than women in the general population, and male nurses had a 41 percent higher rate than men in the general population. These findings confirmed what many suspected but could not prove until someone finally asked the right questions.
Dr. Woods has been asking those questions for a long time. His doctoral research, partnered with Davidson, examined whether educating nurses about the signs of depression and suicidal ideation, and teaching them what to do for themselves and their peers, would increase the likelihood of seeking help. “The more we educate nurses, and the more we talk about it with nurses, the more apt they are to use those services when they need them,” he told me. His findings aligned with Davidson’s work and reinforced the need for open, ongoing conversations about mental health.
He also spoke about the pressures shaping the workforce today. New graduates are entering the profession with higher rates of diagnosed anxiety and depression. Workplace violence has increased, with more than half of nurses reporting that they have been assaulted at work. The gap between classroom expectations and real practice can be jarring. “It is not what you expected,” he said, describing the moment when new nurses realize that the idealized version of nursing they learned in school does not match the complexity and emotional weight of the real world.
These individual pressures collide with systemic problems. Before EmPATH existed, anyone experiencing a psychiatric crisis, including nurses, had only one option: the emergency department. Dr. Woods described how mental health patients were often deprioritized behind trauma cases and cardiac emergencies. Some waited ten to sixteen hours for psychiatric consultation. Others experienced sedation or restraint in environments that were loud, overstimulating, and not designed for psychological distress. “I just knew there was a better way,” he said.
EmPATH represents that better way, not because it was designed specifically for nurses, but because it was designed for anyone in psychiatric crisis. As a psychiatric emergency room, it offers walk‑in access, calm and open spaces, immediate behavioral health support, and a twenty‑three‑hour model where most patients return home within a day. Its environment is private, predictable, and intentionally therapeutic, which matters for every patient who walks through its doors.
Although EmPATH is not a nurse‑specific or suicide‑specific program, Dr. Woods noted that its existence has created a more humane and accessible pathway for staff who might otherwise avoid seeking help. From the beginning, he anticipated that a psychiatric emergency room designed around dignity and stabilization, rather than restraint and long waits, would naturally become a safer option for healthcare workers in crisis. Since its opening, some employees and learners have chosen EmPATH over the emergency department, which reflects the value of having a crisis space that feels less intimidating and more supportive.
Dr. Woods is also working to bring an anonymous suicide risk screening program, modeled after UC San Diego’s Healer Education, Assessment and Referral (HEAR) program, to Kentucky. The barriers are familiar: concerns about liability, the need for dedicated staff, and the cost of sustaining the program. Even so, he continues to push forward. He is exploring a pilot at Eastern State Hospital that would allow nurses to complete confidential screenings and receive follow‑up support without fear of exposure or judgment. If successful, it could expand across the UK HealthCare system.
When I asked him what he would say to a nurse or nursing student who feels hopeless, his answer was steady and sincere. “This world is so much better with you in it than without you,” he said. He talked about the negative thoughts nurses often carry and the importance of pairing them with truthful reminders of past strength. “You can make it a duet,” he told me. “You may not be able to prevent the intrusive thought, but you can pair it with a positive voice.”
Talking with Dr. Woods made one thing clear. Prevention is not a single program or a single unit. It is a culture shift. It is a willingness to ask the questions no one has asked before. It is a commitment to building systems that see nurses as human beings, not just clinicians. EmPATH is one part of that work, not because it was built for nurses, but because a stronger crisis system benefits everyone, including the people who care for others every day. Education is another. Honest conversation is another still. The future he envisions is one where nurses have both the resources and the permission to seek help long before they reach a breaking point.
References
Davidson, J. E., Proudfoot, J., Lee, K., & Zisook, S. (2019). Nurse suicide in the United States: Analysis of the Center for Disease Control 2014 National Violent Death Reporting System dataset. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 33(5), 16–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2019.04.006
Downs, N., Feng, W., Kirby, B. et al. Listening to Depression and Suicide Risk in Medical Students: the Healer Education Assessment and Referral (HEAR) Program. Acad Psychiatry 38, 547–553 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-014-0115-x
Vardon H, Grassie J, Raman R, et alCould the EmPATH model help redesign mental healthcare in UK emergency departments?Emergency Medicine Journal 2026;43:252-254.
WUKY. (2024). UK HealthCare opens Kentucky’s first EmPATH unit for psychiatric emergencies. WUKY News. https://www.wuky.org/local-regional-news/2024-07-30/picture-an-emergency-room-designed-to-calm-and-relax-thats-what-uk-healthcare-hopes-to-create-with-its-new-mental-health-unit.
Woods, M. (2026). Personal interview conducted by M. Quigley, April 2026.