WVPE 88.1 Elkhart/South Bend | By Mike Murrell
Published August 26, 2025 at 3:15 PM EDT
The HealthConnect: Promoting Wellness through Comprehensive Mental Health Education and Service grant is supporting a new mental health de-escalation training program at Indiana University South Bend, funded through a three-year award from the Valinhos Foundation.
The initiative will begin by certifying instructors who will then train 150 nursing students, along with faculty and staff, in recognizing and responding to signs of escalating mental distress. Leaders say the effort is designed to make healthcare workplaces safer, address high rates of violence against nurses, and improve long-term retention in the profession.
Organizers also plan to expand the training beyond campus, reaching the broader South Bend community and working to make the program a permanent part of the nursing curriculum.
