In this presentation, Eric Caine, M.D., Co-Director of the ICRC-S and of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), describes the rationale for a comprehensive and highly coordinated approach to suicide prevention and the role that public health can play in this approach. Yeates Conwell, M.D., Professor and Vice Chair of URMC’s Department of Psychiatry, moderates this session and also provides a framework for a comprehensive approach that is currently being implemented in the state of Colorado.