Background: Comprehensive, collaborative, collective action public health work requires coalitions built on trust, a unified vision, and shared knowledge and language. Over the past few years, the public health workforce has been asked to play an increasing number of new roles, creating workforce burnout and turnover, particularly in geographic areas with fewer resources. As a result, public health coalitions have had to adapt to a continuously changing workforce, needing to build trust, vision, and shared language with each new member.

Description: Funded through CDC’s Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program and State general funds, the Colorado National Collaborative (CNC) is a public health approach whose goal is to reduce the number of suicides in Colorado by 20% by 2024 through a constellation of upstream and downstream suicide prevention activities in Colorado counties at highest risk of suicide. Since its inception in 2018, the CNC has experienced a high rate of county-level staff turnover, accelerated during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also added 9 new counties to its efforts. To be effective, the CNC had to create a member orientation process to teach new members about its rich history, bring members up-to-speed on current activities, and create space for contributing to shared language and a shared vision. Because the CNC uses a participatory action model for its evaluation, new members must learn how and why past decisions were made and quickly engage with the information needed for successful participation.

Recommendation/Lessons Learned: In addition to initial meetings and one-on-one bi-weekly meetings between individual counties, national partners, and state leadership, the CNC’s orientation approach relies on the following strategies:

• Use of automated learning, creating PowerPoint presentations and videos that can be easily accessed through a shared location.
• Use of peer-support models, connecting new members with those who have historical knowledge to create connection and encourage shared learning.
• Use of monthly group meetings to allow for community-building and a space to share resources.

In this presentation, we offer a sample approach to support new members as they engage with their counties, collaborate with the CNC and grow Colorado state suicide prevention efforts.